Red mangrove

Rhizophora mucronata

Summary 7

Rhizophora mucronata (loop-root mangrove, red mangrove or Asiatic mangrove) is a species of mangrove found on coasts and river banks in East Africa and the Indo-Pacific region.

Habitat and ecology 8

Habitat and Ecology

This species is found in the intermediate to upstream estuarine zone in the lower to mid-intertidal region, and more to the seaward side. This species tolerates a maximum salinity of 40 ppt and a salinity of optimal growth of 8-33 ppt. (Robertson and Alongi 1992). This is a hardy species that is easily propagated and is fast-growing. It can grow up to 35 m, and can grow to 6 m high within seven years on plantations (Sukardjo and Yamada 1992).

In the eastern portion of its range, this species tends to grow closer to freshwater influences while in the western portion of its range it tends to grow closer to the seaward side. More genetic work is needed to determine if this may represent different species.

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Yingyod Lapwong, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Yingyod Lapwong
  2. (c) Ria Tan, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/wildsingapore/34650951366/
  3. (c) Ria Tan, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/wildsingapore/8384887307/
  4. (c) Ria Tan, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/wildsingapore/8550131615/
  5. (c) Ricky Taylor, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Ricky Taylor
  6. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/photos/gdr-rhizophora-mucronata-02369.jpg
  7. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizophora_mucronata
  8. Adapted by Ricky Taylor from a work by (c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34703278

More Info

iNat Map

Mangrove dependancy obligate