BJNS vol2, no 2.indd - College of Arts & Science - Miami University

ADDITIONS TO THE 

VASCULAR PLANT FLORA 

OF ELEUTHERA 

Michael A. Vincent and Charles Kwit 

Department of Botany, Miami University 

Oxford, Ohio 

Abstract Eleuthera is located at 25º 06’ N 76 º 08’ W in the east-central portion of the Bahamas archipelago. The 

island is approximately 110 miles long and about two miles wide at the widest point, and covers an area of 187 sq. 

mi., with elevation ranging from sea level to 168’ (Commonwealth of The Bahamas 1997). Average rainfall is 43 inches 

(110 cm) per year (US Army Corps of Engineers 2004). 

According to Correll and Correll (1982), the fl ora 

of their “Region 9”, which includes Eleuthera and 

New Providence, consists of 932 species of vascular 

plants in 125 families. In the division scheme of Freid 

et al. (2003), Eleuthera is in “Region 17”. 

The most speciose families in the region are Fabaceae 

(Leguminosae, the bean family, 93 species), Poaceae 

(Gramineae, the grass family, 90 species), Asteraceae 

(Compositae, the sunfl ower family, 64 species), Euphorbiaceae 

(the spurge family, 51 species), and Cyperaceae 

(the sedge family, 41 species). 

Among other families of interest, ferns (including 

Polypodiaceae in the broad sense of Correll and Correll 

(1982), Psilotaceae, and Schizaeaceae) are represented by 

38 species, Orchidaceae (the orchid family) is represented 

by 21 species, Cactaceae (the cactus family) is represented 

by 8 species (including Harrisia brookii, reported new for 

Eleuthera by Vincent [in press]), and Arecaceae (Palmae, 

the palm family) is represented by 5 species. Correll and 

Correll (1982) list only two species of plants as endemic to 

their “region 9” (Eleuthera and New Providence): Agave 

cacozela Trel. (Agavaceae) and Euphorbia brittonii Millsp. 

(Euphorbiaceae). 

Eleuthera is also home to 42 plant species found only 

in The Bahamas, including Eleocharis bahamensis Boeckl. 

(Cyperaceae); Agave bahamana Trel., Agave braceana 

Trel. (Agavaceae); Encyclia fehlingii (Sauleda) Sauleda & 

Adams, Encyclia gracilis (Lindl.) Schltr., Tetramicra urbaniana 

Cogn. (Orchidaceae); Dendropemon bahamensis 

Britt. (Loranthaceae); Clematis bahamica (O. Ktze.) 

Britt. (Ranunculaceae); Acacia acuifera Benth., Caesalpinia 

ovalifolia Urb., Calliandra haematomma (Bert.) 

Benth., Cassia caribaea Northrop, Cassia lucayana Britt., 

Mimosa bahamensis Benth. (Fabaceae); Linum bahamense 

Northrop (Linaceae); Polygala northropiana R.N. Ban. 

(Polygalaceae); Argythamnia lucayana Millsp., Euphorbia 

Figure 1. Veitchia merrillii (Christmas palm) in cultivation in 

the Bahamas (Vincent 12746). 

52 Bahamas Naturalist & Journal of Science September, 2007 Volume 2 Issue 2

Table 1. Vascular plant species new to Eleuthera Island, Bahamas. Voucher specimens are deposited in the Bahamas National 

Herbarium and Herbarium MU. [* = new also to the Bahamas fl ora; @ = see Vincent 2007; # = cited by Sealey & Flowers (2002) 

as Scaevola sericea] 

Family Genus Species Author Voucher # 

Amaryllidaceae Scadoxus multifl orus* (Martyn) Raf. 13327 

Araceae Epipremnum pinnatum* (L.) Engl. 13315 

Arecaceae Veitchia merrillii* (Becc.) H.E. Moore 13432 

Cactaceae Harrisia brookii@ Britton 13340, 13400 

(photos only) 

Casuarinaceae Casuarina glauca Sieber ex Spreng. 13281 

Crassulaceae Bryophyllum daigremontianum (Raym.-Hamet & 

H. Perrier) A. Berger 13305 

Cyperaceae Scirpus robustus Pursh 13411 

Euphorbiaceae Acalypha wilkesiana Müll. Arg. 13319 

Fabaceae Desmodium glabrum (Mill.) DC. 13363 

Fabaceae Erythrina corallodendron L. 13431 

Goodeniaceae Scaevola taccada# (Gaertn.) Roxb. 13394 

Laxmanniaceae Cordyline fruticosa (L.) A. Chev. 13317 

Malvaceae Hibiscus tiliaceus L. 13314 

Malvaceae Sida abutifolia Mill. 13285 

Moraceae Ficus benghalensis* L. 13384 

Moraceae Ficus benjamina L. 13276 

Onagraceae Ludwigia erecta (L.) H. Hara 13392 

Poaceae Aristida cognata Trin. & Rupr. 13288, 13296 

Poaceae Chloris elata Desv. 13295 

Poaceae Eragrostis domingensis (Pers.) Steud. 13419 

Polypodiaceae Nephrolepis exaltata (L.) Schott 13430 

Solanaceae Solandra nitida* Zuccagni 13437 

brittonii Millsp., Euphorbia cayensis Millsp., Euphorbia 

exumensis (Millsp.) Correll (Euphorbiaceae); Crossopetalum 

coriaceum Northrop (Celastraceae); Thouinia discolor 

Griseb. (Sapindaceae); Zizyphus taylori (Britt.) M.C. 

