This photo was taken while walking along the raised trail at the Anne Kolb Nature Center in Hollywood, Florida. On the left you can see the lookout at the end of the trail. On the right you see a small group of mangroves. Mangroves are salt-tolerant trees that grow in salty or brackish water along the coast. They can tolerate hot, muddy, salty conditions that would quickly kill most other plants due to a salt filtration system that is part of their root system. Their exposed roots grow down from the branches of the trees and provide support for the tree. Mangroves frequently grow and spread until they form dense thickets that became shelter and home to many birds, reptiles, fish, and other animals seeking shelter from predators.
