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Common Name: Guava
Common Name: Pendula
Description: This tree grows 10 metres high and
has smooth copper-colored bark, dark green leaves
and small white flowers. The fruit is yellow and
smells sweet.
Description: This hardwood tree usually grows
to about 9 metres in height. It is often the first tree
to appear on newly burnt land. It has small white
flowers.
Forest Function: Provides shade and food for
forest animals.
Forest Function: Provides shade and berries
provide food for wildlife.
Needs: The guava does well in either humid or
dry climates, but it will not tolerate much frost. It
can grow in all types of soil, from clay to sand.
Needs: The pendula does not tolerate shade. It
prefers to grow in open fields with no competition.
It doesn’t mind rocky or poor soil.
Human Uses: Guava fruit can be eaten raw,
cooked into a jelly or used to make fragrances. Its
wood is used for carpentry, fuel, and making a
good quality charcoal.
Human Uses: Pendula attracts honeybees. It
provides a hard wood that does not rot easily,
meaning it can be used for fence posts and other
construction.
Common Name: Coral vine
Common Name: Cobana negra
Description: This growing evergreen vine, climbs
up to 12 metres. It has heart-shaped leaves, edible
tuber roots, and small pink flowers.
Description: Cobana is an evergreen tree that
grows up to 50 feet in height. It produces small
yellow flowers that grow into red fruit that smell
like apples.
Forest Function: The coral vine is a great
climber and makes it easier for some animals to
climb trees.
Forest Function: Fruit-eating bats and other
animals like to eat its fruit.
Needs: The Coral vine likes to have full sunlight,
and warm temperatures. It likes its soil to be moist
and well-drained.
Needs: Cobana likes wetlands that are flooded
regularly. It grows well with salty soil, and is often
found along the coast.
Human Uses: Coral vine is used to cover walls
and fences and to block unsightly views. It is native
to Mexico where its tubers are eaten.
Human Uses: Cobana is harvested for its hard
wood and is often used to make fence posts for
local cattle farmers.
Common Name: Bilimbi
Common Name: Mango
Description: This tree lives for a very long time
and reaches 5-10 metres in height. It has a short
trunk and branches off into multiple trunks.
Forest Function: Provides shade and food for
animals.
Needs: Grows best in rich, well drained soil, but
will also grow on limestone and sand. It does not
grow well in wet or cold climates.
Human Uses: Its fruit can be eaten as a snack,
often dipped in rock salt, or cooked in curries. The
fruit can be preserved by pickling, or made into
juice. Paste from the leaves also helps with
itchiness and swelling.
Common Name: Rambutan
Description: Rambutan is a tropical evergreen
tree, which grows to a height of 10-20 metres. It
grows small reddish fruits which are covered with
hair-like spines.
Forest Function: The Rambutan attracts bees
and insects, which help with the pollination of all
surrounding trees and plants.
Needs: Grows in a tropical climate, and is very
sensitive to temperatures below 10 C. It prefers a
deep, rich soil, and likes to live on hilly ground to
get good drainage.
Human Uses: Rambutan trees are grown for
their fruit, which is well loved by people.
Description: Mango trees grow 35-40 metres in
height, and can live for a very long time. They can
grow to be over 300 years old, and still produce
fruit. Mangoes are eaten around the world.
Forest Function: Mangoes provide a lot of shade.
Their fruit is eaten by fruit bats and many other
forest animals.
Needs: Mangoes prefer warm climates, and do not
like frost.
Human Uses: Mangoes are one of the most
widely eaten tropical fruits, and are used for juice,
flavor and fragrance.
Common Name: Paradise Tree
Description: The Paradise Tree is fast growing
and can reach up to 12 metre. It produces little
yellow flowers and purple fleshy fruits.
Forest Function: The Paradise Tree has a good
root system that prevents soil erosion.
Needs: The Paradise Tree likes a warm climate
and has a high tolerance for saline (salty) soils.
