166 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

NATIVE AND EXOTIC

By Charles T. Simpson

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen:For 40 years it has been a life dream

witll me to be able some day to livein a land where there is no winter, andwhere I might cultivate the beautiftl1and strange vegetation of the tropics.A little over nine years ago I resignedmy position in the Smithsonian Institu­tion and came to Dade County, Flori­da, to make a home for an old man.

The piece of land selected for thispurpose fronted on Biscayne Bay, illthe village of Lemon City about fivemiles north of Miami. It containedsome 15 1-2 acres; three acres of th~

front being low hammock or nltlckland, two acres jo·ining this, rocky,high hammock; and the rest rocky pineland. I was 56 years old and 11avinglittle spare money I put on overallsand a blue shirt and began the task ofmaking a home in the unsubdued wil-­derness. I chose this region for nlYhome after studying Cuba, Haiti, Ja­nlaica and the Bahamas. These is­lands have the advantage of a moretropical climate than South Florida,their soil is generally richer, but I feltthat to them could be applie~ the line~

from the missionary hymn,

"Where every prospect pleases,And only man is vile."

This region has its decided disad­vantages to the grower of fruit andorn,amentals. It lies in the track 0'£the West Indian hurricanes and its

_soil is generally poor, but I felt thatby proper fertilization it might bemade to produce a finer quality of fruitthan that which grows in the rich soilof the West Indies. I have sometimesfelt that the reIl)ark made to me by aBahaman truck grower ·at Homesteadthat "there is a hinsect here for everywegetable" was true. And there aresometimes mornings here in winterwhen the mercury wakes up to finditself "below the frost line" on the faceof tIle therlTIOmeter.

The clearillg of th'e land here is anexcessively heavy and expensive task,dynamiting, burning and removingtrees, grubbing rock, getting it off theground, and destroying the three orsometimes four"species of paltnettos aswell as a variety of other scrub. Andwhen it is all done the grower has awaste of dry, sandy soil in which itis exceedingly hard to make tenderplants grow. I believe it to be an ex­cellent idea when clearing land to leavosmall pine trees and some of the lowpalmettos standing to shade andshelter the ground and· protect youngand delicate plants. The pines andpalmettos may be removed later ifnecessary.

One of the difficulties the grower hasto encounter is the frosts aQd occasion­al spells of chilly weather. I havenever been able to devise any meansby which I could completely protectyoung and tender plants from frost.

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULT'URAL SOCIETY 167

It is a good plan to make a mound oj.dry earth around such yOl1ng plants,say early in December, to be removedas soon as danger of frost is over. Thisprotects the collars of plants and ifthe tops be frozen' they will generallysprout up vigorously. As soon as mosttropical trees and shrubs have attaineda height· of six or eight feet they arenot likely to be seriously ~alnaged

here.It would be impossible within the

linlits of a paper like this to give any..thing like a complete list even of theornamental trees, shrubs and plant~

growing wild and already cultivatedhere. I shall therefore only attemptto mention the more prominent formscalling attention to those that seem tobe especially adapted to our peculiarsoil and conditions, and to other~

which do not seem to succeed. Thepaper will therefore be only a s0t:t of"first aid" to the cultivator.

NATIVE ORNAMENTALS

This region is especially rich in veg­etable forms. In the pine woods thegreater number of the species belongto a warnl temperate flora, this beingalmost its extreme southern extension.A very large tropical element of the florahas evidenly migrated from the West In­dies, the Spanish Main and CentralAmerica, the .seeds having probablybeen carried on the Gulf Stream anddeposited on our shores during l1urri­canes or high southeasterly winds. Theseeds of a few forms may have beencarried by birds or the winds. Theregion is exceedingly rich in trees, a

number of which are quite ornamental.Within five miles of Miami there areprobably growing, wild to-day nearlyor quite a hundred species of treesor large shr:ubs which sometimes attaintree-like proportions. Most of thesespecies inhabit the hammocks and inmany places they become veritable airgardens, being loaded down, even tothe breakil1g point with a great varietyof orchids, Tillandsias and other airpines, ferns, Peperomias and cacti.

