Moruga Bouffe - The Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club

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Page 6 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 2/2011Botany Field Trip Report, Saturday 8th March, 2008Monos IslandReport by Lester W. Doodnath and Natasha A. MohammedMonos Island Group Shoot ( Left to right )photo: Natasha MohammedFront row : Winston Johnson, Stephen Smith, Esperanza Luengo, Shane Ballah, Nicholas See Wai,Juanita Henry, Jo-Anne Sewlal, Betsy Mendez, Lester DoodnathSecond row: Bobby Oumdath, BonnieTyler, Ray Martinez, Christopher Starr, Kayman SagarBack row: Richard Peterson, Sheldon Brown, Michael GreenDuring early Spanish times the islandof Monos was inhabited by Red HowlerMonkeys (Alouatta seniculus) whicheven at that time would have led aprecarious existence due to little foodor water being present on the island(de Verteuil 2002). These monkeyswere soon extirpated and cottongrowing was practiced together withsubsistence fishing.The avid botanists of this group learnt that onMonos that dry vegetation was normally found.According to Beard (1946) the deciduous seasonalforest originally present would have been afasciation of the Bursera–Lonchocarpus association(Continued on page 7)
Page 7 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 2/2011Monos Island Lester Doodnath, Natasha Mohammed(Continued from page 6)which would have been the Protium-Tabebuiaecotone.Our objective was to look for Bursera latifolia whichis the other species of Naked Indian (B. simaruba –with a papery, peeling bark). B. latifolia can be differentiatedfrom B. simaruba by the leaves and flowers.However during this dry season visit all the leaves ofthese deciduous trees had fallen and telling the twospecies apart was not possible.The first plant that caught our attention was theterrestrial Anthurium genmanii which has a normalpresence here. Also terrestrial was Bromeliaplumeria and B. pitcairnia seen growing on rocks.Calliandra krugerii was seen growing as a stand oftrees. Incense (Protium guianense) is part of thecharacteristic fasciation, when the leaves arecrushed you get the characteristic smell of incense.Balsam (Copaifeira officinalis) normally has smoothbark. Then we observed a fruiting Balsam tree withatypical bark that was not smooth. Why was thiswe wondered? Different island conditions? Wesaw that Capparis hastate has waxy shiny alternateleaves and that Ouratea guildingi has yellow flowers.On the leaves of Amyris simplicifolia you see dots thatindicate that it belongs in the citrus family, Rutaceae.You can tell this because when the leaves arecrushed you get that characteristic smell.Orchids observed included the Brown bee Orchid(Oncidium altissimum), Oeceoclades maculata andSpiranthes sp. The three-angled epiphytic cactiAnthocereus pentagonus has edible juicy fruit.According to Hans Boos we were on the road thatgoes around Monos to an area that the Americanscalled ―Saucey‖ which was a recreation location.We examined a Cat’s Claw (Macfadyena unguis-cati)vine and flowers, whose leaves are glossy green withtwo leaflets per petiole and has a 3-prongedclaw-like climbing appendage. The flowers aresolitary, bright yellow, funnel-shaped, and have ashort blooming during the dry season.Indicative of the seaside vegetation of the westernislands was Manchineel (Hippomane mancinella),Black mangrove (Avicennia germinans), WhiteMangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) and ButtonMangrove (Conocarpus erectus). Button Mangrovecan be told from the White Mangrove due to thestriations on the bark.Then we saw Pithocellobium roseum which hasprickles on the bark. This was the first sighting forMonos and it was flowering in March. It had pinkflowers and the pods were also observed.Diospyros inconstans is indicative of dry forest andwas in fruit. Jacquinia sp is coastal, together withHibiscus pernambucensis (hairy leaves) and Thespesiapopulnea (smooth leaves). Erythroxylum havanenseand Citharexylum sp were found by the jetty alongthe coast and indicative of the dry forest type.We met Mr. Peter Tardieu in his garden near aformer coconut estate where he grew various fruitcrops. He spoke to us of issues of tenure for thisarea where before he had a lease for 20 years.Close by there is a marker by the US EngineerDepartment from the 1940’s.Non-avian fauna seen in and around this coconutestate were the Cracker (Hamadryas sp.) andEmperor butterflies (Morpho peleides). Ray Martinezcollected specimens of the coastal mosquito(Deinocerites magnus) from crab holes. An Ameiva(Ameiva ameiva) lizard was observed here. The skullof a Caiman (Caiman crocodilus) was found by acolonial wall that the Siegert Family had built.ConclusionQuesnel (1996) reported a total of 34 plant species,as compared to a total of 47 species, in this brief,one-day, study (2008). Differences in number ofspecies may be attributed to the length of timespent in the field, seasonal abundance, floweringspecies present, which would be attributed to stagesof maturity and seasons- time of the year. The trailsexplored by parties on both occasions, may also(Continued on page 8)
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Moruga Bouffe - The Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club

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