The flora of Montserrat consists of almost 1200

vascular The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away f ...

plants and a currently unknown number of

bryophyte The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited in s ...

s. The flora is consistent with neighboring islands of the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc bet ...

. There are three

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

species described, one of which is presumed extinct in the aftermath of the

volcanic eruption Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are oft ...

beginning in 1995. Montserrat has not been thoroughly botanized, and while the first checklist for the island was presented in Richard Howard's ''Flora of the Lesser Antilles'', Montserrat was neither a significant focus nor thoroughly surveyed. In recent years, there has been an increase in botanical activity in Montserrat, but the results of this research have yet to be published outside of a web-hosted database. For an island in an area known for its biodiversity, relatively few species have been collected. Additionally, most collections from the island were made before the current volcanic activity, necessitating further research. Since 2010, botanists from Kew Botanic Gardens and

Bard College at Simon's Rock Bard College at Simon's Rock (more commonly known as Simon's Rock) is a private residential liberal arts college in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It is a unit of Bard College, which is located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The school ...

have been adding to the collections made. __TOC__

Habitats

Due to its topographical variation, Montserrat is host to diverse ecological environments. The Eastern side of the island is dry and predominantly populated by plants in the genus Acacia, while the central and Western parts of the island, particularly the Centre Hills Nature Preserve, includes

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equa ...

s and cloud forests at high elevations.

Vascular plants

More than 1100 vascular plants have been recorded on Montserrat, most of which are

angiosperms Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants ...

. There are three described endemics: an epiphytic orchid (''Epidendrum montserratense''), a woody plant in the coffee family known by the common name "pribby" ('' Rondeletia buxifolia''), and a treelet in the willow family ('' Xylosma serrata''). ''X. serrata'' is possibly extinct, as it has not been observed since its habitat was buried in pyroclastic flow.

References

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