Cayman Islands National Trust News also includes their Summer Camp and Mastic Reserve expansion

New cactus record for Cayman

By Paul Watler, Environmental Programmes Manager, Cayman Islands National Trust

Amateur botanists and cactus enthusiasts will be pleased to learn that we have a new record for the Cayman Islands!

Alan Franck, of the University of South Florida, published a report last year indicating that the cactus formerly described as Harrisia gracilis is, in fact, a species never before described to science. Thus, it has been dubbed Harrisia caymanensis.

Harrisia cacti are found in the Caribbean and South America. Dr. George Proctor, author of Flora of the Cayman Islands previously identified the cactus as the gracilis species. But Alan Franck, in the journal Haseltonia, lists this species as relegated to southern Jamaica. Franck’s results stemmed from a comparative study of the seeds of each Harrisia species, which was supported by molecular data.

Though Proctor insists that Harrisia are found on all three islands, Franck mentions that he only observed the cactus on Cayman Brac. According to Franck, the records of H. gracilis from the Swan Islands are likely also H.caymanensis. Proctor also characterized it as tree-like, whereas Franck indicates that instead, it resembles a shrub.

Found in scrub near the coast or on rocks in the Bluff woodlands, H. caymanensis sports a white flower which only opens at night. The edible fruit takes about two months to ripen to a yellow colour. Accounts suggest that it is sweet. The dark green stems are somewhat more slender than the Pilosocereus more commonly seen.

It goes to show that despite our island nation’s small size, there are still new discoveries being made about our natural heritage. For instance, Vanilla Orchid

(Vanilla cfaviculato) was discovered on Cayman Brac last year. While it had previously been recorded from Grand Cayman, among other islands in the Caribbean, it had not been recorded from Cayman Brac – in spite of the fact that it was growing onto a road when it was first sighted.

The National Trust for the Cayman Islands has been in touch with the owners of the land which the orchid was found on, and they have indicated their willingness to work with the National Trust in its preservation.

OTHER NEWS

National Trust Summer Discovery Day Camp

July 30- Aug 2, Aug 5 – 9

Email: [email protected]

Dates: July 29 – August 2, August 5 – 9

Ages: 7-12yrsold Hours: 8:30am-3pm

Cost: Cl$175 per week (National Trust Members) Cl$200 per week (non-members) Location: National Trust office-Dart Park, South Sound (South Church Street)

Activities: The National Trust’s camp includes loads of Arts and Crafts and Field Trips to interesting places.

Visit Blue Iguanas at the Botanic Park;explore the mangroves and the beach.

Search for butterflies and build a Blue Iguana; explore our capital during a George Town Scavenger Hunt.

Create a National Trust camp journal eco-art crafts; create a 3D model of a traditional Cayman House.

Remember to bring: packed lunch, water bottle, comfortable shoes, sunscreen and a hat/cap.

AND

The Mastic Reserve is to be expanded.

The National Trust has acquired 8 more acres to add to the Mastic Reserve, bringing the total amount of land protected by the Trust in the reserve to 843 acres. The reserve is home to all of Cayman’s endemic orchids and forest birds and is the main habitat for a critically endangered variety of Black Mastic tree (Termenalia eriostachya var. margaretiae), which is unique to Grand Cayman.