Types of Mangroves

The Rhizophora sp. has roots that branch from trunks like stilts. This helps to prop up the tree in the soft mud so that it will not topple with the ebbing and rising tide.
The Xylocarpus granatum is a tree that could reach to a height of 15 meters tall. The tree has a peeling, smooth bark, have white flowers and large pendulous woody fruit. Once ripe, the fruit will burst open to reveal several pyramid-shaped seeds, which are dispersed by water. The hardy wood is use for boat-building & furniture; bark for tanning and medicinally against dysentery, and roots and seeds in medicinal preparations.
The Avicennia alba is the most common Avicennia species found in the reserve. All Avicennia species have the ability to excrete excess salt from their leaves through special salt glands found in the leaf surface. The term alba and the common name in Malay Api Api Puteh refers to whitish under leaf surface.
The pencil-like roots of the Avicennia sp or pneumatophores branched upwards from the main horizontal roots that grow below the soil. These roots allow the absorption of atmospheric oxygen through specialized root cells known as lenticels. This adaptation is important, as the mud that the mangrove trees grow in is extremely low in oxygen.