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Black Mangrove

Avicennia germinans

Black Mangrove Locations in North America
Black Mangrove Locations in Southeast US


black mangrove
Black mangrove flowers

USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 28 March 2018). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
Illustration: Peter H. Raven Library/Missouri Botanical Garden (www.botanicus.org, 6 April, 2018).

What is Black Mangrove?

Physical Characteristics

  • Evergreen shrub
  • Rarely taller than 3 feet

Leaves:

  • Leaf stalks 0.08-1.06 inches long
  • Up to 6 inches long
  • Up to 1.75 inches wide
  • Grayish underneath

Flowers:

  • White in color
  • Velvety on inside
  • Bloom Jul – Aug

Spikes:

  • Up to 2.56 inches long
  • Up to 0.59 inches wide

Fruit:

  • Egg-shaped
  • Asymmetrical
  • Up to 0.78 inches long
  • Up to 0.47 inches wide
  • Covered in gray hairs

Where Does it Grow?


Black mangrove can be found in mangrove lagoons and along tidal shores in saline to brackish water. 

Pros and Cons of Black Mangrove

Useful for canal bank stabilization and as a hedge bordering bodies of salt water. 

Nectar feeds insects, seeds feed granivorous birds and small mammals, along with providing cover and nesting habitat.  

Submerged portions of all aquatic plants provide habitats for many micro and macro invertebrates. These invertebrates in turn are used as food by fish and other wildlife species (e.g. amphibians, reptiles, ducks, etc.). After aquatic plants die, their decomposition by bacteria and fungi provides food (called “detritus”) for many aquatic invertebrates.

At this time, black mangrove is a threatened species.

How to Manage This Plant
Plant Glossary

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Aquatic plant photographs were provided by David Bayne, Jim Davis, Kelly Duffie, Billy Higginbotham, Michael Masser, John Clayton, Chetta Owens, Diane Smith, Joe Snow, Don Steinbach, Bridget Robinson Lassiter and Peter Woods.

You may use these photos, so long as you give credit to AquaPlant.

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