Plunging into the native flora of Mauritius (Part 2)

 Day 2:

·         Identifying indigenous, endemic and exotic species in the Mauritian context.

Ø  Indigenous species are those which exist naturally in a given location or ecosystem. They have not been brought by man. They however can also exist elsewhere in the world. E.g. of an indigenous plant species in Mauritius are Bois d’olive (Cassine orientalis), Palmiste Bouteille (Hyophorbe lagenicaulis) and Bois de renette (Dodonaea viscosa).  Bois de renette is one plant species that is reputed for its medicinal properties.

Ø  Endemic species are those which are restricted to a particular geographic region and not found elsewhere in the world. For e.g. the Bois d’olive is endemic to the Mascarene region. The Trochetia boutoniana, officially declared as our national flower as from 1992, is a plant species endemic to Mauritius, but to show the extent of its endemism, we can say it is endemic to Le Morne Brabant.  Other plants endemic to Mauritius include the Trochetia parviflora, Trochetia blackburniana and the Dombeya mauritiana

Trochetia blackburniana

Hibiscus fragilis: another endemic flower of Mauritius

Ø  Exotic species do not naturally exist in a region, but have been brought by man.  The majority of plants that we see in the Mauritian landscape are exotic, for e.g. mango tree, banana tree, frangipani, bougainvillea.

Poinsettia: an introduced plant used in horticultural activities in Mauritius

·         Invasive alien species

These are exotic weeds which invade our native forests and suppress the growth of indigenous species. They are the major threat to our native forests as they proliferate rapidly. E.g. include privet, goyave de chine, ravenale, vieille fille, liane margoze and tabac bœuf.

Vieille fille ( Lantana sp )

Ravenale/ Travellers Palm (Ravenala madagascariensis  )