Rhizophora mucronata is a type of mangrove that can grow up to 27 m tall. This mangrove generally has a trunk diameter of 70 cm, a dark trunk color tending toward black with horizontal fissures. R. mucronata is classified as a mangrove that has stilt roots, where aerial roots grow from the lower branches. Mangrove roots have adaptive forms to survive by producing roots that emerge from the soil for air intake. The trunk color of R. mucronata is dark, tending toward blackish. The trunk height can reach 27 m, standing upright, not twining and not grooved. This mangrove trunk grows in the outermost zone with the help of its stilt roots to withstand sea waves.
The leaves of this mangrove are broadly elliptic to elongate toward the seed base, with leaf vein tips tapering, measuring 11-23 x 6-13 cm. This mangrove leaf arrangement is single and opposite. The petiole is on the lower side of the midrib with the seed lobe tip resembling a green stalk with a length of 3-4.5 cm. The leaves are bright green and thick, 16 cm long for the oval shape and 9 cm wide. The upper leaf surface is green while the lower surface is green with black spots. The base of this mangrove is tapering, while the leaf tip is also tapering, with pinnate venation and no gap between the petiole and leaf bud.
Rhizophora mucronata has bisexual flowers, each located on algae. The flowers grow in the leaf axils with a length of 2.5-5 cm and calyx tube length of 1.5 cm. The petal leaves have long-hairy edges, some of which attach to the stamens, while the anther heads are quite numerous. The flower color of R. mucronata mangrove is yellow surrounded by sepals colored yellowish-brown to even reddish. Pollination of this mangrove flower is assisted by insects and wind, which generally occurs from April to October. The fruit resulting from pollination or the hypocotyl is green with a length of about 36-70 cm and has a diameter of 2 cm. The fruit bud is half submerged with a free tip, with a short white stalk. The seed lobes unite to form a body or fleshy part with a stalk-shaped tip up to 2 cm. The fruit remains attached even when half-fallen, with a hypocotyl length range of 40-60 cm. This mangrove fruit has a single seed and the cotyledon neck is yellow when ripe.
The classification of mangrove Rhizophora mucronata is:
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Myrtales
Family: Rhizophoraceae
Genus: Rhizophora
Species: Rhizophora mucronata
Note: "Divisi" = Division, "Kelas" = Class, "Ordo" = Order, "Famili" = Family. I also corrected the spelling to Rhizophora and Rhizophoraceae to match the scientific standard.
Rhizophora mucronata is one type of mangrove belonging to the Rhizophoraceae family. It is generally found in intertidal sea areas that have hard and sandy substrate characteristics. This mangrove species can grow optimally in substrate areas inundated during normal high tide. R. mucronata is not suitable for hard and sandy substrates, but prefers waters that receive a strong and continuous influence of freshwater. The dominance level of this mangrove can reach 90% of the vegetation growing in a location.
Factors affecting mangrove growth include tides, waves, physiography, topography, climate, dissolved oxygen, salinity, soil and nutrients. Mangroves react differently to variations in the physical environment, so vegetation zones and zones in each area have different patterns as well, depending on physiographic conditions and tidal dynamics, and soil elements. Mangroves that grow farther toward the ocean have higher inundation conditions and higher salinity as well, which certainly affects their distribution. The Rhizophora zone is located behind the Avicennia zone (close to the sea), with soft muddy sediment characteristics.
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