Facts About Mangroves Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act Mangrove Trimming Authorized Professional Mangrove Trimmers Facts About Mangroves Mangroves are tropical plants that are adapted to loose, wet soils, salt water, and being periodically submerged by tides. Their leaves are 1-5 inches long, broad and blunt on the tip, shiny, deep green on top, and paler on the underside. Black mangroves can be identified by numerous finger-like projections, called pneumatophores, that protrude from the soil around the tree's trunk. Black mangrove leaves are oblong, shiny green on top and covered with short dense hairs on the underside. Black mangroves are usually found in slightly higher elevations upland from red mangroves.
White mangroves have no visible aerial root system like red and black mangroves.
The easiest way to identify white mangroves is by the leaves. White mangroves are usually located in elevations higher and farther upland than either the red or black mangroves. It has been estimated that there are over 500,000 acres of mangroves remaining in the coastal areas of Central and South Florida. Of this total, it is estimated that at least 80 percent are under some form of governmental or private ownership or control for preservation or conservation purposes. Mangroves trap and cycle various organic materials, chemical elements, and important nutrients in the coastal ecosystem.