BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM


FIGURE 13.-Dense logwood-thatch palm-red birch forest (8 m high), Grand Cay-
man.

 LIMESTONE FOREST.-Originally, this type of forest must have cov-
ered most of the drier upland portions of Grand Cayman (Swabey
and Lewis 1946), especially on the northern and eastern sections where
limestone ridges are common. These ridges, oriented in an east-west
direction, commonly reach heights of 2-8 m, typically possess jagged
honey-combed rocks, and are difficult to traverse except for a very few
trails. With some red soil deposited, especially in intervening swales,
the limestone ridges support a dense hardwood forest (Fig. 14), which
has been selectively cut over as a source of lumber and other wood
products for many years. The larger mahogany trees, in particular, have
been removed, but even today this type of forest contains Hippomane
mancinella, Clusia flava, Cedrela odorata, Bursera simaruba, Eugenia sp.,
Ficus populnea, and other hardwoods. Swabey and Lewis (1946) list
some 30 species of trees as characteristic of this forest. The forest on
Grand Cayman may reach a height of 14 m. Apparently the limestone
forest formation on the Cayman Islands is of the same structure as that
described for the wet limestone forest of Jamaica by Asprey and Robbins
(1953).
 The bluff limestone forest on Cayman Brac (Fig. 15) is of the same
general character, except that mahogany is absent and cedar abounds due
to the well-drained terrain. Agave americana is a conspicuous plant of


Vol. 19, No. 5