 Seagrass beds
 Salt marshes
 Mangrove forest
 Characteristics
– Phloem(carries nutrients) and xylem
(support)
– Root stem and leaf structures
– Seed and fruit
– Halophytic – salt tolerant

 Hydrophytes – Live beneath the water
 Can flower and germinate while submerged
 Vegetative growth with horizontal rhizomes
 Primary producers
 Stabilize sediments
 Provide habitat
 Slow currents and wave action
 Cover less floor than seaweeds, so more habitat

 Must be exposed to air by ebbing tide to live
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Located in the intertidal zone
Facultative halophytes – can tolerate salty water as well as fresh water conditions
Adaptations – thick cuticle, salt glands
 Serve as nurseries, feeding ground
 Accumulates and stabilizes sediments

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Red Mangrove – closest to water
– Prop roots and drop roots
– Propagule – seedling
– Salt excluder
 Black mangrove
– Pneumatophores(airhole) – stick up out of water and aid in root aeration and gas exchange
– Slat excreter
 White Mangrove - farthest from water
– No visible arial root
– Leaves taste list salt

Red Mangrove

Black Mangrove

White Mangrove