(generally) are trees that grow in saline coastal habitats in
the tropics . The word is used in at least three senses: (1)
most broadly to refer to the habitat and entire plant assemblage
or mangal , for which the terms mangrove swamp and mangrove
forest are also used, (2) to refer to all trees and large shrubs
in the mangal, and (3) narrowly to refer to the mangrove family
of plants, the Rhizophoraceae , or even more specifically just
to mangrove trees of the genus Rhizophora . Mangals are found in
depositional coastal environments where fine sediments, often
with high organic content, collect in areas protected from high
energy wave action. A mangrove is a plant and mangal is a plant
community and habitat where mangroves thrive. They are found in
tropical and sub-tropical tidal areas, and as such have a high
degree of salinity. Areas where mangals occur include estuaries
and marine shorelines. Plants in mangals are diverse but all are
able to exploit their habitat (the intertidal zone) by
developing physiol