[MPWG] caribean lowlands

[Cafesombra at aol.com]

Hello Friends,
     I am seeking advice regarding two botanical collections I am helping to 
establish in Honduras.  One will be located at a rural clinic site about 45 
minutes outside of the capital city of Tegucigalpa (tropical temperate 
highland), the other will be located at a botanical garden on the north coast (caribean 
lowland).  The climate zones are distinct though many of the same plants 
would I am sure do well at either site.  The main difference, though, is that the 
caribean lowland site gets plenty of rain, while the number one challenge for 
garden caretakers at the temperate site will be getting enough water to the 
plants.  So, probably arid-land-loving plants would be best choices for that 
particular garden.
     If you're willing, any suggestions of plants to include in our 
collections would be welcome.  Both gardens are specifically medicinal plant 
collections, an emphasis will be placed on local plants though we are not necessarily 
closed to exotic ideas.  We are especially interested in selecting a few key 
cash crops, to develop market support that would generate enough income to keep 
the gardens going.  This could be an export crop of seeds, or dried herbs, or a 
value-added product if we could handle producing it, ornamentals, spices, or 
flowers for a local market... basically we want to pick whatever will work.
     We are also asking for direct market support, for market contacts who 
would be willing to support our gardens by contracting some crop from us 
specifically as a means of supporting the clinical and educational aspects of our 
work.  Both gardens are managed under a cooperative alliance between non-profit 
Honduran agencies and my agency, Herbalists Without Borders.
     Thank you in advance for your ideas, 
     Jennifer Chesworth
FYI Here are a few descriptive paragraphs taken off the web about the 
climatic conditions: 
Tropical temporate highlands have an average high temperature ranging from 
30° C in April, the warmest month, to 25° C in January, the coolest.  The 
interior highlands have a dry season, known locally as "summer," from November to 
April. Almost all the rain in this region falls during the "winter," from May to 
September. Total yearly amounts depend on surrounding topography; 
Tegucigalpa, in a sheltered valley, averages only 1,000 millimeters of precipitation.
The Caribbean lowlands have a tropical wet climate with consistently high 
temperatures and humidity, and rainfall fairly evenly distributed throughout the 
year, with daytime highs averaging between 28° C and 32° C throughout the 
year.  In the Caribbean lowlands, the only relief from the year-round heat and 
humidity comes during December or January when an occasional strong cold front 
from the north (a norte) brings several days of strong northwest winds and 
slightly cooler temperatures.  Rain falls year round in the Caribbean lowlands.  
Amounts are copious along the north coast...Near San Pedro Sula, amounts are 
slightly less from November to April, but each month still has considerable 
precipitation
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/mpwg_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20031202/990a4184/attachment.html>