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Castaway Plants
Monday, June 4, 2012 at 9:35AM | Share Article No, I don't mean the plants people get rid off or set aside to use for compost or those used in the set of one of the reality TV shows or a Tom Hanks movie.
These plants grow wild on a thousand acre island in the Bahamas.
View from the island's observation deck.The island, once visited by pirates and then (much) later on by drug smugglers, is now overrun by a rodent named Mickey and his friends. The "official" story has cleaned up the island's nefarious history and has changed it to a story of three explorers and their families setting sail for the Bahamas in the 1920's and deciding to settle down on the island.
You can choose to read either the pirate/drug version or the sanitized Disney explorer version. Heck, just go ahead and read both. Whatever you choose to do . . .
. . . Welcome to Disney's Castaway Cay!!! (pronounced "key")
The cruise ship Disney Magic stopped here for 8 hours. While my wife and kids stayed on the beach, I decided to bike around the island for 2 hours to inspect the local flora.
My father-in-law accompanied me up to the observation deck
A lot of the plants caught my eye. Since they are just growing wild on this uninhabited part of the island they are unfortunately without ID. Still I hope you enjoy going through the pictures.
Beautiful palms with fan shaped leaves grow abundantly on the island. They don't grow very tall. The tallest I've seen is only about 6-7 feet tall.
This was a surprise. I never expected to see an orchid on the island especially a flowering one.
Tillandsia utriculata growing terrestrially. I read somewhere that in Florida a few populations of T. utriculata grow terrstrially but here almost all of them are thriving on the ground.
A huge T. utriculata beginning to bloom. The inflorescence can reach several meters high.
Flower or fruit? Flower but I initially thought it was a fruit.
A shrub with an interesting red flower. A nice contrast with the mostly green surroundings.
Yellow cottonballs. I think these may be Cow bush, (L. leucocephala).
Another wild orchid bloom. This one was really beautiful.
Tillandsia fasciculata again growing terrestrially.
Even orchids grow terrestrially on this island.
Several purple flowers.
A nice yellow flower. Finally a break from nice purple flowers.
A cycad species. Looks like a Cycas but it is not known to be endemic outside of Asia and Southern Africa. Well it could be a Dioon, a Zamia or a Ceratozamia or a Cycas that was planted on the island.
Yucca aloifolia.
A kind of succulent.
An interesting looking palm.
Allamanda sp?
An immature Tillandsia utriculata with a small clump of Tillandsia recurvata growing under it.
This was definitely an unexpected highlight in this port of call. Seeing different species of Tillandsias in habitat. I wish I had more time to explore the island and discover more plants. However, it was nearing noon (a.k.a. lunch) and I still had to bike back. You know me, if there is one passion that can at least equal my love for plants, it would be my love for food.
Castaway Cay proved to be the best of both worlds. Happy me!
bahamas, bike tour, castaway cay, cruise, cycad, fasciculata, orchid, palm, recurvata, succulent, utriculata, yucca | in Tillandsia
Reader Comments (21)
Wow what a discovery, it's always a treat to see plants growing in their natural surroundings. The only place I've ever seen Tillandsia growing is in a store...
Being in the Bahamas, all of these plants will do well in the Philippines I can imagine.
You certainly are enjoying much, it is obvious. Is that a family vacation only, no work? It looks like all plants there we also have here! It's very much the same, as if you are looking at our vegetation. It is just that it is not poached by unscrupulous collectors as what we have here! Besides, the soil and conditions look like very conducive for their growth, just like those bamboo orchids and cymbidium, and of course those tillandsia are very healthy.
I remember the plants in Barbados as i always see in Helen's blogs, are totally the same as ours. And we always compare notes. Did you also scuba dive there?
@ Loree: LOL! The day before we embarked, I did get to see a good number of tillandsias growing on the trees of Orlando. Prior to that, I would have been just the same as you.
@ Mark and Gaz: So true. If only I had my own island . . . I can dream, right?
@ Andrea: Thankfully it was a family vacation. Not long enough for me but both my wife and I had to go back to work. No unscrupulous collectors because the island has a short airstrip that was used to smuggled drugs into Florida. Anyone who would have tried to collect plants would have been met my armalite toting guards and rabid dogs.
I did not get to scuba dive on this trip. Maybe next time I am in the Caribbean.
You are having too much fun. What a great place to vacation. You can tell your father-in-law that I thought he was your brother at first. Nice looking YOUNG gent. I know you were surprised to see the orchids, but I would have been so pleased. I love orchids and seeing them growing freely (even so few) like that, makes my heart sing. I loved the photos of the Ipomoea, if that is what they are in pink and lavender.
@ Donna: I am scared to tell my father-in-law what you thought. He relishes those kinds of comments. LOL! Yes, those were morning glories. I really enjoyed discovering the plants and wonder how many other people actually appreciate the individual plants while they explore the island.
Thank you so much, Bom, for the wonderful and interesting tour!
Wow, so interesting to see plants from halfway across the world. Especially ones that'd do well in our climate here. Glad you took a tour and captured these images. A beautiful series!
No drinks Bom? haha... You have beautiful local floras there. I am fascinated by the tillandsias... they look awesome!
What a vacation! I'm pretty sure those untamed plants and blooms were delighted and happy to have someone appreciate their beauty in the wild and share it...Nice shots, too!
@ Donalaterrazza: You're welcome!
@ Kanak: Thank you. It was fun for me to do, a new experience seeing them in situ.
@ Stephanie: Drank it all after the bike ride. LOL! I too loved seeing all the tillandsias. Didn't expect to see them on a cruise to the Caribbean.
@ Hardinars: Thanks! Seeing the plants in their natural habitat was one of the best parts of my vacation. Unplanned, too.
1. looks like Levistonia
5. Tournefortia
6. Syzygium?
11. Clitoria
12 and 13. Ipomoea
I love ur pictures!!! im a growing plant enthusiast as well, actually I love plant taxonomy and im trying to enhance my skills... hopefully u can build a collection of Philippine native plants!! :D
Hi Jay! Thanks for visiting my site and also for contributing the genera of several plants. I need to brush up on taxonomy, just difficult for someone who did not major in science. Are you studying it formally?
Beautiful water and a great island discovery. Yes, there's a Dioon native to southern Florida, so I would guess these islands would have some as well.
David/:0)
You know, Bom, you were only a thousand miles from Houston..you should have stopped by for a visit! :0)
Hi!
lovely place and such a fun place to be.
Such a wonderful treat to feast on wild orchids flowering.
It must be very exciting for you to discover many of your favourite plants on the island.
Hi Bom, do check out my latest post if you have the time. I have nominated you for the Versatile Blogger award. Happy Tuesday!
Definitely beats a weekend in Blackpool.
fascinating informative post. Disney manages to sanitize everything it gets its hands onto. Makes me wonder if there were deadly nightshades and other poisonous plants growing on the island pre-Disney ... (lol)
@ David: Actually, I did drop by but you were out. Haven't you noticed that one of your agaves is missing?
@ Diana: Hi! You're right. It was very exciting.
@ Stephanie: Hi Stephanie! I'll try my best but can't promise because of time constraints.. Thank you very much for nominating me. I'm very honored that you
@ Alistair: I've never been to Blackpool. What does it have to offer?
@ Catmint: LOL!!!
Ha! I love that last sentence which really adds depth to the comment you left on my recent post! I hope you gave into the craving and made yourself some chicken soup. :) I'm glad you decided on the bike tour...I love those yellow cotton balls!