Bonaire National Marine Park - KLEIN BONAIRE - FLORA

The flora of Klein Bonaire has undergone severe degradation in the past due intensive grazing by goats. Historical photos from the 1930s show vegetation consisting of large, full-grown trees and the absence of a shrub layer. At the time the island can be presumed to have been heavily populated with goats, which while largely not affecting adult trees, affected regeneration of new plants.
The absence of goats for over forty years has allowed the natural flora of Klein Bonaire to make a comeback, so that it has become home to many varieties of plants and animals, some not even present on Bonaire itself.

Nevertheless, if unaided, the recovery of the vegetation as a whole will take many decades more.

Wagenaar-Hummelinck, showed that the large candle cacti and large trees present in the 1930s had all but died out and generally monotonous vegetation dominated by Croton flavens remained. The last inventories carried out on Klein Bonaire indicate a continuation of this process. While at present the vegetation still does not have its large trees or candelabra cacti back, there are clear signs of recovery towards its more luxuriant virginal state; this is visible to present day visitors to Klein Bonaire.
On Klein Bonaire 76 different species of flora were recorded: 21 trees, 12 shrubs, 20 herbs, 17 species of grasses, 5 succulents and 1 water plant.

Below you will find a simple description of some common species of vegetation, which are easy to find during a walk on this small islet from the beach to the inland and the Salinas. Like the entire flora of Bonaire the flora on Klein Bonaire is perfectly adapted to the harsh circumstances of this area. For a more detailed description of the different adaptations of the flora of Bonaire see the flora of Washington Slagbaai National Park.

Sea Purslane (Sesuvium portulacastrum)
At the seashore you will find plants that can withstand a saline environment. The Sea Purslane is a small plant, with thick rotund leaves, covering large areas of the shore. When an abundance of rain has fallen, the leaves turn green and after a dry period the leaves turn red. When blooming the plants show small purple flowers.

Wild Olive (Bontia daphnoides)
This is a dense, bright green, little bush with long pointed leaves. At the base of the leaf stems the small green to brownish yellow flowers can be found. The small fruit looks like a small olive in form and color, however it is not edible. The Wild Olive is most common on the border between the beach and the inland of Klein Bonaire.

Calabash (Crescentia cujete)
The branches of this tree point in all different directions and very rarely form a well-shaped crown. The branches are covered with small groups of oblong leaves, broadening out to the tips. The bell-shaped flowers, growing directly from the stem and branches, are rather large and have a greenish color with purplish hues. Mainly, bats that live in the various caves of Klein Bonaire carry out its pollination.
The fruits are the well-known gourds, which are hollowed out and filled with the seeds of the flame tree and used for maracas.

Button Mangrove or Buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus)
Sometimes this tree is referred to as the White Mangrove but this may lead to confusion with a real species of mangrove, which is known by this name. The Button Mangrove belongs to a different family than the mangroves. This tree does belong to the vegetation zone, which grows along the edges of the Salinas of Klein Bonaire. It grows more at the landward side, however, behind the area where the real mangroves have their habitat. There the ground is a little bit higher and drier. It is very resistant to the high salinity of the ground water. This tree survives periods of inundation as well, without the need of aerial roots.

Rubber Vine (Cryptostegia grandiflora)
After the First World War this plant was introduced from Madagascar to Curaçao with the purpose of extracting latex from it. The production of synthetic rubber led to the abandonment of the project and the plant ran wild. Since there were no natural enemies the plant spread very rapidly across the Antilles.
The Rubber Vine grows specifically on sites where the original vegetation has been disturbed and entwines itself in other plants and trees and ultimately suffocates them. Since goats were introduced here, Klein Bonaire was a perfect habitat for the Rubber Vine. During the last inventory this plant was recorded on four different sites.
The Rubber Vine is a shrub but it looks more like some kind of climber with its long, winding branches containing a white, sticky sap, which is the source of the latex. The leaves are elliptical and the flowers are large, whitish purple and bell-shaped. The seeds are ensconced in long triangular seedpods and with their fluff, are dispersed to far away places by the wind which makes controlling the plant all the more difficult. It is expected that the Rubber Vine will be found over the whole island of Klein Bonaire in the near future.

In 2006 with the assistance of CARMABI, the agriculture department of the Island government and STINAPA’s Bonaire National Marine Park, a reforestation program was initiated. Several hundreds of native plants have been planted to date.