Grey Mangrove
Avicennia marina
It excretes excess sea salt through microscopic glands on its foliage, often coating the undersides of its leaves in visible white salt crystals.
- Scientific name
- Avicennia marina
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Lamiales › Acanthaceae › Avicennia
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- decreasing
- Biome
- wetland
- Habitat
- Intertidal mudflats, sheltered coastal shores, estuaries, and tidal creeks
- Diet
- Autotroph (photosynthesis, drawing brackish water and dissolved nutrients from coastal sediment)
- Range
- Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Arabian Peninsula, East Africa
- Size
- Shrub to medium tree, typically 3–14 m tall
- Lifespan
- 50–100+ yr
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Coastal development, land reclamation, aquaculture pond construction, oil spills, and sea-level rise
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless to humans. The plant is non-toxic to touch. Take care when walking through mangrove habitats, as the exposed pneumatophores and soft, deep tidal mud create significant tripping and sinking hazards. Avoid trampling or breaking the roots.
Avicennia marina , commonly known as grey mangrove or white mangrove , is a species of mangrove tree classified in the plant family Acanthaceae (formerly in the Verbenaceae or Avicenniaceae). As with other mangroves, it occurs in the intertidal zones of estuarine areas.
Photo: Saryu Mae 前 朝琉, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
Plain-text version: /species/297249e9-8ce5-474e-adb7-cf7b09675f92.md