The mangroves of the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans are
more species-diverse than are those of the Atlantic. But they
don't look radically different from Atlantic mangrove stands, as
one can see from this image of the boardwalk through the mangrove
of the Mai Po Reserve in Hong Kong. Dark green, tough, waxy leaves
are the rule. The flowering tree on the left of the boardwalk is
Kandelia kandel, and the
shrub in front of the flowering tree is Acanthus ilicifolius (note
that A. ilicifolius has both scalloped and unscalloped
leaves). In the background along the right side of the boardwalk
are Aegiceras corniculatum and Avicennia marina.
Lilian Vrijmoed (City University of Hong Kong) was kind enough to
loan me her camera to snap these photos.