Photo of the day

“Mangrove” refers to any of the approximately 70 species of shrubs and trees that grow in salty ocean water. Each kind of mangrove has a specific set of ecological needs, with many bearing fruit and flowers to spread seeds requiring the help of creatures from bees, bats, and birds, to moths and monkeys. Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, also known as “swart wortelboom” or simply “black mangroves,” are one of the most widely distributed trees in the tropics, blooming claw-like flowers that produce an unusually elongated fruit. The seeds embedded in their green pods are naturally germinated as they drop in the mangrove’s swampy muds, or are swept out by the tide to take root elsewhere 🌺 🐝