Vol 1 - The Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club

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Page 20 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013Field Trip Report, Sunday November 27, 2011Rampanalgas/Balandra WaterfallReport by Chennile KhanThe usual early start on Sunday morning, ataround 6:15, approximately thirteen vehiclesassembled outside the south gate of UWI.Upon having a brief introduction by theleader, Dan Jaggernauth, and Selwyn’s ensuringthat all participants had received a fieldnaturalist's calendar for 2012, we departed ataround 6:47 to our destination, the Balandra/Rampanalgas Waterfall. This waterfall is atwo level waterfall since it consists of bothan upper pool and a lower one. At the lowerlevel the water forms a small deep pool thatis suitable for swimming, while the upperlevel consists of a shallower pool suitable forbathing only.After following Dan for about an hour and ahalf, we arrived at the starting point of thehike at 8:20 am. Everyone secured their vehicleson the gravel road near to an emptyarea of land in which there were many sheep.Dan advised the participants that the hikewas not a long one and that we would be encounteringa lot of different varieties ofplants. While giving a briefing to the groupassembled on the road, Dan pointed out tous the corn bird nest that was located onone of the adjacent trees. The occupants ofthese birds' nests are usually the crestedoropendola, Psarocolius decumanus.As we began our journey to the waterfall wefirst encountered the Virola Surinamensis,commonly known as the wild nutmeg tree.The fruit of this tree provides a food sourcefor the pawi bird. More familiarly known asthe piping guan, Pipile pipile, the pawi is an arborealbird that is currently one of the endangeredspecies of birds in Trinidad. Continuingon our journey, we came across thebalisier, Heliconia psittacorum. These flowersare tropical flowers and are often visited byhummingbirds. Adjacent to the heliconiawere also cut logs indicating logging activity;it was, however, difficult to determinewhether the logging was legal or illegal.Advancing on our journey once again wediscovered seaside grape tree, Coccoloba uvifera..These are evergreen trees with verylarge, broad leaves whose flowers are producedin spikes; the fruit are edible in certainmembers of this family. Proceeding along thegravel road again, the group came across junipertrees, Genipa americana . The fruit ofthis tree is a berry and is rounded andbrown much like the sapodilla, Manilkarazapota. These fruits are edible and they aremuch used to manufacture drinks, jellies, preservesand syrups when they are soft andoverripe.Also found along the path was Scleria secans,also known as razor grass belonging to theCyperaceae family. These sedges usually cutwhen pulled against the skin. Also found onthe way was Desmoncus smoncus belonging toa family of climbing palms. The stems of theseare used for the weaving of baskets andsieves. Near to the palm was also a bunch ofMimosa pudica also commonly called the sen-
Page 21 THE FIELD NATURALIST Issue No. 1/2013sitive plant. These are perennial herbs inwhich the compound leaves fold inwards anddroop whenever they are touched or shaken.They usually reopen after a few minutes sothey can continue to act as a toy for us.Proceeding again, our group came across alarge matchwood tree, Schcfflera morototoni.We also came across a large tree with Palicoureaflowers. These trees have very fineleaves and are usually used for timber. As wemade our way forward again along the pathway,our group came across cocorite palmtrees, Maximiliana caribaea. The fruits ofthese trees are very sweet and are muchpreferred by squirrels.Our group also made a wonderful discoverywhen we came across the mandevillaserta flower. Dan notified us that the flowerwas edible and insisted that I try it. Thoughhesitant at first, eventually I tried it eating thepetal of the flower which tasted exactly likepomerac, Syzygium malaccense. These vibrantflowers are red and yellow and beautify thefloor of the tree when they fall. Anotheramazing discovery we encountered was anothervariety of the heliconia flower, the Heliconiabalisier. In Trinidad this flower is a politicalsymbol; its bracts may be used for floraldecorations. Our last finding before we arrivedat the upper level of the Balandra/Rampanalgas waterfall was the serrette fruitalso known as the Byrsonima spicata. Serretteis in the same family as the Barbados cherryand produces a useful timber used for tanning.The serrette fruit is edible with a sweetand sour taste and can be used for makingjam and jellies.was a bit difficult to get to the pool as thepathway was very slippery. Dan had managedto tie a rope along the way up to the fall inorder to help the participants reach the poolso that they could have enjoyed the cold, relaxingwater. Most participants ventured intothe pool and, in my opinion, the waterfall wasamazing. It was extremely cold at first butafter acclimatizing to its temperature the waterwas very soothing. Some of the participantsalso took a dive into the lower poolwhich was of a greater depth. After everyonerelaxed and had lunch, we proceeded on ourway back along the initial pathway that wehad taken. After a short time we were backagain on the gravel road where our vehicleswere parked. After changing from our wetclothes into more comfortable ones, we alldeparted, going in our separate directions. Imust say that it was indeed a very educationaland interesting hike. Though it wasshort I had a lot of fun while learning aboutplant species. I impatiently await the upcominghikes and I am sure all the participantsfeel the same way.Finally we arrived at the actual waterfall. It
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Vol 1 - The Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club

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