Flowering plants

The Lesser Antilles is part of the Caribbean biodiversity hotspot and a priority for conservation of its flora is its endemic taxa. Using data from herbarium specimen labels, we recently carried out a preliminary conservation assessment of the 263 seed plant taxa unique to these islands, reporting that 70% of them are potentially threatened. In an effort to make conservation recommendations for the threatened species, we have further analyzed the specimen data for patterns in their distribution. We found that just over ⅓ of the region’s endemics are restricted to a single island, and the majority of these are only found at a single location, whereas the others are found at multiple sites on each island. Diversity of regional endemics appears to be associated with larger islands, and while there appears to be a loose correlation between areas of high diversity of regional endemics and local endemism, there are a number of isolated centers of local endemism scattered across the island chain that may be of particular conservation concern. We also detected a relationship between diversity and elevation, with a peak in the number of endemic species occurred at midelevations (400–800 m). This correlation translates to a relationship between endemism and habitat type, with elevated numbers of endemics found in rainforest and elfin woodland, both communities that typically occur at mid- to high elevations, respectively. The highest proportion of threatened taxa is found in restricted and fragmented communities (elfin woodland, summit-herb vegetation, river bank, and moist forest) and the lowest proportion is found in the largest, most contiguous community (rainforest). Focused conservation action should occur in these important areas where plant endemism is locally high and habitat types are restricted and fragmented.

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.

This identification sheet contains drawings of the most common green, brown and red algae and flowering plants occurring in the Caribbean.