String Beans on the Beach?
By Sid Freund
Florida Master Naturalist
As you walk along the beach shoreline you may notice what appear to be string beans. Actually, they are “mature” Red Mangrove plants called propagules. Red Mangroves have flowers that are small, yellow and bell shaped. Their pleasant smell attracts bees and other insects to pollinate them. The pollinated flower develops into a seed. Once the seed in the fruit germinates on the tree, the propagule starts growing and remains on the tree until it is ready to take root and drops. What drops from the tree is a viable new plant not a seed. This is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Mangroves. The technical term is viviparous. The propagule grows its first roots while still attached to the parent tree. A mature plant can float for up to a year and still be viable. When a plant becomes waterlogged it sinks and its roots may anchor to a sandbar, oyster bed or to another tree’s roots. Red mangroves grow at sea level right along the shore. Tangles of prop roots along the coast trap sediment that moves with the tide and gradually builds up soil around the plants. Red mangroves, together with the other two U.S. mangrove species—black mangroves and white mangroves, form islands and vast coastal forests. Mangroves provide a buffer against storm surge, support marine life and absorb significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. Mangroves are protected in Collier County.
By Sid Freund
Florida Master Naturalist
As you walk along the beach shoreline you may notice what appear to be string beans. Actually, they are “mature” Red Mangrove plants called propagules. Red Mangroves have flowers that are small, yellow and bell shaped. Their pleasant smell attracts bees and other insects to pollinate them. The pollinated flower develops into a seed. Once the seed in the fruit germinates on the tree, the propagule starts growing and remains on the tree until it is ready to take root and drops. What drops from the tree is a viable new plant not a seed. This is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Mangroves. The technical term is viviparous. The propagule grows its first roots while still attached to the parent tree. A mature plant can float for up to a year and still be viable. When a plant becomes waterlogged it sinks and its roots may anchor to a sandbar, oyster bed or to another tree’s roots. Red mangroves grow at sea level right along the shore. Tangles of prop roots along the coast trap sediment that moves with the tide and gradually builds up soil around the plants. Red mangroves, together with the other two U.S. mangrove species—black mangroves and white mangroves, form islands and vast coastal forests. Mangroves provide a buffer against storm surge, support marine life and absorb significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. Mangroves are protected in Collier County.
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