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Black
Mangrove - have underground roots that form a dense mat and send up thin,
vertical roots from beneath the soggy ground. These "air roots", called
pneumatophores, which may be a foot or so high, absorb oxygen from the air when
the underground roots are covered. |
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Red
Mangrove - grows seaward with high arched prop roots extending out in tiers
that turn downward from the trunk. It gives the illusion of trees on 'stilts'.
Oysters attach themselves to these roots where they are covered during high
tide. The underwater roots of Red mangroves serve as nurseries for newborn
fish. |
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White
Mangrove - often occurs at the landward edge of Mangrove Swamps in a
stunted form. The leaves are glossy green above with a distinctive pale grey
underside which is also slightly hairy. The most readily distinguishable
feature of the white mangrove is the presences of numerous spongy
pneumatophores(peg roots) which spread out around the base of the tree. Peg
roots grow vertically through the soil surface to allow the mangrove to
breathe. |
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Sea
Oat- the endangered plant, sea oats (Uniola paniculata), is primarily
responsible for the stability of the dunes on Georgia's barrier islands.
Without sea oats, the barrier islands would soon be destroyed by the
ocean. |
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Melaleuca - native to Australia and valued there, this tree
has found its way to the wetlands of Florida. True to form, as a non-native
species it is taking over habitat that would normally be covered with
beneficial flora. |
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Reeds - between
3 and 12 feet in height. Reeds grows abundantly in flooded areas or where the
underground water level is high. At the top of the plant the stem is a brown,
plume-like tuft. The plant's roots generate a series of runners, of up to 12
feet in length, from which the aerial parts are regenerated each year.
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Saltbush - a
many branched shrub that grows about 12 feet tall. It grows in just about any
type of soil, including soil high in saline content, and does best in full sun.
Its flowers look like silvery plumes. |
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Ferns- ferns were thriving on Earth for two hundred million
years before the flowering plants evolved! Most ferns are leafy plants that
grow in moist areas under forest canopy. Ferns reproduce from spores and an
intermediate plant stage called a gametophyte. |
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Habiscus - brilliantly colored, these flowers attract bees and
other insects in the Mangrove Swamps. The cotton plant is also a member of this
group. |