Nicole Roomer of the Roomer hotel noticed a particular plant in the backyard of the hotel never had leaves on it until they adopted a dog. At first you may wonder how in the world the two are connected, but there is an connection.(no it doesn't have to do with soil fertilization) The dog, Bruno, scares away all of the iguanas which love to munch on this particular plant. Some of the iguanas still try to sneak bites off the plant when Bruno is not present but they go running when they see him.

Nicole wrote down the name she had of the plant, but I was unable to identify the species of plant based on the common name she gave me. I believe the name she gave me is in French. "Bouqanville"(with a line above the u) is what she wrote down. Google tries to change it to Bouganville which may be the translation. As a side note: The Lizard Lounge lists Bouganville in their"Non-Toxic Plants for Lizards" page, so it is safe for them.

The iguanas here are probably the species Iguana iguana, though some hybridization of Lesser Antillean Iguana (Iguana delicatissima) has been noted in this area.

There seems to be a link between the plants, dogs, and lizards. The plants are partially kept in check by the herbivorous iguana. The iguanas are being kept in check by the carnivorous dogs. Perhaps this could be studied more in depth, but it's complicated on the island because of the donkeys and goats that have roamed wild here for so long. Just some random thoughts and observations.


An iguana sneaking through the yard to get to the plant.


While dinning at the roomer you must keep an eye out for Bruno.


The supposedly delicious tasting plant in the Roomers backyard.