Wet tropical forests can be found at Sage Mountain on Tortola
and in Caldonia, the hilly, damp forest on St. Croix’s
northwestern tip. Plant species here thrive in low light and
moisture. Instead of building defenses against grazing cattle
and drought, plants here have developed bitter-tasting and toxic
leaves to defend against insects that thrive in the damp forest.
Bromeliads are members of the epiphyte family that nest among
the branches of larger trees, gathering nutrients from the air
and storing rainwater in their leaves. Bromeliads look like the
leafy top of a pineapple; some produce beautiful flowers. One
especially beautiful forest plant is the tree fern, or Cyathea
arborea. A straight, single stem rises leafless, topped off by
delicate fern leaves. These trees look like normal ferns at
first; they reach their full diameter on the ground before
starting to grow upward. Dry tropical forests are common; in
fact, most of the wooded areas you see around you would fall
into this category. In these ecosys