Végétation des Caraïbes : système de classification préliminaire et descriptions

Lowland but mostly submontane rain forest of the Lesser Antilles, with Dacryodes excelsa and other tree species in the upper canopy, and a middle story of trees usually dominated by members of the Lauraceae, especially species of the genera Nectandra and Ocotea. In Martinique it formerly occupied large portions of the island, from 300-900 m elevation on the windward side and from 500-1000 m elevation on the leeward side, with an average yearly rainfall of 1500-2200mm. Dacroydes excelsa is fairly widespread in the Lesser Antilles; Sloanea massonii, Talauma dodecapetala and Licania ternatensis are endemic to the Lesser Antilles. Depending on the island, the very diverse canopy layers may include other species, e.g. Sterculia caribaea (Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St Vincent, Trinidad-Tobago), Tovomita plumieri (Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia), Endlicheria sericea (Guadeloupe, Marie Galante, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad-Tobago), Chimarrhis cymosa (Antigua, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent), Byrsonima trinitensis (Antigua, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada).

Lesser Antilles.

Of all the above mentioned species, only Dacryodes excelsa, Endlicheria sericea and Chimarrhis cymosa are not endemic to the Lesser Antilles.

Dacroydes-Sloanea association (Beard 1949); Rainforest (Kimber 1988).

Beard (1949); Kimber (1988).

 Areces-Mallea A.E., Weakley A.S., Li X., Sayre R.G., Parrish J.D., Tipton C.V. & Boucher T. 1999. A Guide to Carribbean Vegetation Types: Preliminary Classification System and Description. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA, 166p. (Source)