Human Uses: The Paradise Tree’s bark, wood
and leaves have been used for many years to kill
bacteria and parasites. It also has many other
medicinal purposes. Its seeds can be used to make
edible oil.
Common Name: Yarey
Description: Yarey is a fan palm tree that grows
up to 4-5 metres tall. It produces small black fruit.
Forest Function: Provides shade for smaller
trees.
Needs: The Yarey needs regular water and lots of
sunlight. It can survive in cooler temperatures,
down to 22 degrees Celsius.
Human Uses: Yarey palm leaves are used as
thatch (to make roofs, for example)
Common Name: Hispaniolan Rosy Trumpet
Tree
Description: This tree has thick leaves and
beautiful rosy white trumpet-shaped flowers.
Forest Function: Provides shade and nectar for
insects and bees.
Needs: It likes a nice dry season, and well drained
soil.
Human Uses: This tree is a good hardwood, and
is used as timber for furniture, decking, and other
outdoor uses. It is very pest resistant. It is also a
good attractor for honeybees.
Common Name: Mammee
Description: This tree grows to the height of 1821 metres and has large dark green leaves. It has
fragrant white flowers, and its fruit is called a
Mammee apple, though it is really a berry.
Forest Function: The Mammee tree has a very
large top and provides excellent shade. Its fruit
feed forest critters.
Needs: The Mammee prefers deep, rich and welldrained soil, but will also grow on limestone or
coral keys.
Human Uses: The fruit is edible, and the leaves
and seeds contain natural insecticides, which can be
used to prevent and get rid of pests.
Common Name: Orchid-Tree
Description: The Orchid-Tree reaches 10 metres
in height, with pod-like fruit that can be 15-30
centimetres long. It has orchid-like flowers in
shades of purple, red, pink, yellow or white.
Forest Function: Provides shade.
Needs: The Orchid-Tree likes full sunlight, and
well-drained soil, and has a high drought tolerance.
Human Uses: It is mostly used as an ornamental
tree, and does not have many human uses.
Common Name: Poinciana or peacock flower
Common Name: Chinese hibiscus
Description: This fast growing shrub grows up to
3 metres tall, but has a short life span. It has
beautiful, red and yellow flowers.
Description: The hibiscus is an evergreen
flowering shrub that can reach up to 10 metres in
nature. It has large flowers, red in original varieties.
Forest Function: Provides good soil cover and
shade.
Forest Function: Turtles really like to eat
hibiscus flowers.
Needs: It likes acidic, well-drained soil, and likes
to be pruned.
Needs: The hibiscus likes well-drained soil and full
sunlight. It likes regular fertilizer and to be pruned.
Human Uses: Juice from its leaves is said to cure
a fever, juice from the flowers is said to cure sores,
and juice from its seeds to cure a bad cough,
breathing difficulty and chest pains.
Human Uses: The flowers are edible and are
often eaten in salads and as food decoration. In
India they are used to shine shoes.
Common Name: Laurel
Common Name: Jungle geranium
Description: This tree grows up to 40 metres
and has grayish white or brown bark.
Description: The jungle geranium is a thick
flowering shrub that can grow up to 4 metres. It
has big clumps of red flowers.
Forest Function: Provides good shade and
branches for birds to perch.
Needs: Grows quite well in all sorts of soil
conditions and sea levels in the wild, but is very
picky when grown in a plantation of just laurels.
Human Uses: Laurel is a high-valued hardwood
for timber, used for both indoor and outdoor
construction and carpentry.
Forest Function: It is a very bushy tree and is
good for small animals to hide in.
Needs: Prefers a warm, humid climate, and enjoys
a good pruning.
Human Uses: This tree is a great hedge tree and
is often used for decoration and dividing property.
Common Name: Peregrina
Common Name: Melochia
Description: Peregrina is a tree shrub that will
grow up to 4.5 metres tall and spread out to about
3 metres. It has small red flower clusters that
flower almost all year round.
Description: Melochia is a small tree or shrub
native to India that grows very quickly and has pink
or red flowers.
