Exploring St. John Mangrove Hike Possibly my favorite part of the trip was the Dead Mangrove Hike. Prior to Hurricane Hugo, there had been a large mangrove forest in an area near camp. However, the hurricane caused salt to spray on the upper leaves of the plants, killing them. Mangroves are interesting plants because they have evolved to live in salt water.
Red mangroves have root systems descending from the branches to take in water and nutrients.
These specialized roots are able to exclude the salt from the water. The mangrove receives oxygen from specialized pockets along the root called lenticels. Another type of mangrove which is prevalent in St. John is the black mangrove. These are also adapted to live in the salt water but they do it differently. Black mangroves actually take in the salt with the water and excrete it onto the leaves.