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songs, symbols, landscapes and legends the two are inextricably linked. The national tree is the palma real (royal palm), and it’s central to the country’s coat of arms and the Cristal beer logo. It’s believed there are 20 million royal palms in Cuba and locals will tell you that wherever you stand on the island, you’ll always be within sight of one of them. Marching single file by the roadside or clumped on a hill, these majestic trees reach up to 40m in height and are easily identified by their lithesome trunk and green stalk at the top. There are also cocotero (coconut palm); palma barrigona (big-belly palm) with its characteristic bulge; and the extremely rare palma corcho (cork palm). The latter is a link with the Cretaceous period (between 65 and 135 million years ago) and is cherished as a living fossil. You can see examples of it on the grounds of the Museo de Ciencias Naturales Sandalio de Noda and La Ermita, both in Pinar del Río province. All told, there are 90 palm-tree types in Cuba.

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Approximately 2% of Cuba’s arable land is given over to coffee production and the industry supports a workforce of 265,000 people.

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Other important trees include mangroves, in particular the spiderlike mangroves that protect the Cuban shoreline from erosion and provide an important habitat for small fish and birds. Mangroves account for 26% of Cuban forests and cover almost 5% of the island’s coast; Cuba ranks ninth in the world in terms of mangrove density, and the most extensive swamps are situated in the Ciénaga de Zapata.

The largest native pine forests grow on Isla de la Juventud (the former Isle of Pines), in western Pinar del Río, in eastern Holguín (or more specifically the Sierra Cristal) and in central Guantánamo. These forests are especially susceptible to fire damage, and pine reforestation has been a particular headache for the island’s environmentalists.

Rainforests exist at higher altitudes – between approximately 500m and 1500m – in the Sierra del Escambray, Sierra Maestra and Macizo de Sagua-Baracoa mountains. Original rainforest species include ebony and mahogany, but today most reforestation is in eucalyptus, which is graceful and fragrant, but invasive.

Dotted liberally across the island, ferns, cacti and orchids contribute hundreds of species, many endemic, to Cuba’s cornucopia of plant life. For the best concentrations check out the botanical gardens in Santiago de Cuba for ferns and cacti and Pinar del Río for orchids. Most orchids bloom from November to January, and one of the best places to see them is in the Reserva Sierra del Rosario. The national flower is the graceful mariposa (butterfly jasmine); you’ll know it by its white floppy petals and strong perfume.

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Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt is named after the German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), who visited the island between 1801 and 1804 to undertake important social and scientific research.

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Medicinal plants are widespread in Cuba due largely to a chronic shortage of prescription medicines (banned under the US embargo). Pharmacies are well stocked with effective tinctures such as aloe (for cough and congestion) and a bee by-product called propólio, used for everything from stomach amoebas to respiratory infections. On the home front, every Cuban patio has a pot of orégano de la tierra (Cuban oregano) growing and if you start getting a cold you’ll be whipped up a wonder elixir made from the fat, flat leaves mixed with lime juice, honey and hot water.

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NATIONAL PARKS

In 1978 Cuba established the National Committee for the Protection and Conservation of Natural Resources and the Environment (Comarna). Attempting to reverse 400 years of deforestation and habitat destruction, the body set about designating green belts and initiated ambitious reforestation campaigns. It is estimated that at the time of Columbus’ arrival in 1492, 95% of Cuba was covered in virgin forest. By 1959 this area had been reduced to just 16%. The implementation of large-scale