Branching Out - The Coconut Chronicles: Two Guys, One Caribbean Dream House - page 225

We've talked a bit about the amazing fauna of Vieques. Now a word about the island's flora,
which is pretty stupendous too.
As I've mentioned, our small yard alone boasts an amazing array of trees: mango, bread-
fruit, banana, and papaya, as well as many flamboyant smaller shrubs and plants that flower
at various times of the year.
Our mango tree, situated at the top of the driveway near the road, is so enormous that
the utility department has to come out every few months to give it a ruthless trim so it won't
pull down the neighborhood's power lines.
On the opposite side of the house, near the bottom of the lot, our breadfruit tree grows
so fast we have it topped every four to six months to keep it from blocking our view of the
big island. And when I say topped , I don't mean a couple of feet each time; I mean four or
five feet. Every few months. That's how fast it grows.
Compare our view of the big island when the breadfruit tree has been allowed to grow
unchecked for a few months to the view after the tree has had a trim.
Nearly every time we visit Vieques we come across a type of tree or shrub we've never
seen before. If we have a camera or cellphone with us, we take a photo. If not, we try to go
back and take one later. Then we go home and do some research.
One of our favorite ghoulish discoveries is the manchineel tree, affectionately known as
the death apple. We first encountered this large, deciduous tree in the stretch of land between
Playa Grande and the huge lagoon that lies to its north.