Mangrove Vocabulary

Front

pneumatophores

Back

breathing roots

Front

sacrificial leaves

Back

Old leaves accumulate salt and fall off, removing salt from the tree

Front

prop roots

Back

supporting root system of trees

Front

anoxic

Back

lacking oxygen (e.g., mangrove mud)

Front

halophyte

Back

A type of organism that thrives in salty environments and can tolerate high salinity

Front

nursery habitat

Back

A safe habitat for young animals to grow (for example: juvenile fish in the roots of mangroves)

Front

ecosystem services

Back

Benefits that humans obtain from ecosystems (e.g., tsunami protection provided by mangroves and firewood)

Front

intertidal

Back

intertidal zone

Front

propagule

Back

Seedling of the water coconut tree, which grows on the tree before falling into the water/soil

Front

brackish

Back

brackish water (for example, at the estuary where river water meets sea water)