NATURE

  Thousands of plant species, from majestic trees to lowly ferns, have been classified in this exceptional habitat. Trees like sapodilla, mahogany, cedar, Campeche wood, cohune or corozo palm, the ceiba, sacred tree of the Maya, and the ramón a tree (Mayan name, oiximche) whose nutritious fruit people have eaten since ancient times and used its leaves as fodder. 

The source of a rich red dye used in the European textile industry, Campeche wood (or palo de tinte), played an important role in the region's history, generating wealth for a few and misfortune for many. 

Exploiting palo de tinte and other tropical hardwoods such as mahogany and cedar in the region was so lucrative, that 17^th- century pirates forgot about marauding and began to harvest huge amounts of timber and ship it abroad.