Turks and Caicos is made up of forty islands and cays and is a British territory. I visited recently, and agree it is a must-see spot with its beautiful, turquoise ocean and white, sandy beaches. It is just stunning, and photos don’t do it justice.

Island vegetation is green and luxurious. Ixora, Ixora coccinea, is a large shrub seen everywhere. Its clusters of beautiful, waxy red flowers and dark-green foliage make it a pretty plant. Geiger trees grow throughout the islands and have clusters of scarlet blooms. A Geiger tree, Cordia sebesatena, grows about 25 feet tall; and like the Orchid tree, it has multiple trunks unless pruned to a single trunk. Its pear-shaped fruit is edible but not flavorful.

Mangrove trees line waterways and help stabilize banks with their long roots. Red, white, and black mangroves grow on the islands. Each occupies a different ecological niche. At lower elevations, red mangroves, Rhizophora mangle, grow. Farther inland, you see white mangroves, Laguncularia racemose, and black mangroves, Avicennia germinans. Mangroves grow next to the ocean and are not bothered by salty ocean water. Their roots provide shelter for many marine creatures.

Wild cotton, Gossypium barbadense, and Plumeria, Plumeria pudica, are in full bloom. Plumeria pudica has clusters of white blooms with yellow centers. Wild cotton belongs to the mallow family and has bright-yellow flowers.

The most fascinating cactus I saw was the Turk’s Head cactus, Melocactus. It looks like a cereus cactus or a barrel cactus wearing a red hat. Its red top resembles the traditional Turkish fez hat, hence its name.

It was exciting to see and learn about so many beautiful and unusual plants on my visit to this group of islands.

By Kelyee Ledesma
Kelyee is a master gardener and has a blog and website at zbestgarden.com.

Photo 1 Kelyee Ledesma

The Turks and Caicos islands offer a variety of beautiful flowering plants ready to photograph.

Photo 2 Wikipedia

An interesting cactus found on the islands is the Turk’s Head cactus. Its reddish top resembles a Turkish fez.

Photo 3 Visittci

The Turks and Caicos is made up of forty islands and cays and is a British territory. Its tropical climate is perfect for growing a variety of beautiful, flowering plants.

Photo 4 Wikipedia

White sands and turquoise water make Grace Bay Beach a popular tourist spot.

Photo 5 Gardening in Saudia Arabia

A Geiger tree has scarlet blooms and can be pruned to a single trunk or left as a large, multi-trunked shrub.