Mangrove 101

One of the most interesting plants in the Bahama chain is the mangrove, which we knew very little about. There are three different mangrove plants which grow in succession, holding the soil in place and creating new land.

The red mangrove grows closest to the water's edge. The red roots bow out and anchor themselves firmly in the unstable ground (which, they say, are a good thing to tie off to in a hurricane) and they commence to gathering silt and building up land. This sedimentation, then, makes it possible for the next group, the black mangroves, to come in and dwell in the mud. They, then, put out a root system which sticks straight up, catching still more silt, transforming the mud into hard ground. This makes way for the grey mangrove, or buttonwood tree, which grows to 15 to 25 feet and is highly prized as driftwood.

The plants really don't like the salt, and certain leaves will be designated (by whom I don't know) as sacrificial leaves. They will absorb the salt for the entire plant, turn yellow, and fall off, allowing the plant to survive the harsh conditions. And, now you know as much or more than we do about mangroves.

While anchored at Shroud Cay, we took the dhingy and toured the mangrove swamp for a couple of hours. A couple we met at dinner at Norman's Cay the other night said to pay particular attention to where you are going, because it was easy for them to get lost in the swamp. We wound our way through the swamp, along with a couple of young sharks, and came upon two women from Canada who were spending their vacation kayaking in the area. They had brought two kayaks and their gear on the plane from Canada to Nassau and chartered a small plane to bring them and their stuff out here (using Carlos' old airstrip). Had to admire them for going to all that trouble.