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Bahamian Dry Forests
The Bahamian dry forests are a tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, covering an area of . They are found on much of the northern Bahamas, including Andros, Abaco, and Grand Bahama, where they are known as coppices. Dry forests are distributed evenly throughout the Turks and Caicos. Whiteland coppice Whiteland coppices are shrubby forests that occur near the ocean. Vegetation occurring in whiteland coppice is able to withstand salt spray and rocky, calcareous soil. Trees that grow in whiteland coppices include cinnecord ('' Acacia choriophylla''), brasiletto (''Caesalpinia vesicaria''), haulback tree (''Mimosa bahamensis''), autograph tree (''Clusia rosea''), manchineel tree (''Hippomane mancinella''), West Indian mahogany (''Swietenia mahagoni''), sea grape (''Coccoloba uvifera''), gumbo-limbo ('' Bursera simaruba''), cabbage palmetto (''Sabal palmetto''), and poisonwood ('' Metopium toxiferum''). The unde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neotropical Realm
The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeography, the Neotropic or Neotropical realm is one of the eight terrestrial realms. This realm includes South America, Central America, the Caribbean islands, and southern North America. In Mexico, the Yucatán Peninsula and southern lowlands, and most of the east and west coastlines, including the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula are Neotropical. In the United States southern Florida and coastal Central Florida are considered Neotropical. The realm also includes temperate southern South America. In contrast, the Neotropical Floristic Kingdom excludes southernmost South America, which instead is placed in the Antarctic kingdom. The Neotropic is delimited by similarities in fauna or flora. Its fauna and flora are distinct f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caesalpinia Vesicaria
''Caesalpinia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. Historically, membership within the genus has been highly variable, with different publications including anywhere from 70 to 165 species, depending largely on the inclusion or exclusion of species alternately listed under genera such as ''Hoffmannseggia''. It contains tropical or subtropical woody plants. The generic name honours the botanist, physician, and philosopher Andrea Cesalpino (1519–1603). The name Caesalpinaceae at family level, or Caesalpinioideae at the level of subfamily, is based on this generic name. Species * '' Caesalpinia acapulcensis'' Standl. * ''Caesalpinia anacantha'' Urb. * '' Caesalpinia bahamensis'' Lam. * ''Caesalpinia barahonensis'' Urb. * ''Caesalpinia brasiliensis'' L. * '' Caesalpinia cassioides'' Willd. 1809 *'' Caesalpinia erianthera'' Chiov. * ''Caesalpinia monensis'' Britton—black nicker * ''Caesalpinia nipensis'' Urb. * '' Caes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opuntia Stricta
''Opuntia stricta'' is a species of large cactus that is endemic to the subtropical and tropical coastal areas of the Americas, especially around the Caribbean. Common names include erect prickly pear and nopal estricto (Spanish). The first description as ''Cactus strictus'' was published in 1803 by Adrian Hardy Haworth. In 1812 he moved the species to the genus ''Opuntia''. Description It is a shrubby, erect plant, extending lengthwise to somewhat upright and reach heights of growth up to in height, producing lemon yellow flowers in the spring and summer, followed by purplish-red fruits. It is quick to colonize hot, open environments with sandy soils. The bald, flattened, ovate to inverted egg-shaped, tapered at the base shoot sections are blue-green. They are long and inches wide. The brownish areoles are far apart leaving most of the epidermis, with often one or more yellowish spines, at least near the edges and towards the apex. They carry striking, yellow glochids tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cactus
A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek word (''káktos''), a name originally used by Theophrastus for a spiny plant whose identity is now not certain. Cacti occur in a wide range of shapes and sizes. Although some species live in quite humid environments, most cacti live in habitats subject to at least some drought. Many live in extremely dry environments, even being found in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth. Because of this, cacti show many adaptations to conserve water. For example, almost all cacti are succulents, meaning they have thickened, fleshy parts adapted to store water. Unlike many other succulents, the stem is the only part of most cacti where this vital process takes place. Most species of cacti have lost true leaves, retaining only spine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colubrina Arborescens
''Colubrina'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names include nakedwood, snakewood, greenheart and hogplum. The generic name is derived from the Latin word ''coluber'', meaning "snake", and refers to the snake-like stems or stamens. The species are shrubs and small trees growing tall, with simple ovate leaves. The flowers are small, greenish-white or yellowish; the fruit is a capsule containing three seeds. The genus is at least in part a wastebasket taxon, and revision will likely result in the renaming of a number of species to different genera. ''Colubrina asiatica'', native to tropical Asia, eastern Africa and northern Australia, has become an invasive species in Florida. Selected species *''Colubrina angustior'' ( M.C.Johnst.) G.L.Nesom (eastern Mexico) *'' Colubrina arborescens'' ( Mil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colubrina
''Colubrina'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names include nakedwood, snakewood, greenheart and hogplum. The generic name is derived from the Latin word ''coluber'', meaning "snake", and refers to the snake-like stems or stamens. The species are shrubs and small trees growing tall, with simple ovate leaves. The flowers are small, greenish-white or yellowish; the fruit is a capsule containing three seeds. The genus is at least in part a wastebasket taxon, and revision will likely result in the renaming of a number of species to different genera. ''Colubrina asiatica'', native to tropical Asia, eastern Africa and northern Australia, has become an invasive species in Florida. Selected species *''Colubrina angustior'' ( M.C.Johnst.) G.L.Nesom (eastern Mexico) *'' Colubrina arborescens'' ( Mil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metopium Toxiferum
