WILD SIDE
The
Walking Trees
Indian River suffers decades of loss of unique mangrove habitat
BY CAMILLE S. YATES
PHOTOS BY CAMILLE YATES
Mangroves are salt-tolerant trees that grow worldwide
50
on tropical coastlines where the average temperature
is more than 66º F. That is why the Indian River
Lagoon area, especially the southern boundaries, has the
potential for thick mangrove forests.
In Florida, three species of mangroves dominate the
marine influenced wetland areas: red mangrove (Rhizophora
mangle); black mangrove (Avicennia germinans); and white
mangrove (Luguncularia racemosa).
Each species has different characteristics that help it thrive
in its environment. Red mangroves, which are the farthest
from the shore, have characteristic prop roots, or stilt roots,
which grow from the trunk and drop roots which stem from
the branches. The prop roots and drop roots serve to support
the red mangrove in the loose soil and aid in respiration,
because much of the time these roots are exposed to the air.
The prop roots contain pores called lenticels which allow
oxygen from the air to diffuse into the plant. Red mangroves
also have characteristic dark green leaves that come to a
point at the end.
In contrast, black mangroves have root systems that consist
of a series of roots that grow up from the ground like
straws sticking up through the soil drinking in the oxygen.
Their leaves are rounded at the end.
White mangroves grow farthest from the shoreline.
>>