Mangroves: Nature's Best Tree?

Josh and Chuck fell in love with mangroves during a trip to coastal Mexico, where they were surrounded by these dense, gnarly trees growing right out of the water. What started as a visual fascination turned into a deep appreciation for what may be one of the most remarkable organisms on the planet. Mangroves aren't a single species or even a single family of tree—there are roughly 80 to 90 species, and they're not all genetically related. Biologists classify them by their ability to survive and even thrive in saltwater and in soil with almost no oxygen, two conditions that kill most other trees. As Josh put it, "It's maybe one of the best trees to have as your favorite tree because there are very few trees that are this amazing."

What Makes a Mangrove a Mangrove

Mangroves grow in a narrow band between land and sea, in salty or brackish water along subtropical coastlines. They cover only about 1% of the world's forests—roughly 85,000 square miles, about the size of Arkansas—but they exist in 118 countries. The largest mangrove forest on Earth is the Sundarbans at the mouth of the Ganges near the Bay of Bengal, which is also home to the Bengal tiger. In the United States, mangroves grow in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida, but not Georgia, despite its proximity to Florida.