ALONG THE MANGROVE SHORE 273 



that it suggests the body of an immense serpent. 

 If any living part of the trunk comes in contact 

 with the soil it throws out roots and forms a new 

 attachment with the ground and at such places 

 fresh shoots come up. If two trees grow side by 

 side, one will likely crawl over the other and they 

 become locked in a death struggle. They always 

 suggest colossal serpents or saurians. Occa- 

 sionally some living part becomes detached and 

 forms a separate tree; or a limb will be seen which 

 is dead at the ground or at its junction with the 

 main stem but alive a little above; it will even- 

 tually fall over and become a separate plant. I 

 have traced a crooked trunk for sixty feet along 

 the mud to find it turn and grow in a half erect 

 position for twenty-five feet more. Towards the 

 base, if it can be said to have one, parts or strands 

 of the trunk lie dead and scattered on the ground, 

 while others which are alive and growing will 

 possibly, in time, form trees. Finally in the 

 "wake" of the tree there will be a wagonload of 

 dead and decaying fragments, some pieces being 

 free, while others are attached to the ground by 

 old roots. The entire plant seems to obey no law 

 in its strange grotesque growth. There are a num- 