First among the native ornamentalsshould be mentioned the palms, "ThePrinces of the Vegetable Kingdom."South Florida is exceedingly rich inpalms. No less than 13 species havebeen found growing wild in DadeCounty alone; another arboreal sa'\vpalmetto, Serenoa arborescens beingreported, so far, only from MonroeCounty, but without doubt it will befound in Dade County also.

The Cocoanut Palm (Cocos nucifera)has become thoroughly naturalized onthe nlainland of extreme South Floridaand the Lower Keys. Some one hassaid that it is a "Marvel of Titanicgrace," and no finer description of itcan be given. It is the tree of t'he pooras well as of the rich, and every settler,no matter how little improven1ent hemakes, plants a few cocoanuts, that, ina few years, will make his place glori­ous. The young" plants are a littletender and are sometimes killed withfrost, but after they have begun toform a trunk they are out of danger.They grow everywhere here from thelowest and saltiest marsh to the high­est pine land and the seed from our

168 FLORIDA STATE HORTIC~LT'URALSOCIETY

trees will, in a majority of cases, gernli­nate and produce other trees.

If the Cocoanut is a "Marvel ofTitanic grace" the Royal Palm maybE called "A Ma.rvel of Titanic ma­jesty." I know of no tree on the earthto which the term majestic can bemore appropriately applied. Unfortu­nately it has been found that tIle l1ameOreodoxa, signifying "Glory of theMountains" which has always been ap­plied to it, really belongs to anothergroup of Soufh American palms, hencethe name was changed to Royston~a.

I never look at one of these lordlytrees but I am thankful that I live ina land where it not only grows but isnative. Mr. O. F. Cook of Washing­ton, who gave the genus its ne"v name,believes that the Floridian form is dis­tinct from the Cuban, and has called itRoystonea florida.a, but other authori­ties diffe'r from him and believe it tobe O. regia. Certain it is that I havenever seen any of the royal palnls inCuba attain either to the' height or di­mensions that wild or cultivated speei­mens reach in Florida. At the RoyalPalm Hammock back of Cape ROlna­no, and on Paradise Key in the south­east part of Dade County are Inanytrees which must be well o·ver 100 feetin height. I never see one of these Ina­jestic palms but wh·at I feel as thoughmortals ought to fall on their kne~s

before it and worship with bowed,bared heads. The royal palm is 1110stat home in low, rich hammock butdoes well inl salt marshes, if not toowet and salty. As a rule it does not dowell on the high pine land, but it may

be improved by liberal mulching, bygiving it a coating of muck, and byfertilizing. Quite a number of thenlgrowing wild in the swanlp just north ofnle were destroyed since I came here, bywood cutters. .

Pseudophoenix sargentii was dis­covered some years ago on Elliott'sKey, and it is quite abundant In placesin the Bahamas. It is a stiff, formal,very deep green pal1n with pinnateleaves and does well under cultivatioll.

The common cabbage palnletto (In­odes palmetto) is found rather sparing­ly in Dade County and is always astriking tree, either when young andcovered with the old split leaf stalks'("boots") or as an old tree with its tall,rough, often crooked stem ~nd globu­lar head. It will 'grow well in all soils.

Along' the shore of Biscayne Bay isa dwarf species (Inodes megacarpa)which is every\vhere mingled with thesaw palmetto. In. clearing it is wellto leave specilnens occasionally, asthey nlake fine clumps when given achance.

Mingled with the last two is a dwarf,fan-leaved palm of exquisite beauty( Coccothrinax garberi) named for adear botanist who explored and collect­ed in South Florida. The upper sidesof the leaves are glossy and a ric11green; the under surfaces are the love­liest satiny or silvery color imaginable.It is rather a slow grower and neverattains any great height. It is foundonly on the shores of Biscayne Bay.

On one of the Lower_ Keys and atCape Sable is found an allied species(Coccothrinax jucunda) which is mu,ch

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULT'URAL SOCIETY 16Q

like the C. garberi only that it is largerin all its parts, reaching a height of25 feet. Its brilliant purple berries areedible and it is one of the. handsomestpalms I know, but it grows very slow­ly when young.

