Field Guides

St. John On Foot And By Car

Field guide to fauna and flora on St. John. The book includes field guides to St. John's plants, flowers, trees, birds, fish and other marine inhabitants. The following are a few of St. John’s common flora and fauna that are identified in the guidebook:

Sea Urchin - St. John USVI

Although most of the fauna and flora on St. John are harmless, visitors to the US Virgin Islands should, however, stay clear of the sea urchin when swimming. The black thorns of the sea urchin have arrow-like tips that are painful and difficult to extract if they become lodged in one’s foot. Lime juice is a St. John remedy used for dissolving embedded spines. 

Wild donkeys are part of St. John's colorful patchwork of fauna and flora. Watch out when driving or walking down trails on St. John. They often appear quite unexpectedly, caution the authors of St. John On Foot And By Car. Donkeys were once the principal means of transportation on St. John. Now they roam freely and often cause lots of mischief by digging up gardens and upsetting campsites. It is perfectly okay to snap photographs from a safe distance,  but do not attempt to pet or feed these animals. Remember, they are “wild” and are often not quite as friendly as they may appear. 

Mangroves - St. John USVI

Red mangroves populate the shoreline of St. John and play an important role in supporting other fauna and flora in the US Virgin Islands. Mangroves are identified by their seemingly impenetrable tangle of aerial roots seen sprouting up from the saltwater environment. The leaves of the mangrove when shed, decompose among the roots and provide nourishment for small  crabs and worms, which in turn provide food for larger fish and birds. Runoff from the land dilutes the salinity of the mangrove swamps and filters out debris that might otherwise find its way to the open sea. The aerial roots also help to reduce the effects of wave damage and subsequent erosion.

Plants - St. John USVI 

There are over 1000 varieties of plants growing on St. John. While some of the flora are indigenous to the island, many types came from other lands. Some flora was carried to the Virgin Islands on ocean currents and others were blown to the here by the wind. Still others were brought to St. John as unofficial passengers on merchant ships or by slaves imported to the from Africa.

Plants have always played and important role on St. John. Plants supplied food for bird and animals as well as for the people of the US Virgin Islands. They were used as building materials and many were fashioned into household implements. Fisherman used plants to craft fish traps and nets and some plants were used in local industries like basket making.

The flora on St. John was  also used in folk (or “bush”) medicines to treat a variety of ailments. For example, aloe, which is commonly found along the Reef Bay Trail, was used in the treatment of colds, asthma, ulcers, burns and insect bites. The leaf of the plant can be slit in two and the jelly extracted and applied to the face to remove wrinkles.   

One of the many varieties of plants that grows in the US Virgin Islands and is identified and described in St. John On Foot And By Car is the CALABASH (Crescentia cujeta). The leaf is used in tea to treat colds, diarrhea, dysentery and headaches. The fruit, when roasted, is said to be good for treatment of menstrual cramps and to induce childbirth. The gourd-like fruit was often scooped out and used for bowls, musical instruments and drinking cups. 

Common Reef Fish - St. John USVI

The reefs and inland waters off St. John team with a kaleidoscopic array of fish. Many fish can be recognized by their color, markings and the shape of their anatomy. But there is often such variation within a specific fish variety that other traits must sometimes be used for identification. Habitat and fish behavior will often aid identification. Many fish varieties congregate in groups called schools. They do this primarily for hunting and for self-protection from larger predators. One of St. John's most fascinating varieties of fish is the “cleaner” fish. Cleaners are tiny fish that actually clean parasites and other debris from the insides of gills and mouths of larger fish. Cleaner fish like gobies literally set up “cleaning stations” at specific locations on coral reefs where they wait for larger fish like groupers that come looking for the cleaner fish in order to get themselves scrubbed out. 

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