PlantsMap

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5 plants worth knowing

Bahamas

The Bahamas is an archipelago of several hundred low limestone islands and reefs, with a warm climate and poor, stony soils that hold little water. On the northern islands – Grand Bahama, Abaco, Andros and New Providence – open forests of Caribbean pine grow, while the other islands are dominated by dry evergreen scrub known as “coppice”, and the shallow coasts and lagoons are fringed by extensive mangroves.

Hover over a plant to see on the map where it grows.

where it grows

  1. Yellow elder 1

    shrub · National flower of the Bahamas

    Yellow elder

    Tecoma stans

    A shrub with golden trumpet flowers that won the vote for national flower because it grows wild on almost every island.
  2. Holywood lignum vitae 2

    tree · National tree of the Bahamas

    Holywood lignum vitae

    Guaiacum sanctum

    “Wood of life” – a slow-growing tree with blue-violet flowers and timber so heavy that it sinks in water.
  3. Bahamian pine 3

    tree

    Bahamian pine

    Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis

    The Bahamian variety of Caribbean pine forms open forests on limestone rock – and the Abaco parrot nests in burrows beneath them.
  4. Red mangrove 4

    tree

    Red mangrove

    Rhizophora mangle

    A tree on stilt roots that forms the vast mangroves of Andros – a nursery for fish and the scene of famous bonefishing.
  5. Cascarilla 5

    shrub

    Cascarilla

    Croton eluteria

    The aromatic bark of this shrub from the southern Bahamas flavours famous bitter liqueurs, Campari among them.