There are certainly four species ofrl"'hrinax native to extreme South Flor­ida, all of which are well worthy of/cul­tivation, and are perfectly at homewithout fertilizer in our poorest soil.One of these the writer has brought tothe attention of botanists recently,and though quite COUlman it has beenoverlooked or taken for somethingelse. It is T. wendlandiana, also foundin Cuba.

Acoelorraphe wrightii is a fine nativepalln which Mr. John Soar and thewriter brought to the attention of Proi.c. S~ Sargent. It is a handsonle fanpalm growing in ilnmense tufts So feetacross and 25 in height and will do wellin wet situations. It gro~Ts wild in theM,adeira Hammocks and in Cuba.

The common saw palmetto needsonly a word. If give11 a chance it willnla.ke quite fine specimens. S. arbores~

cens becomes a struggling tree 30 to40 feet high, the stenlS sometimes near­ly prostrate.

ORNAMENTAL NATIVE TREES

Our common pine is different fromthe species found in Georgia and NorthFlorida, it being a native of Cuba. Ithas gone under more aliases than aprofessional crook or confidence man,having been called Pinus treda, P. het­erophylla, P. cubensis, P. elliottii, P.bahamensis, and it is now believed that

Pinus caribrea is the correct name. Itis a handsome tree when young, withits great masses of long, rich greenneedles; it is stately when in its primeand picturesque in its old age. Whenat its best its somewhat flattened,rounded top reminds one of the pictur­esque Pinus pinea of Southern Europe,vhich painters love to introduce intotheir canvases.

Two uncomnlonly fine specimens ofnearly equal size grew in my groundsabout 40 feet apart, the one nearlynorth of the other. I built my houseabout 35 feet to the westward of thesetrees and they stand there in theirerect, soldierly attitude as guardians.From them I have named my home"The Sentinels" and sOlnellow I im­agine that they watch over nle nightand ,day. Three other pine trees northof the house were left undisturbedwhen clearing and these are "TheThree Graces." In the darkness of thenight they cut the sky line with won­derful effect. Trees and shrubs plantedunder the pines do very well and Ithink it a fine idea to leave a fewstanding in ornamental grounds, andespecially about one's house as a pro­tection against lightning.

Our native red cedar was formerlybelieved to be the same as the northernfornl but is now referred to Juniperusbarbadensis, a West Indian species. Itis sometimes planted, but to my mindis too suggestive of a northern climateto be appropriate to this Land of Sun­shine.

Yucca aloifolia, or Spanish Bayonet,sometimes reaches the size of a small

170 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

tree. It is a striking plant with itsstiff, cruelly pointed, dark green, close­ly set leaves and throughout the sum­mer is covered with inlmense heads ofwaxy white lilies. It grows abundant­ly along the sea shore and will flouri~11

anywhere without care or fertilizer.I am not sure whether its comp~nion

Y. gloriosa, is found in Dade County,but it probably is and it is as fine asY. aloifolia.

A strange tree is Casuarina equiseti­folia or Beefwood, which has escapedcultivation in extreme South Florida.It looks a little like a very slender, vig­orous white pine, but on close inspe'c­tion the branchlets look like miniaturescouring brushes. I t is a most as­tonishingly rapid grower and like manyrapid growing tropical trees it has hardwood. It is being used here consider­ably for planting along roads, whereit does well, but to me it is verydreary looking and suggests snow andice. It has become naturalized on low­er Biseayne Bay over quite a wide areawhich, in consequence, has been called"The Cedars." It is a native of theAustralian region.

The Live Oak (Quercus. virginiana)is somehow respected by nearly everyone who has cleared up hanlmock an(lis often allowed to stand. Whether this isfrom a love of the beautiful on thepart of the settler or from the factthat it is an immense task to clear thetrees and get rid of thenl I cannot say.The tree grows rapidly when young

.and when old and hung with SpanishMoss is a most striking object. It,

'however, robs the soil till few thingswill do well near it.

