Flamingo Mangroves

o Mangrove seeds germinate while still attached to the parent tree, they are called propagules

o Seedlings produce chlorophyll and photosynthesize while still attached to the parent tree

o Propagules are buoyant and can travel great distances in oceanic currents

o Propagules can resist desiccation and remain dormant for more than one year until they find adequate conditions

o After falling off the parent tree, propagules float horizontally; they shift to a vertical position after month or so and gradually loose their buoyancy, increasing their chances of settling

o If they are not able to root, they regain buoyancy and go back to horizontal floating

o Roots of settled propagules appear after 10 days only

o Roots of red mangroves can grow as fast as 1 cm a day

o A single black mangrove tree can have up to 10,000 pneumatophores