Jamaica Photograph by Leo R. Douglas   Island of Jamaica in the Caribbean Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   3,200 square miles (8,300 square kilometers) -- about the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined Critical/Endangered

· Blanketed Mountains
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
More Photos

Blanketed Mountains

Trade-wind clouds enshroud the John Crow and Blue Mountains in Jamaica, disappearing only during extremely dry and still weather. Jamaica’s Moist Forest ecoregion blankets these mountains, with more than 600 flowering plant species growing here, 275 of them endemic to Jamaica. The largest butterfly in the Western Hemisphere, the Jamaican swallowtail, darts through the trees on yellow and black wings.

Special Features

Forest canopies at lower elevations reach 80 to 90 feet (24 to 27 m) high. As elevation increases, these forests yield to woodlands of elfin trees and shrubs covered in mosses and epiphytes. Waterfalls spring from mountainsides, sliding in silver streams past orchids and ferns. In this setting, the blue mahoe--the national tree of Jamaica--grows 30 to 40 feet (9 to12 m) high in the forest canopy. Its blossoms change from yellow to orange to red as they mature, and all three colors can be found on the tree at once. The wood of this tree takes on a bluish hue when polished. The vast, karst landscape of one area called Cockpit Country harbors 60 percent of Jamaica’s endemic plant species. The region earned its name from the regular sinkholes, or "cockpits," that dot the ground, interspersed by steep, rocky hills of similar height. This "eggcrate" appearance was gradually formed over time as rainfall eroded the limestone.

	Blue Mountain coffee is the most expensive in the world and is in high demand, creating substantial pressure to replace natural habitat with coffee plantations.

Wild Side

The black and yellow wings of a Jamaican swallowtail stretch six inches (15 cm) across. This rare butterfly is endangered because of unsustainable collection of the species. Hutias, Jamaica’s last endemic land mammal, find shelter inside the limestone caves common to this region. Described as a cross between a rabbit and a guinea pig, this rodent has been hunted for food by native Arawak Indians and settlers. More endemic birds are found on Jamaica than any other Caribbean island, and most of them--28 species--are found in this moist forest ecoregion. Among these are the dark green Jamaican mango and the red- and black-billed streamertail hummingbirds. The hummingbirds’ common name refers to the birds’ two long, black tail feathers, which cross and whir in flight.

Cause for Concern

Grazing, the invasion of exotic grasses, and human-caused fires are all taking their toll on this region. Agricultural expansion, especially coffee plantations, presents perhaps the biggest threat.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.