Our native mulberry (Morus rubra)is one of the very few trees foundgrowing here al1d in the Northernstates, as it ral1ges to Massachusetts,Michigan and Nebraska. Althougll itloses its leaves in winter it is coveredwith its handsome, light green foliagein February, one of the earliestharbingers here of spring.

Ficus aurea, Wild Fig, Wild RubberTree or Strangler forms a handsometree when grown where it has roonl.The seeds are dropped by birds highup on trees in the hammocks. Whenthey germinate they send down a slen­der root to the ground, then otherswhich cross and form a network tillsoon the host becomes strangled anddies. The dead tree quickly decays;the strangler becomes first a completecylinder then grows inward until ithas the trunk of an ordinary tree.With plenty of room it throws downgreat bundles of air roots which swingin the wind and finally become attach­ed to the trunk, while others reachthe ground and the tree eventuallymay have the character of the Banyan.

Ficus populnea is also quite orna­mental.

Shore Grape, a small tree (Cocco­lobis uvifera) grows abundantly along"sandy beaches. It has large, glossy,leathery and nearly round leaves of ex­traordinary substance and CharlesKingsley called it the most beautifulbro"ad leafed plant he had ever seen.The leaves have red veins and color upto an intense crimson or scarlet as

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOClETY 171

they die. It bears a rather inferioredible fruit and will grow vigorouslyplanted out in pine land or hammock.

Another species (C. ·laurifolia) thePigeon Plum, is a dense headed hand­some tree with smooth bark.

TIle eat's Claw of the hanlmocks(Zygia unguis-cati) has curious leavesin pairs, brownish or whitish flowersin heads and twisted p,ods which, onopening, disclose black or brownishseeds, partly surrounded with a brightred aril, the whole being quite an at­tractive small tree.

Z. guadalupense is also an interest­ing species resembling the first.

There is an attractive small tree oc­casionally found growing wild in theedges of hammocks, the Wild Acacia.It has very delicate, twice pinnateleaves and in the spring small yellowflowers in heads which are deliciouslyand powerfully fragrant. It will growwithout attention in any ordinary pineland. This tree, the Acacia farnesiana,is naturalized throughout the tropics,but is believed by Prof. Sargent to bea native of Texas.

A nearly related tree, the Leucaenaglauca, a native of South America, isalso naturalized in South Florida. Ithas very attractive foliage and brownseed pods, the flowers being white.If once introduced into a place itspreads rapidly and becomes a nuis­ance.

There is a species of lignum-vit:Efound growing on the Florida Keys(Guaiacum sanctum) which has small,dark green, glossy, pinnate leaves andattractive blue flowers that is worthy

of cultivation, though it is a slowgrower.

The Paradise Tree (Simaruba glau­ca) grows abundantly in hammocksand when cultivated where it has room,is a strik·ingly handsome tree. It hasrather large, long pinnate leaves ofleathery texture, extremely glossy andattractive. It contains an excessivelybitter principle, and is one of the treesthat furnishes the quassia of the drug­gists.

Closely related to it is the Gumbolimbo, one of the most striking objectsin our native forests. It becomes alarge and lofty tree with massive,crooked limbs and glossy trifoliateleaves. The entire bark is smooth,peeling off in thin papery layers, andis generally a rich reddish-brown orcopper color, though occasionally it issilvery. It is one of the first trees toattract the attention of the visitor tothis region. It furnishes the gum elemiof the druggist. Large limbs may beset in the ground where they will rootand produce trees.

The well known mahogany growsabundantly on nlQst of the Lower Keysand the extreme southern end of thepeninsula, where it occasionally formsa crooked, widely branched tree 40 orSo feet high and two feet or more indiameter. It is a handsome ornamentalwhen young; its large round seed podsbeing quite striking. It flourish~s inall soils from low, salty marsh to highpine land.

Drypetes lateriflora, the GuianaPlum, is a tree of our hamnlocks, withshining, long-elliptic, pointed leaves

172 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

and when covered· with its rich .red,velvety fruit, a third of an incll in di­ameter, is a very attractive object.

