Spotted mangrove (Rhizophora stylosa) propagule floating in the ocean

The seeds of many mangrove trees germinate on the parent tree, where they continue to grow into highly developed propagules. Once fully mature they drop from the trees and float along currents, enduring up to several months at sea in a semi-dormant state, before settling along coasts where they become seedlings. This dispersal mechanism allows Rhizophora mangroves to be distributed along all tropical and subtropical coastlines of the world.

This image is from an iNaturalist observation taken by yvesbas.