The Bahamian dry forests are a tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in

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 ...

and the

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and n ...

, covering an area of . They are found on much of the northern Bahamas, including

Andros Andros ( el, Άνδρος, ) is the northernmost island of the Greek Cyclades archipelago, about southeast of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . It is for the most part mountainous, with many ...

, Abaco, and

Grand Bahama Grand Bahama is the northernmost of the islands of the Bahamas, with the town of West End located east of Palm Beach, Florida. It is the third largest island in the Bahamas island chain of approximately 700 islands and 2,400 cays. The island i ...

, 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 Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

spray and rocky,

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an ad ...

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debri ...

. Trees that grow in whiteland coppices include cinnecord ('' Acacia choriophylla''), brasiletto (''

Caesalpinia ''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 o ...

vesicaria''), haulback tree (''

Mimosa ''Mimosa'' is a genus of about 590 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word (''mimos''), an "actor" or "mime", and the feminine suffix -''osa'', "resemb ...

bahamensis''), autograph tree (''

Clusia rosea ''Clusia rosea'', the autograph tree, copey, cupey, balsam apple, pitch-apple, and Scotch attorney, is a tropical and sub-tropical flowering plant species in the family Clusiaceae. The name ''Clusia major'' is sometimes misapplied to this species ...

''),

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 spe ...

(''Hippomane mancinella''), West Indian mahogany (''

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 Ba ...

''), sea grape (''

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 Antille ...

''), gumbo-limbo ('' Bursera simaruba''), cabbage palmetto (''

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 So ...

''), and poisonwood ('' Metopium toxiferum''). The understory features snake bark (''

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 ...

arborescens'') as well as cacti such as erect prickly pear ('' Opuntia stricta''), Turk's cap cactus (''

Melocactus ''Melocactus'' (melon cactus), also known as the Turk's cap cactus, is a genus of cactus with about 30–40 species. They are native to the Caribbean, western Mexico through Central America to northern South America, with some species along the ...

intortus''), queen of the night (''

Selenicereus grandiflorus ''Selenicereus grandiflorus'' is a cactus species originating from the Antilles, Mexico and Central America. The species is commonly referred to as queen of the night, night-blooming cereus (though these two terms are also used for other spec ...

''), and robin tree cactus ('' Pilosocereus polygonus'').

Blackland coppice

Blackland coppice covers the interior of many of the islands, usually in elevated regions. For this reason some blackland coppice exists on hills entirely surrounded by

forests A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Caribbean pine The Caribbean pine (''Pinus caribaea'') is a hard pine species native to Central America and the northern West Indies (in Cuba, the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands). It belongs to subsection '' Australes'' in subgenus ''Pinus''. It ...

(''Pinus caribaea'' var. ''bahamensis''). Trees found within them include West Indian mahogany (''

''), wild tamarind ('' Lysiloma latisiliquum''), red cedar ('' Cedrela odorata''), false mastic ('' Sideroxylon foetidissimum''), horseflesh (''

Lysiloma ''Lysiloma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus is native to the Americas, and species range from Arizona and New Mexico through Mexico and Central America to Costa Rica, and in Florida, Cuba, Hispaniola, the Baham ...

sabicu''), pigeon plum (''

Coccoloba diversifolia ''Coccoloba diversifolia'', known as pigeonplum or tietongue, is a species of the genus '' Coccoloba'' native to coastal areas of the Caribbean, Central America (Belize, Guatemala), southern Mexico, southern Florida (coastal regions from Cape Ca ...

''), Jamaican dogwood ('' Piscidia piscipula''), gumbo-limbo ('' Bursera simaruba''), and lancewood (''

Nectandra ''Nectandra'' is a genus of plant in the family Lauraceae. They are primarily Neotropical, with '' Nectandra coriacea'' being the only species reaching the southernmost United States. They have fruit with various medical effects. Sweetwood is a c ...

coriacea''). Shaded by the

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an ...

, plants such as satin leaf ('' Chrysophyllum oliviforme''), Spanish stopper ('' Eugenia foetida''), Bahama wild coffee ('' Psychotria ligustrifolia''), Bahama strongbark (''

Bourreria ''Bourreria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as strongbark or strongback. The generic name was chosen by Patrick Browne to honour German pharmacist Johann Ambrosius Beu ...

succulenta''), night-scented orchid (''

Epidendrum nocturnum ''Epidendrum nocturnum'' (the "nocturnal epidendrum") is the type species of the genus ''Epidendrum'' of the Orchidaceae (Orchid family). The species occurs in Florida, Bahamas, West Indies, Belize, Central America to northern Brazil and the Guy ...

''), wormvine orchid (''

Vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...

barbellata''), and potbelly airplant ('' Tillandsia paucifolia'') grow in the

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abo ...

Rocky coppice

Rocky coppice occurs on

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficia ...

pings between

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

s and pineyards. These forests are often flooded at high

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

. They are dominated by spiny black olive (''

Bucida ''Bucida'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Indian almond family, Combretaceae. It contains the following species (but this list may be incomplete): * '' Bucida angustifolia'' * '' Bucida buceras'' L. - Bullet tree (southern Mexico, Centr ...

molinetii''), but ''

'' and '' Cedrela odorata'' also grow within them.

Fauna

Fauna that reside within Bahamian dry forests includes the Bahaman funnel-eared bat (''Natalus tumidifrons''), rock iguanas (''

Cyclura ''Cyclura'' is a genus of lizards in the family Iguanidae. Member species of this genus are commonly known as "cycluras" or more commonly as rock iguanas and only occur on islands in the West Indies. Rock iguanas have a high degree of endemism, ...

'' spp.), the Bahamian hutia (''Geocapromys ingrahami''), and the Cuban amazon (''Amazona leucocephala bahamensis'').

References

{{reflist Neotropical dry broadleaf forests Ecoregions of the Bahamas Ecoregions of the Caribbean * * Geography of the Bahamas Geography of the Turks and Caicos Islands

Whiteland coppice

Blackland coppice

Rocky coppice

Fauna

See also

References