Avicennia germinans

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Lamiales

Familia: Acanthaceae
Subfamilia: Avicennioideae
Genus: Avicennia
Species: Avicennia germinans
Name

Avicennia germinans (L.) L., 1764
Synonyms

Avicennia africana Beauv.
Avicennia elliptica Thunb.
Avicennia floridana Raf.
Avicennia germinans (L.) Stearn
Avicennia germinans f. aberrans Mold.
Avicennia germinans f. brasiliensis H.N.Mold.
Avicennia germinans var. cumanensis (Kunth) Mold.
Avicennia germinans var. guayaquilensis (Kunth) Mold.
Avicennia germinans f. venezuelensis H.N.Mold.
Avicennia lamarckiana Presl
Avicennia meyeri Miq.
Avicennia nitida Jacquin
Avicennia oblongifolia Nutt. ex Chapm.
Avicennia officinalis var. lanceolata Kuntze
Avicennia officinalis var. nitida Kuntze
Avicennia tomentosa Jacquin
Avicennia tomentosa var. cumanensis Kunth
Avicennia tomentosa var. guayaquilensis Kunth
Bontia germinans L.
Hilairanthus nitidus (Jacq.) Van Tiegh.
Hilairanthus tomentosus (Jacq.) Van Tiegh.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Northern America
USA (Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas), Bermuda, Mexico (Baja California Norte, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacan, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Yucatan)
Continental: Southern America
Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Bahamas (Abaco, Andros, Cat, Crooked, Drunkenmans, Easter, Exuma, Fortune, Frozen, Grand Bahama, Great Abaco, Great Exuma, Great Guana, Great Harbour, Gun, Hummingbird, Inagua, Long, Mariguana, New Providence, North Bimini, Salt, Ship Channel, South Bimini, South East, Tonay, Wells), Turks and Caicos Isl., Cuba, Isla de Pinos, Cayman Isl. (Grand Cayman, Little Cayman), Jamaica, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic, Haiti), Puerto Rico (incl. Culebra Isl., Ratones Isl., Vieques Isl.), Virgin Isl. (Buck, Jost Van Dyke, St. Croix, St. Thomas, Tortola, Virgin Gorda), Tobago, Trinidad, Bonaire, Curacao, Colombia (Antioquia, Atlntico, Bolvar, Choc, La Guajira, Magdalena, Nario, San Andrs, Providencia y Santa Catalina, Sucre, Valle), Venezuela (Anzoategui, Aragua, Delta Amacuro, Dependencias Federales, Distrito Federal, Falcon, Miranda, Monagas, Nueva Esparta, Sucre, Yaracuy, Zulia), Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana, Ecuador (El Oro, Guayas, Manabi), Galapagos (Santa Cruz), Lesser Antilles (Anguilla, St. Martin, St. Barts, Barbuda, Antigua, St. Kitts, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Vincent, Grenadines, Grenada), N-Brazil (Amapa, Para), NE-Brazil (Maranhao, Ceara, Bahia), SE-Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), S-Brazil (Parana)
Continental: Africa
Mauritania, Mali, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Bioko Isl. (Fernando Poo), Sao Tome, Gabon, Congo (Brazzaville), D.R.Congo (Zaire), Angola

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References

Linnaeus, C., Species Plantarum, ed. 3 2: 891. 1764.

Links

Hassler, M. 2018. Avicennia germinans. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2018. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Jun. 25. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Avicennia germinans. Published online. Accessed: Jun. 25 2018.
The Plant List 2013. Avicennia germinans in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Jun. 25.
Tropicos.org 2018. Avicennia germinans. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Jun. 25.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Avicennia germinans in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 09-Oct-10.

Vernacular names
English: Black Mangrove, Limewood
português: sereíba, saraíba, siriúva, siriúba, mangue-branco

Avicennia germinans, the black mangrove,[2] is a shrub or small tree growing up to 12 meters (39 feet) in the acanthus family, Acanthaceae. It grows in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, on both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, and on the Atlantic Coast of tropical Africa, where it thrives on the sandy and muddy shores where seawater reaches. It is common throughout coastal areas of Texas and Florida, and ranges as far north as southern Louisiana and coastal Georgia in the United States.

Like many other mangrove species, it reproduces by vivipary. Seeds are encased in a fruit, which reveals the germinated seedling when it falls into the water.

Unlike other mangrove species, it does not grow on prop roots, but possesses pneumatophores that allow its roots to breathe even when submerged. It is a hardy species and expels absorbed salt mainly from its leathery leaves.

The name "black mangrove" refers to the color of the trunk and heartwood. The leaves often appear whitish from the salt excreted at night and on cloudy days. It is often found in its native range with the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) and the white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa). White mangroves grow inland from black mangroves, which themselves grow inland from red mangroves. The three species work together to stabilize the shoreline, provide buffers from storm surges, trap debris and detritus brought in by tides, and provide feeding, breeding, and nursery grounds for a great variety of fish, shellfish, birds, and other wildlife.

Habitat
A black mangrove tree growing in shallow water in Everglades National Park
Black mangrove flowers

The black mangrove grows just above the high tide in coastal lagoons and brackish-water estuaries. It is less tolerant of highly saline conditions than certain other species that occur in mangrove ecosystems.[3] It can reach 10–15 m (33–49 ft) in height, although it is a small shrub in cooler regions of its range. The seeds germinate in midsummer, but may be seen all year on the trees. The seeds can remain viable for over a year once released.
Wood

The heartwood is dark-brown to black, while the sapwood is yellow-brown. It has the unusual property of having less dense heartwood than sapwood. The sapwood sinks in water while the heartwood floats. The wood is strong, heavy, and hard, but is difficult to work due to its interlocked grain, and is somewhat difficult to finish due to its oily texture. Uses include posts, pilings, charcoal, and fuel. Despite growing in a marine environment, the dry wood is subject to attack by marine borers and termites. Like many species, it contains tannins in the bark and has been used to tan leather products.
References

"Avicennia germinans". Retrieved 2019-05-10.
Madrid, Eric N.; Armitage, Anna R.; López-Portillo, Jorge (2014). "Avicennia germinans (black mangrove) vessel architecture is linked to chilling and salinity tolerance in the Gulf of Mexico". Frontiers in Plant Science. 5: 503. doi:10.3389/fpls.2014.00503. PMC 4176030. PMID 25309570.

World Wildlife Fund. 2010. Petenes mangroves. eds. Mark McGinley, C.Michael Hogan & C. Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC

Further reading
Haehle, Robert (1999). Native Florida Plants. Houston: Gulf Publishing Company. ISBN 0-88415-425-4.
McKee, Karen L.; Mendelssohn, Irving A.; Hester, Mark W. (1988). "Reexamination of pore water sulfide concentrations and redox potentials near the aerial roots of Rhizophora mangle and Avicennia germinans". American Journal of Botany. 75 (9): 1352–9. doi:10.1002/j.1537-2197.1988.tb14196.x. JSTOR 2444458.