Rhizophora mangle L

Abstract

The genus Rhizophora comprises six to eight species and three or four hybrids (Duke 1992, Tomlinson 1986). All members of this pantropical genus are considered true mangroves and are limited in distribution to the intertidal zone. The native range of R. mangle includes the coast of central and southern Florida, Bermuda and most of the West Indies, both coasts of continental tropical America from Mexico south to Brazil and northern Peru, and the coast of West Africa from Senegal to Angola (Chapman 1976, Little and Wadsworth 1964). Rhizophora mangle has also been introduced in several other locations, including Hawaii (Allen 1998) and Tahiti. Rhizophora mangle may also be native to western Pacific Islands from New Caledonia to American Samoa, but the taxonomic status of these populations is not completely clear and they have been treated both as a variety of R. mangle and as a separate species, Rhizophora samoensis (Tomlinson 1986).

Citation

Allen, James A. 2002. Rhizophora mangle L. In: Vozzo, J., ed. Tropical Tree Seed Manual: Part II, Species Descriptions. Agric. Handb. 712. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture: 690-692.