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Floating Propagules

underwater photo of floating mangrove propagules
(Brian Gratwicke, Flickr)

After mangrove flowers are pollinated the plants produce seeds that immediately begin to germinate into seedlings. The little seedlings, called propagules, then fall off the tree, and can be swept away by the ocean current. Depending upon the species, propagules will float for a number of days before becoming waterlogged and sinking to the muddy bottom, where they lodge in the soil. 

Tags: Mangroves