Flora of Belize: Difference between revisions

The '''flora of Belize''' is highly diverse by regional standards, given the country's small geographical extent. Situated on the Caribbean coast of northern [[Central America]] the flora and vegetation have been intimately intertwined with Belize's history. The nation itself grew out of British timber extraction activities from the 17th century onwards, at first for [[logwood]] (''Haematoxylum campechianum'') and later for [[mahogany]] (''[[Swietenia macrophylla]]''), fondly called "red gold" because of its high cost and was much sought after by European aristocracy. Central America generally is thought to have gained much of it characteristic flora during the "[[Great American Interchange|Great American interchange]]" during which time South American elements migrated north after the geological closure of the [[isthmus of Panama]].<ref>Gentry, A.H. 1982. Neotropical floristic diversity: phytogeographical connections between Central and South America, Pleistocene climatic fluctuations, or an accident of the Andean orogeny? Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 69, 557-593</ref> Few Amazonian elements penetrate as far north as Belize and in [[species composition]] the forests of [[Belize]] are most similar to the forests of the [[Petén Department|Petén]] ([[Guatemala]]) and the [[Yucatán]] ([[Mexico]]).<ref>Brewer, S. et al. 2003 J. Biogeography 30: 1669- 1688</ref>