Leaf anatomy
The rather dull uninspiring and unchanging aspect of
mangal is largely due to the uniform leaf shape and
texture of the mangroves, coupled with their evergreen
habit (Tomlinson 1986). Mangrove leaves are in
general leathery, with obscure leaf vein, the cuticle
is thick and smooth giving the plant a glossy appearance. The uniformity of the leaf morphology is
matched by features common to most mangroves.
The same is true for naturally adapted salt tolerant
grasses. For example, the anatomy of Myrostachya
wightiana (family Poaceae), a perennial grass growing
along the muddy creeks and canals in the eastern
Sundarban showed a range of anatomical features
common to Porteresia coarctata of the same family
but most abundant along the mangrove swamps of
Western Sundarban (Rasid and Ahmed 2011). In spite