mangrove Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun a tropical tree or shrub bearing fruit that germinates while still on the tree and having numerous prop roots that eventually form an impenetrable mass and are important in land building
Rhizophora mangle.

Malay manggi-manggi.

(Bot.) The name of one or two trees of the genus Rhizophora (R. Mangle, and R. mucronata, the last doubtfully distinct) inhabiting muddy shores of tropical regions, where they spread by emitting aërial roots, which fasten in the saline mire and eventually become new stems. The seeds also send down a strong root while yet attached to the parent plant. ✍ The fruit has a ruddy brown shell, and a delicate white pulp which is sweet and eatable. The bark is astringent, and is used for tanning leather. The black and the white mangrove (Avicennia nitida and A. tomentosa) have much the same habit.
(Zoöl.) The mango fish.