Abstract: The aboveground root apices of 15 species of the mangrove plants have been observed. The species belong to 9 genera and 6 families, which are distributed in the intertidal region along tropical to subtropical coast in Hainan and Guangdong provinces. The histology of the prop root apices (aerial) of 4 genera of the Rhizophoraceae was characterized markedly by columnar meristematic area, columella and suberized sheath of root cap. The prop root apices (aerial) of Acanthus and Avicennia as well as pneumatophore apices of Avicennia and Sonneratia possessed short columella and thin suberized sheath, or showed growth layer in the phellem of root cap. Most of the mangrove plants started procambial activity very early. Under the epidermis exodermis usually and in the subepidermal layer periderm was developed. All these have shown the selectivity of environment and adaptive convergence in mangrove.

Key words: Mangrove, Aboveground root apex, Development, Structure, Adaptive convergence