mangrove
nounUK /ˈmæŋɡɹəʊ̯v/ · US /ˈmæŋɡɹoʊ̯v/
Etymology A modification of earlier mangrowe (obsolete) by the influence of grove (“small forest”) through folk etymology. Mangrowe is probably borrowed from Spanish mangle, mangue (whence English mangle) (probably from an Arawak language (such as Taíno), or a Cariban language) + an unknown word ending.
Any of various tropical and subtropical evergreen shrubs or trees chiefly of the Rhizophoraceae family that have aerial roots and grow in clumps in brackish intertidal coastal areas; (specifically) any of various trees of the genus Rhizophora, especially the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle).
- The channel by which we went to, and returned from Olinda, was bordered on each side by mangroves, which sprang like a miniature forest out of the greasy mud-banks. The bright green colour of these bushes always reminded me of the rank grass in a churchyard: both are nourished by putrid exhalations; the one speaks of death past, and the other too often of death to come.1839, Charles Darwin, chapter XXIII, in Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty’s Ships Adventure and Beagle, between the Years 1826 and 1836, […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 593:
- We called […] in and out of rivers, streams of death in life, whose banks were rotting into mud, whose waters, thickened into slime, invaded the contorted mangroves, that seemed to writhe at us in the extremity of an impotent despair.1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 204, column 1:
2 more examples
- The team that found the species living in a mangrove forest also included Thai wildlife YouTuber JoCho Sippawat, who is also an author on the paper published last week.2023 September 26, Hafsa Khalil, “Electric blue tarantula species discovered in Thailand”, in CNN:
- This lush forest, just a few miles from the Guatemalan border, teems with diverse wildlife – from crocodiles and crabs to fish darting through seemingly endless mangroves. […] The Barra de Santiago is bordered on one side by mangroves with the ocean on the other; the project will be the first to build houses on the mangrove side.2024 September 5, Camilo Freedman, “The vanishing mangroves of El Salvador: ‘All our efforts may only slow the destruction’”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 Mar 2025:
Broadly A forest of such shrubs or trees.
Broadly Preceded by a descriptive word: any of various shrubs or trees of genera other than Rhizophora which resemble plants of this genus in appearance and habitat.
Biology, Ecology, Natural sciences Also, Broadly Synonym of mangal (“a tropical and subtropical coastal intertidal swampland ecosystem characterized by mangroves (sense 1) or similar shrubs and trees”).
- There has been some investigation into the potential of seaweeds as a carbon store, and although more is needed, one study says that seaweed habitats are believed to be the most productive of all coastal vegetated ecosystems, and suggested that the world's seaweed sequesters as much carbon as all the planet’s seagrass meadows, saltmarshes and mangroves combined.2023 September 27, Vincent Doumeizel, “Opinion: Seaweed is Nutritious, Not Slimy. Eating It could Save the World.”, in CNN, archived from the original on 13 May 2025:
- Derived terms
- Central Mangrove, Lower Mangrove, mangrove black hawk, mangrove cascabel, Mangrove Cay, Mangrove Creek, mangrove cuckoo, mangrove fly, mangrove gerygone, mangrove golden whistler, mangrove hen, mangrove heron, mangrove jack, mangrove jezebel, mangroveless, Mangrove Mountain, mangrove oyster, mangrove palm, mangrove rail, mangrove robin, mangrove snake, mangrove snapper, Upper Mangrove
- Hyponyms
41 terms
American mangrove, apple mangrove, Asiatic mangrove, black mangrove), blind-your-eye mangrove, Burmese mangrove, button mangrove, cannonball mangrove, cedar mangrove, club mangrove, flat-leaved spurred mangrove, freshwater mangrove, gray mangrove, grey mangrove, holly-leaf mangrove, holly mangrove, looking-glass mangrove, loop-root mangrove, mangrove apple, mangroveberry, mangrove grape, mangrove-holly, mangrove-myrtle, mangrovevine, milky mangrove, native mangrove, olive mangrove, Oriental mangrove, red mangrove, river mangrove, rope mangrove, slender-fruit orange mangrove, small stilted mangrove, spurred mangrove, star mangrove, stilt-root mangrove, tea mangrove, tulip mangrove, white-flowered black mangrove, white mangrove, yamstick mangrove