Mangroves

Black Mangrove

The three different types of mangroves are red, black, and white.  Red mangroves live in the deepest salt-water of the three mangroves and have large prop roots.  Red mangroves also have the largest leaves of the three different types of mangroves.  Black mangroves live further inland than the Red mangroves and have pneumatophores used for gas exchange.  The leaves for black mangroves have salt crystals that are formed on the top side.  White mangroves lived the farthest away from the water of the three mangroves.  Leaves of the white mangroves are rounded and their propagules can survive in salt water for at least 1 month.  The benefits from mangroves for organisms are that they can provide a home for these organisms, can provide a source of food, and they can keep the soil in place.  They can be important to humans because they can provide wood, food, medicine, and shoreline protection.  Mangroves also benefit the fishing industry because almost all fish and shellfish caught by commercial anglers spend some part of their lives in or near mangroves.

Red Mangrove

White Mangrove