Bryophytes

The Netherlands Antilles comprise the islands Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire of the Leeward Group, and St. Eustatius, Saba and the southern part of St. Martin (St. Maarten) of the Windward Group. The northern part of St. Martin belongs to the French territory (Departement de la Guadeloupe). Botanical investigations were started already in the 18th century, but it was not before 1909 that an enumeration of the vascular plants of part of the Netherlands Antilles appeared in print (Boldingh, 1909; the other part appeared in 1914). In 1913 Boldingh published a Flora of the Netherlands Antilles (in Dutch). Brother M. Arnoldo published a Flora of Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire (in Dutch, 1954; second edition 1964). An elaborate study of the vegetation of the islands was published by Stopfers (1956). Some of the data given below are borrowed from that paper. A new Flora is now in the course of publication (edited by Stoppers since 1962). This article describes the mosses family, species, location, and habitat preference that have been collected by the author in the Netherlands Antilles. The mossflora of the Leeward Group is very poor. It seems that no mosses have been collected in Aruba. Although the rainfall in Bonaire is distinctly higher than in Aruba, only 3 mosses, Hyophila microcarpa, H. tortula and Gymnostomiella orcuttii, have been collected on this island up till now. From Curaçao 6 species are listed below, five of which have been collected on the highest hill. The Windward islands Saba and St. Eustatius have by far the richest bryoflora of the Netherlands Antilles. This mainly due to the higher elevation (St. Eustatius 600 m and Saba 900 m) and to the higher rainfall.

St. Eustatius, also informally known as "Statia" is an 11.8 square mile (30.6 square km) island with about 3,200 permanent inhabitants located off the coast of St. Maarten (go to map from link in banner). English is the official language of the island but Dutch is also taught in schools and is spoken by many Statians.

In January 2008, The New York Botanical Garden, in partnership with the St. Eustatius National Parks Foundation (STENAPA), the Department of Environment and Nature (MINA) of the Netherlands Antilles, and Conservation International, embarked on a project to survey the plants and lichens of Statia. (See photobook from the expedition.)

Although relatively small in size, Statia's topography is covered by several vegetation types with a variety of soil types, ranging from beach forest at sea level to elfin forest on the summit of The Quill, a dormant volcano, at some 600 m elevation. Our goal is to provide illustrated checklists (a virtual museum) of all of the plants and lichens that grow on Statia. Both native and introduced species are included.

To find collections representing species of flowering plants, gymnosperms, ferns, bryophytes, or lichens, you can access the information available for a given group by clicking on the appropriate image on the left hand side of this page.

It is forbidden to pick plants and to remove plants from the island of Statia. All natural history studies must first be approved by the government of The Netherlands. To find out how to obtain permission to collect herbarium specimens, as was done in this study, contact STENAPA. All photographs are copyrighted by the photographer, Carol Gracie, unless otherwise noted. For permission to use the images, contact the photographers. Citizens of Statia have permission to download images from the website for personal or educational purposes.

Saba is a five square mile island with about 1200 permanent inhabitants located off the coast of St. Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles (go to map from link in banner). English is the official language of the island but Dutch is also taught in schools and is spoken by many Sabans.

In February 2006, Conservation International, in conjunction with the Saba Conservation Foundation, embarked on a project to survey the biodiversity of Saba from beneath the sea to the summit of its highest peak, Mt. Scenery. As part of this effort, the Department of Botany of the Smithsonian Institution surveyed the marine algae.

In 2006 and 2007, The New York Botanical Garden participated in surveying the bryophytes, lichens, and vascular plants of the island. Although small in size, Saba's rugged topography is covered by several vegetation types, ranging from near desert to cloud forest. Our goal is to provide illustrated checklists (a virtual museum) of all of the plants and lichens that grow on Saba and in the surrounding sea. Both native and introduced plants are included.

To find collections representing species of flowering plants, gymnosperms, ferns, bryophytes, marine algae, or lichens, you can access the information available for a given group by clicking on the appropriate image on the left hand side of this page.

It is forbidden to pick plants and to remove plants from the island of Saba. All natural history studies must first be approved by the government of Saba. To find out how to obtain permission to collect herbarium specimens as was done in this study contact the Saba Conservation Foundation.

All photographs are copyrighted by the photographer. Most of the photographs of the flowering plants, gymnosperms, ferns, bryophytes, and lichens were taken by Carol Gracie and most of those of the marine algae were taken by Diane Littler. Harrie Sipman took the photo micrographs of the lichens. For permission to use the images, contact the photographers. Citizens of Saba have permission to download images from the website for personal or educational purposes.