Forest Function: Attracts butterflies and
hummingbirds who help to pollinate other plants
and trees.
Needs: Grows in all kinds of soil, as long as it’s
well drained. It likes full sun and is drought
tolerant.
Human Uses: Peregrina is used as a hedge, but is
poisonous if ingested and has a milky sap that is a
skin irritant.
Forest Function: Melochia is very quick growing,
and is used for shade.
Needs: Melochia will grow in all kinds of
conditions.
Human Uses: Meolchia is cultivated in South
America as shade for coffee plants and tree
nurseries. It is also grown for reforestation, as it
grows very fast.
Common Name: Lantana
Common Name: Noni
Description: This shrub can reach 1 metre high. It
has small clustered flowers, usually pink, white or
yellow. It grows into a dense thicket that chokes
out most other plants and trees.
Description: This tree grows up to 10 metres
high, and has flowers and fruits all year round. Its
fruit is very smelly when ripening, and is sometimes
called vomit fruit.
Forest Function: Lantana is a big attractor for
butterflies.
Forest Function: A good shade tree. Its fruit
attracts fruit bats. Weaver ants nest in its leaves.
Needs: does well in full sun and dry soil
conditions.
Needs: Noni grows happily in shady forests or
sandy shores. It will grow just about anywhere
that’s warm.
Human Uses: Lantana is very poisonous, and can
be fatal. It can be chopped up and used in wheat
and rice fields to increase production.
Human Uses: Noni fruit can be eaten, and its
seeds roasted and eaten. Its fruit is also made into
a powder that is very high in carbohydrates and
fiber.
Common Name: Passion fruit
Common Name: Yellow Alder
Description: This climbing vine plant can grow to
more than 7 metres. Their flowers have bold,
complex colours. Its fruit is either bright yellow or
dark purple, depending on the variety.
Description: Yellow Alder is a perennial shrub
that is very thick and reaches almost 1 metre in
height. It has big bright yellow flowers that last only
one day.
Forest Function: Passion fruit is a great climber
and provides shelter.
Forest Function: Provides shelter for small
animals.
Needs: Likes partial shade and well-drained sandy
soil.
Needs: This shrub likes partial shade, well-drained
soil, and warm temperatures.
Human Uses: Passion fruit flowers are used for
fragrance, and its fruit is eaten or made into juice.
Human Uses: Used as a decorative flower in
gardens.
Common Name: Blackberry
Common Name: Speedwell
Description: Blackberries are bramble bushes
that send up single canes from the ground, and
usually have very sharp thorns. They have very
delicious berries.
Description:
Speedwell
is
a
perennial
groundcover with hairy leaves, and sends up little
vertical shoots that have violet flowers.
Forest Function: Blackberries are favorites of
bears, and feed lots of other animals.
Needs: Blackberries can grow in many soil types,
including drought-like conditions. They like mild
weather and do not do well in very hot climates or
very cold winters.
Human Uses: Blackberries can be eaten raw,
cooked or made into juice. They make wonderful
pies, jams, and many other things.
Forest Function: Acts as groundcover and helps
to keep soil healthy.
Needs: Grows easily in mountain areas, in
meadows and at the edge of forests. It likes lots of
water and partial sun.
Human Uses: Speedwell has been used
medicinally for coughs, sinus and ear infections. It is
thought to be a good anti-inflammatory as well.
Common Name: Creeping daisy, yellow dots
Common Name: Yellow-winged tanager
Description: This is an evergreen perennial that
has yellow daisy-like flowers.
Forest Function: Creeping daisy is a great
groundcover.
Needs: This plant likes full sun or partial shade,
and will not grow in wet soil. It will grow well
under trees.
Description: This bird is about 18 centimetres
long. Its body is dark grey and has green wings with
yellow patches.
Needs: The Yellow-winged tanager feeds on fruit,
insects and nectar.
Human Uses: This plant has been used to treat
hepatitis and other infections.
