Melissa Kaplan's
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Last updated January 1, 2014

Plants Consumed by Iguanas in the Wild

The question every iguana keeper asks, sooner or later, is "What do iguanas eat in the wild?" Logic tells us that they don't eat alfalfa and shredded squash, so, what do they eat?

The answer, alas, isn't as easy as it could be. For one thing, iguanas range from Mexico down through Central America and into South America. They can be found in areas where the the habitat has not undergone much in the way of change. They can also be found in areas that have undergone massive changes, such as the building of the Panama Canal, which included the formation of a huge lake and new islands. Some iguanas live in semi-arid areas, others in wet forested areas. Some live on the Atlantic coast, others on the Pacific coast, while others never see any body of water larger than a river.

The other problem is that, while naturalists and biologists have been studying iguanas in the wild for decades, few have bothered to note the plants they eat. Some biologists have studied the colon structure and looked at colon and stomach contents, but didn't identify all of the plants found therein. Because some biologists have been identifying the plants that the iguanas in their study areas ate, we can start to construct a list.

Iguanas do not eat all of the plants in their habitat, nor do they eat the plants they do eat all year round. They may eat the leaves at certain times of the year, while at other times of year, eat only the flowers of those plants, or only mature leaves rather than young leaves. So, while the list below may contain information on the plant and plant part, it cannot be assumed that all or part of the plant is eaten all year long.

The list below includes the botanical name and, when found, one or more common names, and a reference to the source in which the plant was mentioned.

Ref#	Plant Name	Family	Common Names
2	Acacia tortuosa	Leguminosae	poponax
1	Amphilophium paniculatum	Bignoniaceae	liana de cuello
1	Annona acuminata	Annonaceae	[custard-apple family; related to pawpaw]
2	Antirhea acutata	Rubiaceae	placa chiquitu
2	Bourreria succulenta	Ehretiaceae	bodywood
2	Bursera bonairensis	Burseraceae	.
1	Bursera simaruba	Burseraceae	gumbo limbo
2	Capparis flexuosa	Capparidaceae	false teeth
1	Capparis frondosa	Capparidaceae	Syn. C. baducca=Caper
2	Capparis odoratissima	Capparidaceae	.
2	Caesalpinia coriaria	Leguminosae	[Caesalpinioideae] divi divi
1	Cardiospermum grandiflorum	Sapindaceae	showy balloonvine
1	Cecropia peltata	Moraceae	pumpwood
1	Centrosema plumieri	Leguminosae	feefee
2	Cephalocereus lanuginosus	Cactaceae	Syn: Espostoa sp., Pilosocereus sp., Pachycereus sp.
1	Ceratophytum tetragonolobum	Bignoniaceae	.
2	Cereus repandus	Cactaceae	.
1	Chamaesyce densiflora	Euphorbiaceae	.
1	Cissus sicyoides	Vitaceae	princess vine; season vine
1	Citrullus sp.	Cucurbitaceae	watermelon, han ua, hsi kua, melon d'eau, patilla, qarbuz, raggi, semongka, shuti, yang ch'i kua
2	Coccoloba swartzii	Polygonaceae	Swartz's pigeonplum
2	Commicarpus scandens	Nyctaginaceae	Syn. Boerhavia scandens; climbing wartclub
2	Condalia henriquezii	Rhamnaceae	.
2	Cordia alba	Ehretiaceae	white manjack
2	Cordia currassavica	Ehretiaceae	.
1	Coutarea hexandra	Rubiaceae	capança
1	Cucumis sp.	Cucurbitaceae	cantaloupe, common melon, orange melon, honeydew melon, figleaf cucumis, gooseberry gourd and others
1	Cyperus sp.	Cyperaceae	flatsedge, umbrella sedge, umbrella plant
2	Erythalis fructicosa	.	yaya, yayabito, yayajabico
1	Ficus sp.	Moraceae	fig trees, banyan
1	Genipa americana	.	.
1	Gouania lupuloides	Rhamnaceae	whiteroot
2	Guapira sp.	Nyctaginaceae	beeftree, black mampoo, roundleaf blolly, corcho prieto
2	Haematoxilon brasiletto	.	.
1	Ipomea sp.	Convolvulaceae	morning glory bush
1	Laportea aestuans	Urticacecae	West Indian woodnettle
2	Lemairocereus griseus	.	.
2	Machaonia otonis	Rubiaceae	..
2	Malpighia emarginata	Malpighiaceae	Barbados cherry
1	Merremia quinquefolia	Convolvulaceae	rock rosemary
1	Merremia umbellata	Convolvulaceae	hogvine
2	Metopium brownei	Anacardiaceae	.
1	Momordica charantia	Cucurbitaceae	balsampear
1	Operculina pteripes	Convolvulaceae	.
1	Pisonia aculeata	Nyctaginaceae	pullback
1	Pithecellobium oblongum	Leguminosae	sweet acacia
1	Pouteria sp.	Sapotaceae	abiu, cocuyo, egg fruit, jacana, redmammee
2	Randia aculeata	Rubiaceae	white indigoberry
1	Sapium biglandolsum	Euphorbiaceae	.
2	Serjania curassavica	Sapindaceae	.
1	Spondias mombin	Anacardiaceae	yellow mombin
1	Stictocardia tiIiifolia	Convolvulaceae	spotted heart
1	Tecoma stans	Bignoniaceae	yellow trumpetbush; desert willow
2	Trichilia trifolia	Meliaceae	.

1	Rand et al. The diet of a generalized folivore: Iguana iguana in Panama. 1990. Panama
2.	van Marken Lichtenbelt. Optimal foraging of a herbivorous lizard, I. iguana. 1993. Curaçao

Sites used to find common names and synonyms

HortiPlex Database
New York Botanical Garden
Plants for a Future
The 1911 Encyclopedia: Cuba
Tree Atlas of the Panama Canal Watershed

www.anapsid.org/iguana/wildigdiet.html

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