Just Starting Out, 2013, Jo-Ann Sanborn
acrylic on board, 5"x7"
This little red mangrove tree has nice root base to support it. The roots helps to stabilize the plant in an environment of moving water. Mangroves are very important to the south Florida environment.
Mangroves protect the shoreline from tropical storms and hurricanes, and provide critical habitat to a number of coastal species. Wading birds nest in their branches. Bromiliads, lichens, mosses, snails and crabs, and even snakes live in the greenery. Mangroves provide shelter and nesting sites for wading birds.
Below the water, in a mangrove is a forest of roots. The leaves fall and provide food for plankton, which is fed on by small fish. It has been estimated that 75% of Florida game fish and 90% of commercial species in south Florida depend on the mangroves for their survival.
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