Blue Trail Continued

At this point, you are well into the coastal habitat and can see mangroves on both sides of the trail. There are three types of mangroves in Florida; the red mangrove, black mangrove, and white mangrove. Mangroves are salt-tolerant trees that grove along the shores of the Indian River Lagoon. The mangroves around you now are white mangroves. White mangroves grow the furthest from water in drier soils. As you move closer to the lagoon look for the other two types of mangroves. Black mangroves will be the next species you see. This tree is identified by the small snorkel roots that are sticking straight out of the ground like little fingers. Red mangroves live the closest to the water and are identified by large prop and drop roots and come off the trunk of the tree, this makes it appear to have many trunks.