Oriental mangrove

The tallest mangrove trees in Micronesia – on Kosrae and Pohnpei they form tidal forests that serve as nurseries for crabs and reef fish.

Bruguiera gymnorhiza is a mangrove tree usually growing 7–20 m tall, and exceptionally as tall as 35 m. It has breathing roots that stick out of the mud like bent knees, and red, fleshy flower calyces. Its seeds germinate while still on the tree, producing long, cigar-shaped seedlings that drop into the mud or float away on the current. The wood is used for fuel and building, and tannins were once extracted from the bark.

Significance in the country

The mangrove forests of Pohnpei and Kosrae are among the best developed in Micronesia and protect the coasts from storm waves. For local people they are a source of timber, crabs and fish, and protecting them is one of the main tasks of local conservation programmes.

Where it grows

In the mangrove forests of the high islands – most extensively along the coasts of Pohnpei and Kosrae, and also in the Chuuk Lagoon and on Yap.

More: Wikipedia (en)