The Botany of Bermuda, Lefroy 1884
Exploring The Botany of Bermuda (1884): A Window Into the Island’s Earliest Plant Records
The historic document The Botany of Bermuda by General Sir John Henry Lefroy offers one of the earliest and most comprehensive botanical surveys of Bermuda. Written in the late 19th century, it captures a detailed portrait of the island’s native landscapes, introduced species, and the ecological forces that shaped Bermuda long before modern development.
Lefroy begins by describing Bermuda’s geological origins and its surprisingly narrow range of native plants, shaped by its small land area, calcareous soils, and isolation in the Atlantic. Yet, despite these limitations, the islands became a crossroads where seeds, birds, sailors, storms, and human settlement introduced species from nearly every corner of the world. By the 1800s, Bermuda’s flora was a living mosaic—part West Indian, part American coastal, part European, and part global seafarer’s baggage.
A significant portion of the work is dedicated to cataloging the island’s plants, both wild and cultivated. Lefroy distinguishes true natives from naturalized species and those introduced deliberately for agriculture, ornament, or curiosity. He documents more than a thousand species, from the iconic Bermuda cedar (Juniperus bermudiana)—once forming dense forests across the islands—to mangroves, seaside grape, marsh sedges, mosses, orchids, palms, and an impressive array of herbs, vines, shrubs, and fruit trees. Each entry includes notes on where it was found, when it flowers, and how it behaves in Bermuda’s climate.
One of the most fascinating themes running through the document is the story of human influence. Plants like tobacco, maize, bananas, oranges, tamarind, cassava, and sugarcane arrived during Bermuda’s early colonial years; later waves brought Mediterranean ornamentals, American climbers, Asian garden favorites, and West Indian edibles. Some species thrived spectacularly—like oleander, lantana, and Surinam cherry—while others refused to adapt, such as apricots, cherries, or northern berries. Lefroy’s commentary makes clear how deeply Bermuda’s botanical identity has been shaped by trade, migration, gardening trends, and the island’s unique microclimate.
Perhaps most valuable today is his record of native plant habitats. Lefroy highlights the Walsingham tract as Bermuda’s botanical treasure chest—a limestone ridge containing most of the island’s original flora, including species now rare or extirpated. His meticulous notes on species distribution, flowering times, soil conditions, and ecological change provide an irreplaceable baseline for modern conservation work.
The Botany of Bermuda stands not only as a scientific catalog but also as a historical narrative of an island constantly reshaped by nature and people. For botanists, environmental historians, gardeners, and anyone who loves Bermuda’s natural heritage, it remains a foundational reference—one that invites us to see today’s landscapes through the eyes of a past era and appreciate the richness of the living island that has evolved since.
