Mauritius Vegetation

Mauritius is home to some of the rarest plants in the world. The endemic Mandrinette (hibiscus fragilis) is an evergreen shrub with bright pink to red flowers and is very rare. Most of the hibiscuses you'll see are the Chinese variety, which are similar in appearance to the mandrinette.

If you go to the botanical garden at Curepipe, you'll be able to see the last remaining specimen of the hyophorbe amaricaulis. It is a tall, thin and sparsely crowned palm tree.

A walk along one of the many trails in the Black River Gorges National Park should yield some interesting tropical specimens, as well as views across some of the most beautiful and unspoilt parts of the island.

Visit the indigenous plant nursery on the conservation island of Ile aux Aigrettes off the coast of Mahebourg.

Of the non-indigenous species, you'll typically see casuarina trees lining the beaches. Their needled branches resemble those of pine trees and they are an import from Malaysia used as windbreaks.

Banyan trees, easily recognisable by their mass of hanging roots, are found across the Mascarenes and were brought to the region from India.

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