The Cuban dry forests are a

tropical dry forest The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

that occupies on

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and Isla de la Juventud. The ecoregion receives of rainfall annually. Cuban dry forests can be differentiated into

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

forests, semi-

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

forests,

mogote A mogote () is a generally-isolated steep-sided residual hill in the tropics composed of either limestone, marble, or dolomite. Mogotes are surrounded by nearly flat alluvial plains. The hills typically have a rounded, tower-like form. Overvi ...

s, and

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...

ous low forests.

Evergreen forests

Less than 30% of all trees lose their leaves in

forests, and there are few epiphytes or lianas. It is classified according to

leaf A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

length as being either mesophyllous (leaves ) or microphyllous (leaves ). Mesophyllous forest occurs at elevations from sea level to or . The

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an ...

reaches a height of , while certain trees such as palms emerge at . The upper layer of trees in Sierra del Rosario includes (''

Alchornea ''Alchornea'' is a plant genus of the family (biology), family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1788. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, South Asia, Australia, Latin America, and various oceanic islands. Mo ...

latifolia''), (''

Calophyllum antillanum ''Calophyllum antillanum'' is an evergreen, medium-sized tropical tree in the Calophyllaceae family. It is also known as Antilles beauty leaf , Antilles calophyllum, Alexandrian laurel, Galba, Santa Maria, mast wood, and West Indian laurel. Ga ...

''), ('' Sideroxylon foetidissimum'') and ('' Matayba oppositifolia''). Yaya (''

Oxandra ''Oxandra'' is a genus of flowering plants in the soursop family, Annonaceae. Selected species * ''Oxandra lanceolata'' (Sw.) Baill. * ''Oxandra laurifolia'' (Sw.) A.Rich. * ''Oxandra leucodermis'' (Spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus '' ...

lanceolata''), ''

Wallenia ''Wallenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae endemic to the West Indies. Species *'' Wallenia apiculata'' *'' Wallenia aquifolia'' *'' Wallenia bumelioides'' *'' Wallenia calyptrata'' *'' Wallenia clusioides'' *'' ...

laurifolia'', (''

Trophis ''Trophis'' is a genus in the plant family Moraceae which includes about nine species, six of which are Neotropical and three which are Palaeotropical. It is dioecious, with male and female flowers borne on separate plants. Recent work suggest ...

racemosa'') and ''

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extendi ...

'' species grow in the lower layer. Microphyllous evergreen forest establishes itself over coastal

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. It has evergreen and deciduous trees that reach a height of or , some thorny shrubs, arborescent cacti, other succulents, epiphytes and dry lianas. Trees include júcaro espinoso (''

Bucida ''Bucida'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Indian almond family, Combretaceae. It contains the following species (but this list may be incomplete): * '' Bucida angustifolia'' * '' Bucida buceras'' L. - Bullet tree (southern Mexico, Centr ...

molinetii''), cúrbana ('' Canella winterana''), guayacán negro (''

Guaiacum sanctum ''Guaiacum sanctum'', commonly known as holywood, lignum vitae or holywood lignum-vitae, is a species of flowering plant in the creosote bush family, Zygophyllaceae. It is native to tropical America, from Mexico through Central America, Florida, ...

''), yaití (''

Gymnanthes lucida ''Gymnanthes lucida'', commonly known as shiny oysterwood or crabwood, is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, that is native to southern Florida in the United States, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central A ...

''), cerillo ('' Hypelate trifoliata''), soplillo (''

Lysiloma latisiliquum ''Lysiloma latisiliquum'', commonly known as false tamarind or wild tamarind, is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae, that is native to southern Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Fl ...

''), guao de costa (''

Metopium toxiferum ''Metopium toxiferum'', the poisonwood, Florida poisontree, or hog gum, is a species of flowering tree in the cashew or sumac family, Anacardiaceae, that is native to the American Neotropics. It produces the irritant urushiol much like its clo ...

''), almácigo ('' Bursera simaruba''), caguairán amarillo ('' Hymenaea torrei''), uvillón (''

Coccoloba diversifolia ''Coccoloba diversifolia'', known as pigeonplum or tietongue, is a species of the genus '' Coccoloba'' native to coastal areas of the Caribbean, Central America (Belize, Guatemala), southern Mexico, southern Florida (coastal regions from Cape Ca ...

''), and miraguanos (''

Coccothrinax ''Coccothrinax'' is a genus of palms in the family Arecaceae. There are more than 50 species described in the genus, plus many synonyms and subspecies. A new species (''Coccothrinax spirituana'') was described as recently as 2017. Many ''Coccothr ...

