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Grey mangrove
तिवर (tivar)
A mangrove of the creeks, low and grey-green, standing on mud among thousands of pencil-thin breathing roots.
👀 How to recognise it
At low tide the mud around each tree bristles with vertical roots a hand's length high. Leaves are grey-white underneath and often crusted with salt.
Where to see it
Goa
The Salim Ali sanctuary on Chorao was once paddy land behind earthen bunds; when the tides broke them and farming stopped, mangroves took over the fields, and grey mangrove is now the dominant species there, especially in the upper tidal zone.
Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary (Chorao) · Campal Gardens & the Riverfront (often)
Mumbai
Mumbai's mangroves are protected as forest by court order, and they are the reason the flamingo flocks have shallow, food-rich mud to feed on at all. The city's wetland and its best-known wildlife spectacle are the same system. This is the mangrove that builds Mumbai's creeks.
Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary · Malabar Hill Elevated Nature Trail (in season)