CHAGOS CONSERVATION TRUST
Plants of the Chagos by John Topp and Mark Seaward
"These green island gems surrounded with a strip of dazzling white sand set in a deep blue ocean must have made the Chagos Archipelago a welcome sight for weary mariners four centuries ago after sailing for weeks across the Indian Ocean. The luxuriant green of the vegetation results from the combination of tropical sun and heavy rainfall. The plants seen by those ancient mariners still exist today but the arrival of humans has added enormously to the variety. Humans not only introduced useful trees such as coconuts, mango and papaya, ornamentals like the flame tree, food plants such as taro and decorative herbs, but accidentally they also brought weeds and unwanted plants that ran riot, a process which continues to this day."--excerpt page 3