Sapindus saponaria, or S.oapberryTree, is found occasionally in our ham­nlocks. It has fine, 'large pinnate leaves,the petioles being winged, and it bearsin spri~g or summer globular, yellowfruit three:-quarters of an inch in di­ameter.. It is quite a pretty small treeand the berries make a good substitutefor soap.

One of the handsomest s1nal1 treesor large shrubs I know of is Hibiscus'tiliaceus, which is quite generally dis­tributed along beaches throughout thetropics. It has .large, glossy, leathery,cordate leaves and inlmense yellowflowers with a dark center. It is oneof tIle few native trees which can read­ily be reproduced frotTI cuttings, asnearly all of them must be grown fromseed. It is found sparingly on thecoast 6f Dade County, growing in lowland near the sea, and there are twoqU,ite distinct varieties of it, one ofwhich has thick, nearly flat, darkgreen leaves; in the other the leavesare - thinner, somewhat plaited andlighter' green. They are probably twospecies.

A closely related tree is Thespesiapopulnea, occasionally called HeadacheTree. It, too, is widely distributedalong sea shores in the tropics, andgrows wild in Lower Florida. I t hassmaller leaves and flowers than Hibis­ctlS tiliaceus, the latter slightly tingedwith red and turning darker with age.

Alnl0st everywhere, in and aroundhamnlocks the Wild Pawpaw (Carica

papaya) is found growing, and it is amost striking and tropical looking tree.It I usually has a stout, unbranchedsteIn 16 to 18 feet high when wellgrown, and is crowned with imnlensepalmate leaves. The tree is supposedto be. dioecious, the male flowers,which are light yellow, being borne onlong, pendulous stalks on one tree andthe larger, sessile female flowers onanother. 1""he fruits, which' in cultiva­tion are often as large as a muskmelon, are closely clustered among theunder leaves and are edible-for thOSewho like them, a good many thinkingthey taste like squash. The tree isshort lived, but is· so striking and beau­tiful that it should be in everyone'sgrounds.

On the lower Keys a large Cereus(C. monoclonos) occasionally grows,usually in clusters, whose stems some­ti~nes reach a height of 20 feet and adiameter of six inches. It is a lTIOSt

striking object but so far I have neverbeen able to make it do well here.

The Red Stqpper (Eugenia confusa)is a beautiful tree in our hamnl0cl{swith 'a dense head of very gloss)r.leathery, long pointed leaves, vvithsmall white flowers in the fall, follo\vedby bright scarlet berries. It is wellworthy of cultivation.

On the Lower Keys and the extrenlesouthern part of the mainland is founda small, crooked tree with ob-ovate,shining, yellow green leaves al1d clus­ters of small, pale yellow flowers illwinter that are deliciously fragrant.It is Jacquinia keyensis, and is wellworthy of a· place in the yard or garden_

FLORIDA"STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

N'ATIVE ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS

Two handsome shrubs grow in thisregion around the borders of hanl­mocks, Hamelia patens, with elliptical,pointed, red tinted leaves and clustersof elegant orange scarlet, tubularflowers, and Erythrina herbace~ withtrifoliate leaves and elongated, purplishcrimson flowers. The former is inflower nearly the entire year and isreally one of the most desirable shrubsI know of for this region, as it flourish­es when planted in the pine land with­out eith.er attention or fertilizer. Thelatter is an awkward grower and opensits blossoms in late winter and spring.An arboreal forn1 grows in Floridawhich has received the name of Eryth-

. rina arborea, but I do 110t know that itgrows in Dade County, though it prob­ably does.

