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Bois Mang Tree, Dominica, 1996

A bois mang tree grows along the banks of the Indian River. With a life span of 150 years, these 100-foot- (30-meter-) tall trees are supported by sinewy, buttressed roots that wind in and amongst themselves. The roots don't just support the riverbank, they are the riverbank, making the ground beyond look like a wall-to-wall carpet of wooden eels.

(Text adapted from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Dominica: The Caribbean's 'Nature Island'," June 1997, National Geographic magazine)

Photograph by Michael Melford