what a tropical mangrove forest looks 

 like. The National Park Service, in an 

 attempt to accommodate this last wish, 

 maintains extensive boardwalks and canoe 

 trails through the mangrove forests near 

 Flamingo, Florida. In other, more 

 developed parts of the State, small stands 

 of mangroves or mangrove islands provide a 

 feeling of wilderness in proximity to the 

 rapidly burgeoning urban areas. A variety 

 of tourist attractions including Fairchild 

 Tropical Gardens near Miami and Tiki 

 Gardens near St. Petersburg utilizes the 

 exotic appearance of mangroves as a key 

 ingredient in an attractive landscape. 

 Clearly, mangroves contribute intangibly 

 by diversifying the appearance of south 

 Florida. 



11.6 ECONOMIC PRODUCTS 



Elsewhere in the world, mangrove 

 forests serve as a renewable resource for 

 many valuable products. For a full dis- 

 cussion of the potential uses of mangrove 

 products, see de la Cruz (in press a), 

 Morton (1965) for red mangrove products, 

 and Moldenke (1967) for black mangrove 

 products. 



In many countries the bark of man- 

 groves is used as a source of tannins and 

 dyes. Since the bark is 20% to 30% tannin 

 on a dry weight basis, it is an excellent 

 source (Hanlon et al. 1975). Silviculture 

 (forestry) of mangrove forests has been 

 practiced extensively in Africa, Puerto 

 Rico, and many parts of Southeast Asia 

 (Holdridge 1940; Noakes 1955; Macnae 1968; 

 Walsh 1974; Teas 1977). Mangrove wood 



makes a durable and water resistant timber 

 which has been used successfully for resi- 

 dential buildings, boats, pilings, 

 hogsheads, fence posts, and furniture 

 (Kuenzler 1974; Hanlon et al. 1975). In 

 Southeast Asia mangrove wood is widely 

 used for high quality charcoal. 



Morton (1965) mentions that red man- 

 grove fruits are somtimes eaten by humans 

 in Central America, but only by popula- 

 tions under duress and subject to starva- 

 tion. Mangrove leaves have variously been 

 used for teas, medicinal purposes, and 

 livestock feeds. Mangrove teas must be 

 drunk in small quantities and mixed with 

 milk because of the high tannin content 

 (Morton 1962); the milk binds the tannins 

 and makes the beverage more palatable. 



As a final note, we should point out 

 that mangrove trees are responsible for 

 contributing directly to one commercial 

 product in Florida. The flowers of black 

 mangroves are of considerable importance 

 to the three million dollar (1965 figures) 

 Florida honey industry (Morton 1964). 



Other than the honey industry, most 

 of these economic uses are somewhat 

 destructive. There are many cases in 

 which clear-cut mangrove forests have 

 failed to regenerate successfully for many 

 years because of lack of propagule 

 dispersal or increased soil salinities 

 (Teas 1979). We believe that the best use 

 of Florida mangrove swamps will continue 

 to be as preserved areas to support 

 wildlife, fishing, shoreline stabiliza- 

 tion, endangered species, and aesthetic 

 values. 



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