The Wild Star" Apple (Chrysophyl- thick, glossy leaves. Its flowers aretum monopyrenum) is a handsollle, trumpet shaped and purplish, and aresmall tree, growing in thick hammocks. followed by oval, green fruits three orIts oval, pointed, thick leaves are' glos- four incl1es long.sy and an indescriba~le blue green 1'here is a smail tree found on theabove, and covered on the lower side Lower Keys called Prince Wood (Ex­with a brilliant coppery or red-brown ostema caribreunl) with elli.ptical,pubescence. Although it naturally pointed, shining leaves and long, fuch­lives in deep shade it will grow well in sia-like white or pinkish tinted flowerssunshine and on high pine land. When that is an elegant thing. A fine spec~­

the wind tosses up its leaves so that nlel1 of it may be seen planted by Dr.the under surfaces show it is strikingly John Gifford in his grounds at Cocoa-beautiful. nut Grove.

Mimtlsops sieberi, or Wild Dilly, is We have·an elderberry, a large busha 'nearly related tree fronl the Lower or small tree, native of Da.de COU11tyKeys, with rosettes of handsome leaves (Sambucus sp.) which may be un­clustered at the ends of the branches, described. It has exceedingly large,rounded or retuse at the apex. They fine heads of pure white flowers andare bright red when young but become is really very attractive.leathery and deep glossy green above .at maturity. The' small flowers arefollowed by globular fruits an inch ormore in diameter covered with rustyscales. I t is a striking and handsometree.

The Geiger Tree, a native of theKeys, (Cordia sebestena) is probablythe handsomest flowered wild tree ofSouth Florida. It has large, rough,pointed leaves which are sometimescordate, and salver shaped flowers inlarge heads that are a brilliant orangeor flame color, and they appear irregu­larly throughout the year. It may begrown from cuttings readily.

Crescentia cucurbitana or BlackCalabash Tree is common in ham­m9cks and swamps, only along theshores of Biscayne Bay in Florida, al­though it is found in the Bal1amas andWest Indies. It has handsome, large

114 FLORIDA ST·ATE HORTICULTIURAL SOCIETY

"9.

NATIVE ORNAMENTAL CLIMBERS AND

CREEPERS

The well known woodbine (Ampel...opsis quinquefolia) is one of the fewplants common to the Northern Statesand extreme Southern 'Florida. Itsprings up in cleared pine land andoften almost become's a nuisance. Itclimbs to the tops of the loftiest pinesand along in January or February itsfoliage. takes on the rich crimson colorthat it has after frost in the NorthernStates.

Chiococca racemosa is a sprawler inthe hammock and bears racemes oflemon yellow, honey-scented flowerswhich somewhat resemble those of theLily of the Valley. Later it be~omes

covered with white, waxy berrieswhich remain on all winter.

Several native Ipomoeas bear hand­some flowers, the most conspicuousbeing Calonyction bona-nox, the mag­nificent' night bloon1er, cultivated in tt

the north under the name of moonflower. It grows along the borders ofhammocks, creeping· over the groundand bushes or even to the tops of loftytrees. A variety here bears flowerswhich remain in bloom until late inthe forenoon, or nearly all day if it iscloudy.

Ipomoea pes-caprae (Goat's-foot)has astonishingly long, vigorous stemswhich trail along sandy shores, bear­ing large, glossy, handsome leaves thatare cleft at the apex, hence the specificname. The large purple flowers arevery fine. If introduc~d into ordinarypine land it makes itself as much athom~ as along the seashore.

Ipomoea dissecta has delicately cutleaves and handsome, whitish flowershaving a purple eye, and is quite conl­monly used here to cover piazzas andarbors.

Another species, Ipomoea fuchsioi­des, comes from the HomesteadCountry of L.ower Dade, where itgrows in crevices an10ng the n10st rag­ged limestone rocks. It has elongatedleaves which are rounded at the baseand quantities of brilliant. purplishcrimson flowers. These are about all

inch or a little more in diameter, theirbuds looking as though varnished, andare indescribably beautiful. I t doesnot seem to flourisll when planted out'in this vicinity. Perhaps the abun­dance of soil, even if it is poor, proves-too stimulating for it.

Another plant belonging to the Con­volvulus family, the Jacquemontiapentant11a, from the Lower I<.eys, isvery fine. It has glossy, cordate leavesand rather small, funnel shaped, blueflowers, each having a white eye. Itdoes not last very long in cultivation,being probably an .imperfect perennial,but like tIle companion vine, Ipom­oea fuschioides, it is worthy of a gooddeal of care.

