Roots of the Mangroves

A few of the root forms of the Mangroves.

Root forms of the Mangroves

A view with the stems.

Nice documentation. The ones in the first image are pneumatophores (pencil roots / cone roots), the second appear to be spreading roots and the third are knee roots (note the knee like angles at which the roots bend). All of these perform the function of gaseous exchange and provide some degree of support. It is possible to ID many mangroves by the roots alone, but I am not familiar enough with the east coast mangroves to try that. Here is a link to some interesting information about mangrove root systems: http://www.mangrove.at/mangrove_roots.html

You are right Abhishek. One other commonly seen form of roots in mangroves are the stilt roots. I missed clicking them at close quarters there.