Species of Flora in Cartagena de Indias and its Surroundings

At hot and rainy lands permanent climate in the city of Cartagena and in general on the Caribbean coast, grows a forest consisting of tall trees and evergreen foliage. Abundant woody vines and epiphytes, ie plants that live in other plants. There is also a lower vegetation (forest grove) and bushy. Among the predominant species are:

Heliconias

Heliconia L. is a genus that contains more than 100 species of tropical plants, originating in South America, Central America, Pacific Islands and Indonesia. They are called by their leaves platanillo or bird of paradise and lobster wheel colorful bracts that surround the flowers. Herbs are from 1 to 7 feet high, leaves simple, alternate, entire margin, acuminate apex and rounded base, bright green lighter on the underside.

Coccoloba Uvífera

Popularly known as grape uvero beach or beach. It Polygonaceae family. Its natural habitat is on the beaches of the American tropics and the Caribbean. It can reach a height of more than 8 m, but many specimens rarely exceed 2m. This plant has large round leaves leathery texture (up to 25 cm in diameter) with pink veins, the whole leaf turns red with age. The bark is smooth and yellowish. In late summer there are great clusters of small purple fruits. The fruit is fleshy, juicy and sweet, strong fragrance and good taste, has a large seed. Is often used to make jam, for drinks and desserts in the Caribbean countries.

Palm Trees

Are plants of the class Monocotyledons, belonging to the order Espadicifloras (Princes) and the family Palmae or Arecaceae. Among the palm trees are more than 200 genera and about 3,000 species that inhabit tropical and subtropical areas worldwide. The plant is usually a single stem and slender, rarely branched, and may be depending on the species more or less long, slender or robust, smooth or rough, covered with fibers, thorns, etc.. The special nature of their trunks makes the palms are extremely flexible and resistant to strong winds. Its fruit is widely known coconut.

Rubber Tree

The rubber tree, rubber tree and rubber tree (in Portuguese) is a tree of the family Euphorbiaceae (Hevea brasiliensis), 20 to 30 m tall (exceptionally 45 m). The trunk is straight and cylindrical 30 to 60 cm in diameter, white and light wood. Its leaves are 16 cm long, 6 to 7 cm wide, partially dropped their leaves during the dry season, before which the leaves of the tree turn reddish. The flowers are small and gathered in large panicles. Fruits: results from 4 years, each of which is a capsule of 4 cm in diameter valves opens with seeds rich in oil. Its latex is white or yellow and abundant until the 25-year-old tree.

Cathartic Allamanda

It belongs to the family Apocynaceae, also known as Alamanda, Trumpet yellow, gold and gold trumpet. It is a vine or shrub, depending on how direct through their pruning. It can reach as climbing over five feet tall.

Bougainvillea

Boungaivillea galbra, is a climbing plant with thin stems predominantly between 6 and 9 cm, its leaves are large and oval with rough appearance. It has small spiral stems to other stems take root. Its flowers are large colors like red, pink, yellow, and so on. Inside the plant a few buds emerge they feed the birds.

Maltese Cross

Ixora coccinea, shrub that can take shape arborea. Its stems ending in grouped bunches of flowers in colors ranging from white to red. Its flowers are present all year round and its leaves are dark green. They often grow 4 feet and withstand high temperatures.

Flora of the National Natural Park Islas del Rosario and San Bernardo

Marine Park Corales del Rosario and San Bernardo is located in the Colombian Caribbean Sea, 45 kilometers southwest of the bay of Cartagena. It covers an area of 19,506 hectares. As for the flora, the park, in addition to mangroves has 125 species of seaweed.

Bentonite Seaweed

These are groups that live attached to rocks, stones and boulders. Made from photosynthesis they produce oxygen (oxygen). They are the largest producers in the sea and the basis of all existing food chains there, but besides this, benthic algae have direct economic importance (application in cosmetics, food, drug, etc.).. Within this group of algae are the red, green, golden yellow, among others.

Mangrove

The set of mangrove trees (Rhisophora sp) that are located in areas near the coast, mainly in the mouths of rivers, lakes, land with flat topography and regular muddy and partially flooded by relatively calm waters in estuaries, islands and islets where not unlike the high tide and low tide. The mangrove ecosystem is especially adapted to saline soil and aqueous conditions, geographically distributed in the tropical belt where it is influenced by tides. The forest can be adapted to different conditions of water salinity to hypersaline water sweet hence the name and halophyte plants that can withstand the combination of both. Besides being present in the Rosario Islands, Cartagena are important to the ecosystem of the Cienaga de la Virgen.