The Internet Travel Guide "Getting to Know Cuba"

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Flora

The Spanish missionary and chronicler Bartolomé de las Casas reports that at the time of the conquest by the Spaniards, Cuba was covered with forests so that one could cross the entire island walking in the shadow of its trees. By 1900, the eleven million hectares of forest that used to cover the island had been reduced by half. Today, only 18% of the island's surface is forested.

Palm beach in Varadero

Nevertheless, Cuba still boasts a rich flora of about 8,000 plant species, a number no other island of the Antilles can claim. This tropical sea of flowers blossoms at the beginning of the rainy season. The fertile alluvial land, deposited by the sea currents of the Gulf of Mexico and a plethora of seeds brought to the island from the American continent by sea birds is responsible for the variety of plants.
 

The large Cuban royal palm (Reistonea Regia), the national tree of Cuba, is well represented throughout the island. Its wood, bark and palm fronds are processed into furniture, roofs and wickerwork. The fiber of the 25-meter high Guana tree, which only exists on Cuba, is used for woven hats that are sold in local markets. The approximately 24 kinds of high-grade wood still growing on Cuba present an important economic factor.