Red Mangroves at Matanzas Pass Field Trip

This is new info to me. I didn't know about this until Gabby from class told me a story about her friends and her licking salt out of mangrove leaves. She said it "taste good" and asked me to try it. I tried it and it was good. So I wanted to know more info about it and did a little research on it. Here is what I found interesting.
The roots of the red mangrove are able to obtain water from the ocean by pumping magnesium ions into the root.  These positive ions force other positive ions, such as sodium, out of the root.  The high concentration of magnesium in the root creates a high osmotic potential, and this in turn attracts water in from the surrounding seawater. The net effect is to set up "reverse osmosis" or to exclude salt from the root.  Oxygen to support the cells moving all those magnesium ions is provided through air channels in the roots.