'' spp.). Tuna (''

Opuntia stricta ''Opuntia stricta'' is a species of large cactus that is endemic to the subtropical and tropical coastal areas of the Americas, especially around the Caribbean. Common names include erect prickly pear and nopal estricto (Spanish). The first des ...

'') is an important

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abo ...

species.

Semi-deciduous forests

About half of the trees in semi-

forests are

, along with shrubs, epiphytes, a few

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent wood, woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennial plant, perennials, and nearly all Annual plant, annuals and Biennial plant, biennials. Definition ...

s, and many

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themsel ...

s. Trees in this type of forest are often mesophyllous, with leaves long. The canopy in forests with consistent moisture reaches a height of and may have emergent species up to high as well as palms. The lower arboreal story includes deciduous and

ous evergreen trees.

Soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debri ...

s are either red

rendzina Rendzina (or ''rendsina'') is a soil type recognized in various soil classification systems, including those of Britain and Germany as well as some obsolete systems. They are humus-rich shallow soils that are usually formed from carbonate- or occ ...

s, black rendzinas, or brown soils. Trees grow rapidly due to heavy rainfall during the summer. The upper layer of trees includes ('' Bursera simaruba''), ('' Cedrela odorata''), (''

Calophyllum ''Calophyllum'' is a genus of tropical flowering plants in the family Calophyllaceae. They are mainly distributed in Asia, with some species in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, and the Pacific Islands. History Members of the genus ''Calophyll ...

candidissimum''), (''

Ceiba pentandra ''Ceiba pentandra'' is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae (previously emplaced in the family Bombacaceae), native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and (as the variety ''C. pentandr ...

''), (''

Cordia ''Cordia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It contains about 300 species of shrubs and trees, that are found worldwide, mostly in warmer regions. Many of the species are commonly called manjack, while ''bocote ...

gerascanthus''), ('' C. collococca''), (''

Dipholis salicifolia ''Sideroxylon salicifolium'', commonly called white bully or willow bustic, is a species of flowering plant native to Florida, the West Indies and Central America. It has also been considered a member of the genus '' Dipholis'', with the binomia ...

''), (''

Swietenia mahagoni ''Swietenia mahagoni'', commonly known as American mahogany, Cuban mahogany, small-leaved mahogany, and West Indian mahogany, is a species of ''Swietenia'' native to South Florida in the United States and islands in the Caribbean including the Ba ...

''), (''

Zanthoxylum ''Zanthoxylum'' is a genus of about 250 species of deciduous and evergreen trees, shrubs and climbers in the family Rutaceae that are native to warm temperate and subtropical areas worldwide. It is the type genus of the tribe Zanthoxyleae in ...

martinicense''), (''

Celtis ''Celtis'' is a genus of about 60–70 species of deciduous trees, commonly known as hackberries or nettle trees, widespread in warm temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The genus is part of the extended hemp family (Cannabaceae). ...

trinervia'') and (''

Roystonea regia ''Roystonea regia'', commonly known as the Cuban royal palm or Florida royal palm, is a species of palm that is native to Mexico, parts of Central America and the Caribbean, and southern Florida. A large and attractive palm, it has been planted ...

''). The lower layer includes (''

Casearia ''Casearia'' is a plant genus in the family Salicaceae. The genus was included in the Flacourtiaceae under the Cronquist system of angiosperm classification, and earlier in the Samydaceae. Recent research indicates that the latter group might ...

hirsuta''), (''

Cupania ''Cupania'' is a plant genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species an ...

americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

''), (''

Guarea ''Guarea'' is a genus of evergreen trees or shrubs in the family Meliaceae, native to tropical Africa and Central and South America. At their largest, they are large trees 20–45 m tall, with a trunk over 1 m diameter, often buttressed at the ba ...

trichiloides''), (''

lanceolata'') and (''

Trichilia ''Trichilia'' is a flowering plant genus in the family Meliaceae. These plants are particularly diverse in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America. Several species are used in folk medicine and shamanism – e.g. '' T. rubescens'' ag ...

havanensis''). Forests with fluctuating moisture have an canopy, an

of microphyllous and thorny deciduous species, and a forest floor covered in herbaceous

geophyte A storage organ is a part of a plant specifically modified for storage of energy (generally in the form of carbohydrates) or water. Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by herbivores. Plants that have ...

