Red, Red, pointy head. Drop and prop that’s what I said. (Drop roots are roots that drop down to get water. Prop roots are roots that help the mangrove stay up.)
Black, black salty back. Snorkel roots I do not lack. (Snorkel roots are roots that stick out of the ground to breath air.) White, white bolts on tight. Normal roots are in my sight.
(Normal roots are like any other roots.) |
Black Mangrove Mangroves are very special because they can tolerate salt water. There are 3 steps to how a Black Mangroves filters out the salt. Step one, the salt water goes in the roots. Step two, the salt water goes to the leaves. Step three, the Black Mangrove excretes salt on the back of the leaves. Not only does the Mangrove have to deal with salt, it also has to get air and other gases but the soil does not provide that. So they have pneunatophores (snorkel roots). Mangroves take in the gasses they need to live when the snorkel roots are exposed to air. |  |
White Mangroves White mangroves are very special because they have bumps on the stem of the leaves. No one knows why. It is a scientific debate. White mangroves leaves are pretty small, averaging 2 to 3 inches in length. White mangroves look like trees when they are two to three weeks old. When white mangroves are mature they look like big bushes. |  |
Red Mangroves Red mangroves can live in the middle of the sea. They are most common in Florida. Red mangroves are home to many animals like fish, crabs & birds. The red mangrove have pours that take in air during low tide. (Pours are tiny things that are only on the roots of the red mangrove.) The mangrove rotates its leaves when one side gets hot and begins to evaporate the fresh water it stores. Flipping the leaves prevents evaporation of water. The mangroves make their home in waters with soft bottoms. They stabilize themselves by using prop roots.
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