Johnst. (Rhamnaceae); Hibiscus brittonianus Kearney, 

Phymosia abutiloides (L.) Desv. (Malvaceae); Waltheria 

bahamensis Britt. (Tiliaceae); Passifl ora bahamensis Britt. 

(Passifl oraceae); Cephalocereus bahamensis Britt., Harrisia 

brookii Britt., Opuntia nashii Britt. (Cactaceae); Bucida 

spinosa Northrop (Combretaceae); Neobracia bahamensis 

(Britt.) Britt (Apocynaceae); Cynanchum sigmoideum 

Correll (Asclepiadaceae); Evolvulus squamosus Britt. (Convolvulaceae); 

Heliotropium nanum Northrop (Boraginaceae); 

Lantana balsamifera Britt., Lantana demutata Millsp., 

Stachytarpheta fruticosa (Millsp.) B.L. Robins. (Verbenaceae); 

Scolosanthus bahamensis Britt. (Rubiaceae); Eupatorium 

bahamense Northrop, Vernonia arbuscula Less., Wedelia 

bahamensis (Britt.) Schulz ex Urb. (Asteraceae). 

It is increasingly important to document the fl ora of 

The Bahamas in light of population increases and changes 

in land use patterns, as well as other threats, including 

invasive species, climate change, and changes in the fauna 

of the islands (Eshbaugh and Wilson 1996; Hayes 2006; 

Pinder 1996; Sealey 2003). 

Eleuthera was most likely colonized by Arawak peoples 

somewhere between 600 to 900 AD (Berman and 

Gnivecki 1995), and in recent times has been occupied 

continuously by humans for longer than any other of the 

Bahamian islands, since about 1648 (Craton 1986). While 

the population of Eleuthera itself remained relatively unchanged 

in the last two censuses (1990: 7,993; 2000: 7,999), 

the population of the entire Commonwealth increased by 

16% (1990: 255,049; 2000: 303,611) (Commonwealth of 

the Bahamas 2005). With increasing population comes 

increasing land clearing for building, crops, and industry, 

which may greatly impact the fl ora of the islands. 

Invasive plant species are also impacting the fl ora of 

The Bahamas, with the major problem species including 

Casuarina species (Hammerton 2001), Schinus terebinthifolius 

(Brazilian pepper; Hickey and Vincent 2005; 

Slusher et al. 2007), Scaevola taccada (White ink berry; 

Eshbaugh and Wilson 1985; Eshbaugh and Wilson 1996; 

Koontz et al. 1996; Vincent et al. 2002), and Melaleuca 

quinquenervia (paperbark tree; Hammerton 2002). 

On Eleuthera, Casuarina species are increasingly 

problematic and should be removed where found, as 

should Scaevola taccada populations. Changes in climate, 

especially the impacts of global warming, may have a tremendous 

impact on The Bahamas (Martin and Weech 

2001) as ocean levels rise and rain patterns shift. Extinctions 

of animal species and introductions of exotic animals 

may also impact the fl ora of the islands (Campbell 

Bahamas Naturalist & Journal of Science September, 2007 53

et al. 2005; Lee 2005; Mealey et al. 2002) 

While we were conducting fi eld work on Eleuthera 

from 1- 6 November 2006, we collected specimens of 22 

vascular plant species new to the island (Table 1), fi ve of 

which are also new to the Bahamas fl ora. Many of the 

new species found on the island are of horticultural origin, 

though several (Aristida cognata, Eragrostis domingensis, 

Scirpus robustus) are most likely native and only 

overlooked by previous researchers. 

One of the species discovered that may pose a signifi - 

cant problem as a weed is Veitchia merrillii (Christmas 

palm; Figure 1), which is very widely cultivated throughout 

the Bahamas, produces large numbers of fruits, and 

the seeds of which germinate quite readily; seedlings and 

saplings of Christmas palm have been observed on Eleuthera 

and Andros (Vincent, pers. obs.). The two fi gs reported 

as new to Eleuthera may also become very weedy. 

Ficus benjamina (Benjamin fi g) is very popular as a tree 

and hedge planted throughout The Bahamas, and occasionally 

escapes cultivation. Ficus benghalensis (banyan 

tree), is occasionally cultivated in The Bahamas, and escapes 

are rare, though quite a few seedlings, saplings, and 

mature trees were found in a wild population on Eleuthera. 

These species represent only a 2.4% increase in the 

vascular plants known from the island; however, we believe 

this fi gure to be signifi cant, since we were only on 

the island for fi ve days, and had only limited travel time. It 

is quite likely that additional time on Eleuthera will result 

in further new discoveries. 

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54 Bahamas Naturalist & Journal of Science September, 2007 Volume 2 Issue 2

BJNS vol2, no 2.indd - College of Arts & Science - Miami University

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