![]() Biscayne Bay also has extensive mangroves, but the northern part of the Bay has been largely cleared of mangroves to make way for urban development. Florida Bay is dotted with small islands, which are often no more than mud flats or shoals more or less covered by mangroves. Mangroves also extend throughout the Florida Keys, although coverage has been reduced due to development. From Whitewater Bay, a broad band of mangroves extends up the Gulf coast to Marco Island, including the Ten Thousand Islands. Mangroves cover a wide band all along the southern end of the Florida peninsula facing on Florida Bay, from Key Largo across to close to Flamingo, then inland behind the beaches and marl prairies of Cape Sable and all around Whitewater Bay. Most of those acres are in Everglades National Park. Ninety percent of the Florida mangroves are in southern Florida, in Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties.Īpproximately 280,000 acres (1,100 km 2) of mangrove forests are in the hands of the Federal, State and local governments, and of private, non-profit organizations. The buttonwood grows in shallow, brackish water, Florida swamps, or on dry land (the furthest inland).įlorida mangrove plant communities covered an estimated 430,000 to 540,000 acres (1,700 to 2,200 km 2) in Florida in 1981. It may have prop roots and/or pneumatophores, depending on conditions where it is growing. Pneumatophores, which grow up from the roots to above the water level. Further inland is the black mangrove lacking prop roots, but does have It has multiple prop roots, which may help to stabilize the soil around its roots. The red mangrove grows closest to open water. These plants have differing adaptions to conditions along coasts, and are generally found in partially overlapping bands or zones, roughly parallel to the shoreline. Propagules fall from late summer through early autumn. Zonation Īll three mangrove species flower in the spring and early summer. Two glands are located at the apex of the petiole (leaf stalk) and excrete excess salts and extrafloral nectar. These trees are able to grow in areas seldom inundated by tidal water. Tiny brownish flowers are located at the terminal ends of the branches forming a seed cluster known as the button. Conocarpus erectus - buttonwood (one species that is variously classified as a mangrove or a mangrove associate)īuttonwoods grow 39 to 46 feet tall but do not produce a true propagule in Florida.However this may not occur if they are in the northern part of their range. These may germinate into football shaped propagules. Small yellowish flowers are located on the terminal ends of the branches. The bark is white, relatively smooth and the leaves are oval shaped and flattened. They have erect, blunt-tipped pneumatophores that are used if they are growing in anaerobic conditions. White mangrove trees grow to 45 feet in height and up and tend to have a more erect form than the other species. Younger black mangrove trees are shade intolerant but become more shade tolerant as they mature. The seed is shaped and sized similar to a lima bean when germinated. ![]() This tree has white flowers that are bilaterally symmetrical and pollinated by Hymenoptera they are the source of mangrove honey. The bark is dark and scaly and the upper surface of the leaves is often covered with salt excreted by the plant. They are characterized by vertically erect aerating branches ( pneumatophores) extending up to 20 cm above the soil. The Florida mangroves ecoregion includes three mangrove species:Įxcreted salt on the underside of a mangrove leafīlack mangrove trees grow to a heights of 133 feet and average 66 feet. Other threats include development and other human disruption. Though climate change is expected to extend the mangrove range further north, sea level rise, extreme weather and other changes related to climate change may endanger existing mangrove populations. Mangroves are important habitat as both fish nursery and brackish water habitats for birds and other coastal species. ![]() ![]() The mangroves live in the coastal zones in the more tropical southern parts of Florida mangroves are particularly vulnerable to frosts. Four major species of mangrove populate the region: red mangrove, black mangrove, white mangrove, and the buttonwood. The Florida mangroves ecoregion, of the mangrove forest biome, comprise an ecosystem along the coasts of the Florida peninsula, and the Florida Keys. ![]()
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