Mangrove

an overhanging plant of tropical coasts, remarkable for the way it encroaches upon the sea. The weeds sprout before they fall, and are provided with roots half a foot long before they strike the muddy shore. Horizontal branches also send down aerial roots, possibly ten feet long, which take root and thicken above into trunks quite banyan-tree fashion. This process continues until a mangrove swamp is an impenetrable jungle growing far out into the sea, where it catches debris and silt and extends the coastline outward. Mangrove swamps are the refuge of fish, fowl, and beast. The mangrove abounds on tropical shores in both hemispheres. Mangrove swamps skirt Florida, occur at the mouth of the Mississippi, and are seen along the coast as far as Texas. Shellfish cling to the stems and branches. Early navigators, sailing by when the tide was out, declared they had seen oysters growing on trees. The wood serves as fuel. The stems make serviceable piles. The timber is susceptible of a beautiful polish. The bark is used in medicine and in tanning.