Common Name: Calabash tree
Description: The calabash tree grows to 9 metres
in height, often with multiple trunks. Its round fruit
can reach up to 23 centimetres in diameter and can
take up to seven months to ripen. It has greenishyellow flowers.
Forest Function: This is a great shade tree. Its
fruit provides food to bats, which pollinate its
flowers.
Needs: This tree has no tolerance for frost, and
like lots of sun and drained soil.
Human Uses: The fruit is used to treat diarrhea,
cough, colds, stomachache, bronchitis, and asthma.
Its fibers can be made into rope and twine, its
wood into tools, and its wood into baskets. The
fruit can be dried and used as bowls or cups, and
this is where maracas came from.
Common Name: Jujube
Description: This shrub grows to a height of 5-10
metres, usually with thorny branches. It produces
very small greenish-yellow flowers. It has a small
dark red fruit that looks like a small date and tastes
similar to an apple.
Forest Function: Provides shade and food for
animals.
Needs: This tree grows above 15 Celsius, but
doesn’t like really hot temperatures. It needs lots
of water in the summer.
Human Uses: Jujube is used to help with sore
throats, its fruit eaten raw, smoked, or made in to
tea.
Common Name: Fruit bat
Common Name: Hooded warbler
Description: Fruit bats are the largest of the bats.
Like other bats, they have long webbed fingers that
serve as wings. They have very good senses of
smell and sight.
Needs: These bats drink the nectar or juice on
flowers and fruits.
Common Name: Antillean nighthawk
Description: These birds are dark with brown,
grey and white patterning on the upper parts and
breast. Its underbelly is white with dark bars.
Needs: This nighthawk forages for insects while
flying at dawn or dusk, and sometimes at night
during a full moon.
Description: This little bird has an olive/greenbrown back, and yellow under parts. Males have a
black hood that surrounds their yellow faces, and
females have an olive-green cap.
Needs: This bird is a forager for insects, either on
the ground or flying.
Common Name: Cuban crow
Description: This black bird is similar to our local
crows.
Needs: Cuban crows eat insects and fruit.
Common Name: Gulf Fritillary
Description: The Gulf Fritillary is a medium-sized
bright orange butterfly with black accents.
Common Name: Weaver ants
Needs: These butterflies eat nectar, and their
larvae feed on passion fruit trees and fruit.
Description: These ants vary in color depending
on the species, from reddish to yellow brown.
Needs: Weaver ants built nests by weaving leaves
together using larval silk. They really like noni
trees.
Common Name: Heliconia
Common Name: Bee hummingbird
Description: This bird is the smallest living bird.
The male has a green body with a red throat and a
bluish back. The female is larger and is bluish green.
Needs: Bee hummingbirds feed mostly on nectar,
with the occasional spider or insect thrown in.
Description: Heliconia grows long stalks with a
few leaves, and big elaborate flowers called falsebird-of-paradise.
Forest Function: Heliconia is an important food
source for hummingbirds, and pollinating insects.
Needs: Heliconia prefer warm, humid climates
with lots of sun. It likes well-drained soil high in
organic matter.
Human Uses: Heliconia makes a good longlasting cut flower, and is often used in flower
arrangements.
Common Name: Red Mangrove
Description: Red mangroves are trees with long
roots that are partially above the surface, giving
them the name ‘walking trees’, as they look like
they are walking on the ground or water.
Forest Function: Mangroves live in swamps along
coastal areas, creating important barriers between
the ocean and coastal lands. They protect coastal
areas from flooding, erosion and destruction when
tropical storms occur. They also provide habitat
for animals.
Needs: Mangroves love salty soil and water,
making them perfectly adapted to coastal areas.
Some species of mangrove draw fresh water out of
salt water, whereas others actually take in salt
water and exude the salt through their leaves.
Human Uses: Fishing communities in the tropics
depend upon mangroves, as 75% of tropical fish
species that are fished commercially spend part of
their lives living in mangrove swamps.