Mogotes

Mogote A mogote () is a generally-isolated steep-sided residual hill in the tropics composed of either limestone, marble, or dolomite. Mogotes are surrounded by nearly flat alluvial plains. The hills typically have a rounded, tower-like form. Overvi ...

s are conical mountains composed of karstic

and are found in western Cuba. Forests found on mogotes are characterized by a discontinuous story of trees high, as well as palms, plentiful succulents, epiphytes, and

lianas A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a t ...

. Plant life includes ('' Gaussia princeps''), ('' Thrinax morrisii''), (''

Tabebuia ''Tabebuia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae.Eberhard Fischer, Inge Theisen, and Lúcia G. Lohmann. 2004. "Bignoniaceae". pages 9-38. In: Klaus Kubitzki (editor) and Joachim W. Kadereit (volume editor). ''The Families ...

calcicola''), ('' Erythrina cubensis''), '' Malpighia roigiana'', ('' Microcycas calocoma''), ''

Lantana ''Lantana'' () is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in ...

strigosa'', ''

Agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some ''Agave'' species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for ...

'' spp., and '' Leptocereus'' spp. The vegetation on rock faces is bushy and very open and includes shrubs and trees with specially adapted roots, such as the endemic ('' Pachira emarginata'').

Sclerophyllous low forests

Sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or oblique to direct ...

ous low forests are found growing on serpentine soils and represent the transition between the dry forests and xeric scrublands. This is subdivided into charrascales (wet sclerophyllous low forests) and cuabales (dry sclerophyllous low forests). Cuabales can reach heights of , and palms and species with small, hard and very thorny leaves are abundant. Emergent trees can be found. Plant life includes l (''

Leucocroton ''Leucocroton'' is a plant genus of the family (biology), family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1861. The entire genus is endemic to Cuba. It is a member of the ''Leucocroton'' alliance, which also includes ''Garciadelia'' and ''Lasi ...

flavicans''), ('' Annona bullata''), (''

molinetii''), (''

Coccoloba ''Coccoloba'' is a genus of about 120–150 species of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae, which is native to the Neotropics. There is no overall English name for the genus, although many of the individual species have widely used common ...

praecox''), ('' Pseudocarpidium wrightii''), (''

Copernicia ''Copernicia'' is a genus of palms native to South America and the Greater Antilles. Of the known species and nothospecies ( hybrids), 22 of the 27 are endemic to Cuba. They are fan palms (Arecaceae tribe Corypheae), with the leaves with a bar ...

'' spp.), (''

'' spp.), ''

Buxus ''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood. The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...

'' spp. ''

Bourreria ''Bourreria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as strongbark or strongback. The generic name was chosen by Patrick Browne to honour German pharmacist Johann Ambrosius Beu ...

'' spp., (''

'' spp.), ''

Guettarda ''Guettarda'' is a plant genus in the family Rubiaceae. Most of these plants are known by the common name velvetseed. Estimates of the number of species range from about 50 Anthony J. Huxley, Mark Griffiths, and Margot Levy (editors). 1992. ''The ...

'' spp., ''

Rhodogeron ''Rhodogeron'' is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Inuleae within the family Asteraceae. ;Species The only known species is ''Rhodogeron coronopifolius'', found only in Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, Repúbl ...

coronopifolius'' and ''

agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some ''Agave'' species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for ...

cajalbanensis''.

Fauna

Bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s of the dry forests include the West Indian woodpecker (''Melanerpes superciliaris''), Fernandina's flicker (''Colaptes fernandinae''), Cuban green woodpecker (''Xiphidiopicus percussus''), and

blue-headed quail-dove The blue-headed quail-dove (''Starnoenas cyanocephala''), or blue-headed partridge-dove, is a species of bird in the pigeon and dove family Columbidae. It is monotypic within the subfamily Starnoenadinae and genus ''Starnoenas''. Taxonomy In 173 ...

(''Starnoenas cyanocephala''). Reptiles include anoles, geckos, and the Cuban boa ('' Epicrates angulifer'').

Desmarest's hutia Desmarest's hutia or the Cuban hutia (''Capromys pilorides'') is a stout, furry, rat-like mammal found only on Cuba and nearby islands. Growing to about 60 cm (2 ft), it normally lives in pairs and feeds on leaves, fruit, bark and sometimes small ...

(''Capromys pilorides'') is a common species of mammal.

References

{{reflist Neotropical dry broadleaf forests Ecoregions of the Caribbean Ecoregions of Cuba * Natural history of Cuba