St Lucia estuarine system, located within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park covers an area of 239 566 ha. This area includes marine, coastal, wetland, estuarine and terrestrial environments. With this said, flora in the area is rich and diverse, with 734 genera and 2180 recorded plant species.

Indigenous trees found in the area include Dune Sweet Thorn, White-milkwood, Coast Strelitzia, Buffalo-thorn, Dune Myrtle, Bush Tick-berry, Dune Star-apple, Coast Red-milkwood, Cape-ash and Thorny-rope Flat-bean to name a few.

The area provides the ideal habitat for mangrove trees of which 6 species have been recorded. These are the White mangrove, Black mangrove, Red mangrove, Eastern mangrove, Kosi mangrove and Cannonball mangrove. The White, Black and Red mangroves are commonly found along the St Lucia Estuary. Mangrove ecosystems provide habitat for a variety of animals and are critical for animals who are dependent on them to complete their life cycles.