140 



THE TROl'lCAL WORLD. 



have been found upwards of 140 feet in length, whilst the tree 

 itself was not thirty feet high. 



The roots of the Mangroves, which in the tropical zone are 

 found fringing the shores of the sea, or the mouths of rivers, 

 wherever the reflux of the tide exposes a broad belt of alluvial 

 soil, are admirably adapted for securing a footing on the un- 

 stable brink of the ocean. 



The growth of these salt-water-loving trees [Rhizophora 

 gymnovrJiiza^ R. Mangle) is equally peculiar and picturesque. 



JIAXGKOVK. 



The seeds germinate on the branches, and, increasing to a con- 

 siderable length, finally fall down into the mud, where they 

 stick, with their sharp point buried, and soon take root. 



As the young mangrove grows upwards, pendulous roots issue 

 from the trunk and low branches, and ultimately strike into the 

 muddy ground, where they increase to the thickness of a man's 

 leg; so that the whole has the appearance of a complicated series 

 of loops and arches, from five to ten feet high, supporting the 

 body of the tree like so many artificial stakes. 



