Maison de la Forêt trail

12 points of interest

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  Flora

  Inga laurina

  Inga laurina grows to around 15 metres tall. A tree with numerous branches, its flowers form a sort of white catkin. Its fruits are swollen pods containing seeds and a white, edible pulp.

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  Flora

  Gommier

  The Gommier (Daryodes excelsa) can grow up to 35m high. When they are damaged, its white trunk and roots exude a white resin with a pungent turpentine smell, which is traditionally used as incense or to start fires, because it burns slowly regardless of the surrounding humidity. It is reported that the tree has the ability to cast out spirits. It is strictly forbidden to take away any plant parts from the National Park. Its trunk was used by American Indians to make their canoes (kanawa), and is still used today by coastal people from many tropical countries, such as Dominique, to make fishing vessels. Its green seeds are popular with pigeons.

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  Flora

  Swartzia caribaea

  A member of the Caesalpininiaceae family, Swartzia caribaea is a medium-sized tree that is found in rainforests and that thrives along rivers. It produces fleshy and leathery fruits that are somewhere between bright orange and yellowish-brown in colour.

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  Flora

  Chimarrhis cymosa

  A member of the Rubiaceae family, Chimarrhis cymosa features yellow-orange coloured wood.
  Its straight trunk is covered in a clear and smooth bark. Its leaves are light green, wide and long. Flowering occurs between April and May and between October and November, when the top of the tree is covered in white flowers. Its wood is renowned for its durability and is used to make hut flooring.

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  Flora

  Symphonia globulifera

  A member of the Clusiaceae family, Symphonia globulifera is a tree that is often found in the rainforest or in swampy forest areas. Reaching up to 25-30 metres in height, it has stilt roots and a yellow latex trunk. Its flowers feature bright red petals, with oval fruits resembling nutmeg and that are yellow when ripe. It wood was used as timber for houses while its latex resin was used in boat-making.

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  Flora

  Sterculia caribea

  Sterculia caribea is endemic to the Lesser Antilles. Depending on the age of the plant, its leaves tend to vary in shape. Its fruits generally cluster together in groups of four or five woody follicles and are highly distinctive: they are lined on the inside with dark red urticating bristles. Its flowers appear in the form of a bunch of small yellow and pink bells.

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  Area of relaxation

  Carbets (wooden shelters)

  These large traditional carbets offer shelter and the chance to enjoy the sounds of the rainforest. These traditional Native American structures are made from wood and have no outer walls.

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  Flora

  Simarouba amara

  A member of the Simaroubaceae family, Simarouba amara is a tree with straight and bare trunk that can grow up to 30 metres tall. It has smooth and whitish bark. Its leaves measure 60cm long and its greenish flowers are visible between April and July. Its wood is used in woodworking to make interior furniture parts.

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  Flora

  Acomat boucan

  A member of the Elaeocarpaceae family, Sloanea caribaea is a very large tree that grows up to 40 metres tall. It is the most spectacular tree in the Sloanea genus. It has an exposed trunk and magnificent buttresses. Its bark is reddish-brown and tends to flake off in thin strips when the tree ages. Formerly, visitors to the forest would make us of its enormous buttresses to shelter their fires and to smoke meat. It has since been established that lighting fires among the roots is not conducive to the well-being of trees.

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  Flora

  Tapura latifolia

  Tapura latifolia, a member of the Melastomaceae family, is a tree that seldom grows beyond 20 metres. It features a fluted trunk and leaves marked by five main longitudinal veins running perpendicular to its many secondary veins.

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  Flora

  Bois diable (Devil's wood)

  The Bois diable is a rare tree : it can grow up 15 metres high and the diameter of its trunk is 60cm. Its roots grow from unspectacular buttresses. Its dark bark takes on a burnt-like quality and comes off in patches. It produces green, spherical fruits that contain a black flesh and flattened seeds. Be careful though, these fruits are poisonous! They were once used to stun river fish in order to catch them more easily. Also known in Créole as "Bré-bré", the wood of this tree is used to make fences, because it tends to rot slowly.

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  Flora

  Sloaena massoni

  This small-leaved chesnut tree (Sloaena massoni) can grow between 20-40 metres tall. It has some very impressive buttresses with a number of branches. It boasts thick foliage and a crown that is quite spread out. Its leaves are 20-30 cm, which distinguishes it from the larger-leaved chestnut tree variety. It produces hard and round nuts that are covered with small, reddish and supple spines.