Pimenta racemosa

Pimenta racemosa is a species of plant in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae) that is native to the Caribbean region. Common names include West Indian bay tree,bay rum tree, and ciliment. It is used in cooking and an essential oil is distilled to produce a fragrant cologne called bay rum; although bay rum is essentially rum, the concentrated essential oil is toxic and renders the product undrinkable. The tree is 4-12 m tall and the white flowers, about 10 mm wide, become black, oval fruits measuring 7-12 mm. The plants are now grown widely in other tropical areas, including Oceania. The ideal conditions for P. racemosa are regular irrigation and bright sunshine.

Ecology

Pimenta racemosa is widely introduced, and can become an invasive weed.

References

Bay of Gibraltar

The Bay of Gibraltar (also known as Gibraltar Bay or Bay of Algeciras) is a bay at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It is around 10 km (6.2 mi) long by 8 km (5.0 mi) wide, covering an area of some 75 km² (29 sq mi), with a depth of up to 400 m (1,300 ft) in the centre of the bay. It opens to the south into the Strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea.

The shoreline is densely settled. From west to east, the shore is divided between the Spanish municipalities of Algeciras, Los Barrios, San Roque, La Línea de la Concepción and the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The larger part of the shoreline is Spanish territory, with part of the eastern half of the bay belonging to Gibraltar.

The east and west entrances to the bay are marked respectively by the Europa Point Lighthouse at Europa Point, Gibraltar and the Punta Carnero lighthouse to the west of Algeciras.

Ecology

The bay is a breeding area for several dolphin species, notably the Common Dolphin, Striped Dolphin and Bottlenose Dolphin, and is also visited by migratory whales. It is a popular destination for tourist whale-watching trips from Algeciras or Gibraltar.

Algeciras

Algeciras (/ˌældʒᵻˈsɪrəs/; Spanish pronunciation: [alxeˈθiɾas]; Arabic: Al Jazeera Al-Khudra الجزيرة الخضراء‎) is a port city in the south of Spain, and is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar (in Spanish, the Bahía de Algeciras). The Port of Algeciras is one of the largest ports in Europe and in the world in three categories: container, cargo and transhipment. It is situated 20 km north-east of Tarifa on the Río de la Miel, which is the southernmost river of the Iberian peninsula and continental Europe. In 2012, it had a population of 116,917 people.

It is the biggest city among its metropolitan area, that also includes the municipalities of Los Barrios, La Línea de la Concepción, Castellar de la Frontera, Jimena de la Frontera, San Roque and Tarifa, with a population of 263,739.

Name

The site of Roman cities called Portus Albus, Caetaria (current Getares) and Iuliua Tracta, the current name of Algeciras comes from the Amazigh (Berber) period of the Iberian Peninsula: Al-Jazīra Al-Khadrā' Arabic الجزيرة الخضراء or Green Island.

Algeciras (disambiguation)

Algeciras is a port city in the south of Spain.

Algeciras may also refer to:

Other place names in the world

Other uses of the name:

See also: Al Jazira.