Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
brought limestone deposits and formed these islands far from any continental land-
mass. Today, the closest continental landmass is the coast of the Carolinas. Bermuda
is about 1,250km (775 miles) southeast of New York City, some 1,660km (1,030
miles) northeast of Miami, and nearly 5,555km (3,445 miles) from London. It has a
balmy climate year-round, with sunshine prevailing almost every day. The chief
source of Bermuda's mild weather is the Gulf Stream, a broad belt of warm water
formed by equatorial currents. The stream's northern reaches separate the Bermuda
islands from North America and, with the prevailing northeast winds, temper the
wintry blasts that sweep across the Atlantic from west and north. The islands of
Bermuda are divided, for administrative purposes, into parishes. (See chapter 3.)
More Than Onions: The Island's Flora
Bermuda's temperate climate, abundant sunshine, fertile soil, and adequate moisture
account for the exceptionally verdant gardens that you'll find on the archipelago.
Some of the best gardens, such as the Botanical Gardens in Paget Parish, are open to
the public. Bermudian gardeners pride themselves on their mixtures of temperate-
zone and subtropical plants, both of which thrive on the island, despite the salty air.
Bermuda is blessed with copious and varied flora. Examples include the indige-
nous sea grape, which flourishes along the island's sandy coasts (it prefers sand and
saltwater to more arable soil), and the cassava plant, whose roots resemble the tubers
of sweet potatoes. When ground into flour and soaked to remove a mild poison, the
cassava root is the main ingredient for Bermuda's traditional Christmas pies. Also
growing wild and abundant are prickly pears, aromatic fennel, yucca, and the Spanish
bayonet, a spiked-leaf plant that bears a single white flower in season.
Bermuda's only native palm, the palmetto, proved particularly useful to the early
settlers. Its leaves were used to thatch roofs, and when crushed and fermented, the
palm fronds produced a strong alcoholic drink called bibby, whose effects the early
Puritans condemned. Palmetto leaves were also fashioned into women's hats during
a brief period in the 1600s, when they represented the height of fashion in London.
The banana, one of Bermuda's most dependable sources of fresh fruit, was intro-
duced to the island in the early 1600s. It is believed that Bermudian bananas were
the first to be brought back to London from the New World. They created an imme-
diate sensation, leading to the cultivation of bananas in many other British colonies.
The plant that contributed most to Bermuda's renown was the Bermuda onion
(Allium cepa).
Imported from England in 1616, it was grown from seeds brought from
the Spanish and Portuguese islands of Tenerife and Madeira. The Bermuda onion
became so famous along the East Coast of the United States that Bermudians them-
selves became known as “Onions.” During the 1930s, Bermuda's flourishing export
trade in onions declined due to high tariffs, increased competition from similar spe-
cies grown in Texas and elsewhere, and the limited arable land on the island.
Today, you'll see oleander, hibiscus, royal poinciana, poinsettia, bougainvillea, and
dozens of other flowering shrubs and vines decorating Bermuda's gently rolling land.
Of the island's dozen or so species of morning glory, three are indigenous; they tend
to grow rampant and overwhelm everything else in a garden.
Close Encounters with the Local Fauna
AMPHIBIANS
Because of the almost total lack of natural freshwater ponds and lakes, Bermuda's
amphibians have adapted to seawater or slightly brackish water. Amphibians include
2
