BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM


and 2). In wetter and more saline places, as around North Sound,
Rhizophora mangle predominates (Fig. 7), but farther inland at some-
what drier sites (at least seasonally) other mangroves (Laguncularia
racemosa and Avicennia nitidca) combine to form a thick-canopied forest
(Fig. 8). At even drier sites, buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus) and
mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni) dominate this formation. On the in-
terior eastern side of North Sound these mangrove swamps attain their
greatest development; the trees often reaching heights of 18-20 m. As
will be demonstrated later, these swamps are important communities for
wintering birds.


FIGURE 7.-Red (foreground) and black (background) mangroves beside North
Sound, Grand Cayman.

 PASTURES AND CULTIVATED AREAS.-Characteristically, for many years
the Caymanian people have depended upon small cultivations for staples
such as yam, cassava, potato, papaya, and bananas. Small cultivated
areas, hewn and burned out of the limestone forests, are chiefly at inland
sites, such as at the interior eastern end of Grand Cayman and on the
bluff of Cayman Brac where pockets of red earth support the meager
crops. Formerly coconuts (Cocos nucifera) were extensively cultivated,
especially at coastal sites on Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, but a bud-
rot disease has virtually eliminated the once flourishing coconut industry.
 The "bush" has also been traditionally cleared for pastures especially


Vol. 19, No. 5