The following inquiry concerns a tree species in Cuba with the common
name 'dagame'. I'm looking for any information on this species,
especially its scientific name. Cannot find reference to it in any
of our local plant books. It is mentioned in a historical account
of important tree species in Cuba (see Gail Reed's 1992 article, " On
the razor's edge: deforestation in Cuba").
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In Reed's article, an excerpt from Christopher Columbus' journal
entry for the 28 day of October, 1492, is presented as follows,
"... full of trees, lining the river, lush green, so
different from ours, each with their own flower and fruit.
Birds singing sweetly everywhere: abundant palms..." (Cuba)
In the 1490's, Cuba's forests covered an estimated 70-90% of the
land. Since that time estimates of forested areas have
continually decreased, reaching an all time low of 8-14% by the
year 1958. Early records indicated the first commercial logging
operations took place during the 16th century under the command
of the Spanish Crown. Large mahogany, cedar, oak, pine, linden,
dagame, and other fine species from the banks of the Almendares
River and the Ariguanabo area were the first primary sources of
timber used to build new ships for the Spanish armada. Spain's
Royal Palace, El Escorial, still houses Cuban mahogany from these
sites. In those days the lumberjacks were primarily Northern
Mexican Indian slaves imported to Cuba solely for the purpose of
felling trees. The local indigenous population was small and did
not possess adequate tree felling skills. By the 18th century
the forest harvest operations had made the Havana shipyards the
largest in the Spanish colonies. A 1958 United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) report by Louis Huguet attributed the
first large-scale logging operation in Cuba to the 1901 Platt
Amendment and its related 1903 treaty.......
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