Page 16 - Tropical glasshouses
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18 Mangrove
Rhizophora mucronata
Many di erent plant species have adapted to life in the mangrove biotope: instead of having one single central stem they have many prop roots. They grow on the border of ebb and ood tide in tropical
regions, where the tide means that the ground is salty. The mangrove is important for biodiversity; it often functions as a nursery for sh and birds, thanks to the shelter it provides.
19 arabian jasmine Jasminum sambac
The owers from this plant are used to create the avouring for jasmine tea, and for perfumes. The strongly scented white owers grow in dense groups, and just a few open at one time. The Arabian Jasmine probably comes from India, but these days
it is cultivated all over the tropical region. The species was given its name because Arabian merchants brought the fragrant owers to Europe way back in the Middle Ages.
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