National Tree: The Silver Thatch Palm
Up until the early 1960s, the Silver Thatch Palm played an important role in the lives of Caymanians. Straw rope was manufactured from the leaves and became something of a cottage industry. Women and children would cut "tops" (new leaves) early in the morning. The "tops" were hung out to dry for a few days before being twisted into strands and woven together on a handmade loom. This product was then sold or traded. The rope was especially prized by fishermen, both locally and in Jamaica, becuase of its durability when exposed to seawater. The tree has exceptionally tough fronds (leaves) that have a variety of other uses, from roofing for houses to weaving of hats, baskets, brooms. Silver Thatch Palms may be found on all three islands but they are not found anywhere else in the world.
National Bird: The Grand Cayman Parrot
The sight of a pair of Cayman's parrots with their iridescent green feathers, white crowns and rosy cheeks, and the sound of their raucous squaking is familiar to most Caymanians. Most active in the early morning and late afternoon, these birds return to their roost in palm stumps and mangroves at dusk. Less well-known is the fact that Cayman's parrots are actually two sub species of the Cuban Parrot. The Grand Cayman Parrot is more boisterous and bolder than its cousin in the Brac, who has been described as one of the rarest amazon parrots in the world.
Unfortunately, parrots were wiped out from Little Cayman after the 1932 storm. Occasionally some birds will fly over to Little Cayman from the Brac.
Their diet, which consists of fruit and berries, makes them unpopular with farmers because of the damage they often cause fruit crops.
It is illegal to kill or take these birds from the wild to rear as pets.
National Flower: The Wild Banana Orchid
Found flowering in abundance after the rains in May and June, there are in fact two varieties of this orchid. The Grand Cayman variety (which has small scented flowers that are predominantly white with purple tips), and the species found on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman which tend to be more yellowish.
The flowers appear at the top of a long curved spike and at the bottom are a cluster of finger-like pseudobulbs, which in the past, were fashioned into pipes for smoking. It is illegal to take an orchid from the wild or export it from the Islands.
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