Description

• Rhizophora mangle, commonly known as red mangrove, is an evergreen tree in the red mangrove family (Rhizophoraceae).

• It is easily recognized by its distinctive arching prop roots, which extend from the trunk and branches into the mud or shallow water, providing support in unstable coastal sediments.

• The leaves are opposite, simple, leathery, and elliptic to oblong, with smooth margins and rounded or slightly pointed tips.

• Small, yellowish-white flowers typically grow in pairs in the leaf axils.

• The fruit produces a long, pencil-shaped propagule that begins germinating while still attached to the parent tree. These propagules eventually detach and disperse by floating in seawater.

• Red mangroves help stabilize shorelines, trap sediments, reduce coastal erosion, and provide important nursery habitat for fish, crustaceans, and other wildlife.

Range

• Native to tropical and subtropical coastlines of the Americas, including the Caribbean, Central America, and both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of tropical America.

• It is native to Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, and the surrounding area, where it occurs along suitable sheltered coastal sites.

Habitat

• Grows in intertidal zones of tropical coastlines, particularly sheltered bays, estuaries, lagoons, tidal creeks, and coastal inlets.

• Favours muddy or sandy-muddy substrates regularly flooded by seawater or brackish water.

• Typically occupies the seaward edge of mangrove forests, where its prop roots tolerate tidal inundation and help the tree remain anchored in soft sediment.