''Metopium toxiferum'', the poisonwood, Florida poisontree, or hog gum, is a species of flowering tree in the cashew or sumac family, Anacardiaceae, that is native to the American Neotropics. It produces the irritant urushiol much like its close relatives poison sumac and poison oak. It is related to black poisonwood (''Metopium brownei''). Distribution and habitat This tree grows abundantly in the Florida Keys and can also be found in various ecosystems in southern Florida. Its range extends from Florida and The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ... south through the Caribbean. References External linksPoisonwood (Metopium toxiferum) Anacardiaceae Trees of the Southeastern United States Trees of the Caribbean Plants described in 1896 Poisonous pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sabal Palmetto
''Sabal palmetto'' (, '' SAY-bəl''), also known as cabbage palm, cabbage palmetto, sabal palm, blue palmetto, Carolina palmetto, common palmetto, Garfield's tree, and swamp cabbage, is one of 15 species of palmetto palm. It is native to the Southern United States and the West Indies. Description ''Sabal palmetto'' grows up to tall. Starting at half to two-thirds the height, the tree develops into a rounded, costapalmate fan of numerous leaflets. A costapalmate leaf has a definite costa (midrib) unlike the typical palmate or fan leaf, but the leaflets are arranged radially like in a palmate leaf. All costapalmate leaves are about across, produced in large compound panicles up to in radius, extending out beyond the leaves. The fruit is a black drupe about long containing a single seed. It is extremely salt-tolerant and is often seen growing near both the Atlantic Ocean coast and the Gulf of Mexico coast. Sabal palmetto00.jpg, ''Sabal palmetto'' from Carl Friedrich Philipp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bursera Simaruba
''Bursera simaruba'', commonly known as gumbo-limbo, copperwood, chaca, West Indian birch, naked Indian, and turpentine tree, is a tree species in the family Burseraceae, native to the Neotropics, from South Florida to Mexico and the Caribbean to Brazil, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. ''Bursera simaruba'' is prevalent in the Petenes mangroves ecoregion of the Yucatán, where it is a subdominant plant species to mangroves. Specimens may be found along the western coast of Florida. Description ''Bursera simaruba'' is a small to medium-sized tree growing to 30 meters tall, with a diameter of one meter or less at 1.5 meters above ground.Foster (2007) The bark is shiny dark red, and the leaves are spirally arranged and pinnate with 7-11 leaflets, each leaflet broad ovate, 4–10 cm long and 2–5 cm broad. Gumbo-limbo is semi-evergreen. The gumbo-limbo is referred to, humorously, as the tourist tree because the tree's bark is red and peeling, like the skin of the sunburnt tou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coccoloba Uvifera
''Coccoloba uvifera'' is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae, that is native to coastal beaches throughout tropical America and the Caribbean, including southern Florida, the Bahamas, the Greater and Lesser Antilles, and Bermuda. Common names include seagrape and baygrape. Fruit In late summer, it bears green fruit, about diameter, in large, grape-like clusters. The fruit gradually ripens to a purplish color. Each contains a large pit that constitutes most of the volume of the fruit. Cultivation and propagation Although it is capable of surviving down to about 2 °C (35.6 °F), the tree cannot survive frost. The leaves turn reddish before withering. The seeds of this plant, once gathered, must be planted immediately, for unlike most plants, the seeds cannot withstand being stored for future planting. ''C. uvifera'' is wind-resistant, moderately tolerant of shade, and highly tolerant of salt, so it is often planted to stabilize beach ed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swietenia Mahagoni
''Swietenia mahagoni'', commonly known as American mahogany, Cuban mahogany, small-leaved mahogany, and West Indian mahogany, is a species of ''Swietenia'' native to South Florida in the United States and islands in the Caribbean including the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola. It is the species from which the original mahogany wood was produced. Mahogany is grown as a plantation tree and sold in timber markets in Kerala, India. ''Swietenia mahagoni'' is listed as "Threatened" in the Preservation of Native Flora of Florida Act. It is the national tree of the Dominican Republic. Discovery and uses The earliest recorded use of ''S. mahagoni'' was in 1514. This date year was carved into a rough-hewn cross placed in the Basilica Cathedral of Santa María la Menor in Santo Domingo (now the capital of the Dominican Republic), at the beginning of the building's construction. Completed about 1540, it is the oldest church in the West Indies, and its interior was ornamented with ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manchineel Tree
The manchineel tree (''Hippomane mancinella'') is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). Its native range stretches from tropical southern North America to northern South America. The name "manchineel" (sometimes spelled "''manchioneel''" or "''manchineal''"), as well as the specific epithet ''mancinella'', are from Spanish manzanilla ("little apple"), from the superficial resemblance of its fruit and leaves to those of an apple tree. It is also called beach apple. A present-day Spanish name is ', "little apple of death". This refers to the fact that manchineel is one of the most toxic trees in the world: the tree has milky-white sap which contains numerous toxins and can cause blistering. The sap is present in every part of the tree bark, leaves, and fruit.Dean, Signe (4 January 2016"The horrifying experience a radiologist had after eating fruit from the 'tree of death'" ''Business Insider'' Description ''Hippomane mancinella'' grows up to tall. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
