Royal Palms

Fort George, Tobago

Widely seen throughout the Caribbean, this tree originated in Cuba. It averages sixty feet in height but can reach 100 feet with fifteen foot leaves. The fruits are oval shaped, purple in colour and eaten by the Orange-winged Parrot, Red-bellied Macaw,    Scaly-naped Pigeon and Smooth-billed Ani.

Latin Name - Roystonea Regia

Samaan Tree

Photo by Christian Lee of the University of the West Indies Distance Education Centre

This stunning shade tree has a large, dome-shaped canopy and grows up to 25 metres. It has low spreading branches and is deciduous. Native to Latin America from Nicaragua to Brazil, but particularly Venezuela, the Samaan was introduced to the West Indies in the 1820's as a shade tree on agricultral estates. It is now widely cultivated and has escaped and is often naturalized. It is valuable as a shade tree in pastures, stimulating grass growth and is an admirable street tree. The leaves fold together on the approach of rain. The flowers of the Samaan Tree are a favorite source of nectar for a variety of hummingbirds. The flowers are clustered together in a compact head of the bottle-brush type with small sepals and petals and long conspicuous pink and white stamens.

The timber is strong and hard, with a rich, dark colour and makes good furniture and kitchen utensils. The pod produces an edible pulp that is sweet and sugary when ripe. It can also be dried and ground into a meal for animal feed which is fed to cattle in Central America.

Other Names - Rain tree, algarrobo, monkey pod (Hawaii), French tamarind, guango (Jamaica).

Latin Name - Samanea saman

Red Flamboyant

Galera, Toco

This tree originated in Madagascar but is now found throughout the tropics. It grows to a height of fifty feet and develops a flat spreading crown. The flowers are bright orange or red and sometimes scarlet. It usually flowers in April.

Other Names - Poinciana, Flame Tree

Yellow Flamboyant

Diego Martin Riverside

Cornbird Nests

Arima Valley

Crested Orpendolas and yellow orioles both build nests similiar to those in the photograph.

Palms at Nariva

Molluscs

Photograph by Douglas Butler

Tobago Plantations, Tobago

Butterflies

There are over 650 species of butterflies in Trinidad and Tobago.

Bees

Photograph by Douglas Butler

Tobago Plantations, Tobago

The Hills of Central Trinidad

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Last modified: February 16, 2008