Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Bush Tea
- Herbal tea brewed using aromatic leaves from
locally grown plants. Considered a cure-all for minor ail-
ments.
Flora
While it rains infrequently and water is almost al-
ways in short supply, the Virgin Islands support
an amazing variety of plant life. In his diary, Co-
lumbus described the islands as “very mountain-
ous and very green down to the sea.” While huge
cactus
plants flourish, so do 50 varieties of
orchids
. Gardens are
filled with trees and flowering plants in a profusion of colors.
Sea grape
and
palm trees
line the beaches, providing
shade for sunbathers and roots to anchor the sand. Of all the
palm tree varieties, only the
broom palm
is native. You will
also find
coconuts
,
dates
,
palmettos
and
royal palms
.
Fruit trees, which flourish here, were transplanted by Co-
lumbus. They include
mangos
,
soursops
,
genips
,
guavas
,
bananas
and
sugar apples
.
Caution:
Never pick green apples growing on
trees at the beach nor take shelter under them if
it should shower. These are
machineel
trees,
poisonous to touch or to taste (signs are some-
times posted). Cattle sheltering under them dur-
ing rains have lost pieces of skin.
Bougainvillea
, vines of bright purple flowers peeking over
garden walls, were brought from Brazil in the 1700s by a
French sailor, Louis-Antoine de Bougainville. Nobody re-
members when the
hibiscus
arrived from Hawaii, but it has
flourished. Its apricot, pink, and red and white blossoms are
used as centerpieces.
Century plants
, which have small
yellow blossoms, grow on their green stalks up to 20 ft. high.
Used as Christmas trees here, they blossom only in their
10th and final year of life. Other beautiful, colorful flowers
that seem to grow along every roadway are
oleanders
,
frangipani
,
poinsettias
,
flamboyants
and
periwinkles
.
