Mangrove

The tree that lives in salt water

Mangroves are the only trees that grow in the sea! Their roots stick out of the water like legs — as if the tree is walking. A mangrove drinks salt water and pushes the salt out through its leaves. Baby fish hide from predators among its roots. Mangroves protect the coast from waves and hurricanes.

The red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) is a tree of the tidal zone on tropical coasts, growing in salt water. Its stilt roots anchor the trunk in mud and take oxygen from the air; root cells filter out 90% of the salt, and the rest collects in leaves that are shed. Its seeds germinate on the tree (vivipary) and drop like spears into the water, drifting to new places. Mangrove forests are a 'nursery' for fish: 75% of the world's fisheries depend on them. Per hectare they store 4 times more carbon than rainforest ('blue carbon'); in the 2004 tsunami, coasts with mangroves suffered less damage. The world has lost 35% of its mangroves since 1980.

Fun facts

• A mangrove drinks salt water and sweats the salt out through its leaves.
• A mangrove seed sprouts while still on the tree and drops into the water like a spear.
• 75% of the world's fish spend their childhood among mangrove roots.