Along the seashore in the edge ofhammocks there grows a rampant,prickly vine with bipinnate leaves.yello\vish flowers and short, inflatedpods covered with thorns, eacm con- .taining two or three rounded, grayseeds, the nicker beans. It is Guilan­dina crista and does well when plantedin a sheltered location.

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 175

In the West Indies every black manwho has a bit of ground plants a fewseeds of Canavalia obtusifolia or C.gladiata. These are the "Overlookpeas" and it is absolutely necessaryfor one's safety that he have one or theother of these vines growing on hisplace in order to prevent his gardenbeing "overlooked" or bewitched by

~. the Evil Eye. Both are pretty and in­teresting naturalized vines, with ratherattractive purple, pea-like blos-soIns,the former being more inclined to trailand the latter to climb. I am alwayscareful to have my place well protectedfrom anybody who 111ay wish to "hoo­doo" it.

There are two balloon vines growingwild in waste places· in this region(Cardiosperl~unl halicacabum and C.microcarpum). Both are pretty, deli­cate vines with compound leaves andtriangular inflated seed pods.

One of our wild grapes with smallglossy leaves (Muscadinia rotundifol­ia) grows in the edges of hammocksand comes up from seed in th~ culti­'rated pine land to an extent that isanything but agreeable. It is a ram­pant grower and when it hangs overthe edges of the hammocks it lookswell. One of these vines has covereda solitary live oak in my grounds andhangs in long streamers all around itand looks like an uncommonly finewhite elm.

Rhabdadenia biflora is a wonderfullyvigorous vine that grows in saltmarshes, either sprawling or climbing,often to the tops of lofty trees. Itsflexible, woody stems are smooth and

brown; it 11as elongated, thick, glossyleaves which are opposite, and hand­some creamy white, fUl1nei shapedflowers in pairs. The center of thewaxy flower is yellow and it is richlyfragrant. It is full of milky sap and itis predicted that it will be an import­ant rubber producing plant in the nearfuture. I have no doubt that it wouldgrow on higher ground if it was wellcared for.

Vanilla planifolia, the plant produc·ing the vanilla of commerce has beencredited to South Florida, I think er­roneously. We have a species growinghere in the hammocks (Vanilla egger­si) which has large, fleshy stems andthe leaves reduced to mere scales,which climbs trees by means ofadventive roots. It bears great headsof brownish purple flowers which arefragrant and handsome. It is an oddand attractive plant.

NATIVE HERBACEOUS. ORNAMENTALS

In the tropics the proportion of herb­aceous plants is less than in coolerregions. In Dade County there is quitea number of ferns, several of thesehaving been found recently in Floridafor the first time by botanists exploringin the Homestead region. .

Osmunda spectabilis, a noble, yetdelicate fern~ is abundant in swampsand is believed by some authorities tobe the same as the Osmunda regalisof Europe.

Our largest native fern grows every­where in brackish swamps (Acrosti­chum excelsum) and sometimes reach­es a height of 8 feet or more. It is a

176 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SO-CIETY

bold, hal1dsome plant with heavystipes on "vhich the frol1ds are pinnate­ly arranged. It is a question' in mymind whether it does not run into A.aureum, which is generally believedto be distinct.

In the hammocks everywhere thetrunks of the live oaks are -more orless covered with a lovely little ferIlwith creeping rootstalks and pectinatefronds (Polypodium polypodioides).In dry weather its fronds curl up andeven turn brown and be-COOle so brit-.tIe that they easily, break up. Witllone-fourth of an inch· of rain or evenless they open out, turn to a rich darkgreen, and cheerfully grow on asthough nothing had cllecked them,only to close up and become brownwhen it turns dry aga~n.

With something of the same habitits near relative (P. pectinatum) iseven more beautiful, but is a muchrarer species. Mr. John Soar and thewriter found it on Pumpkil1 IZey grow­ing on dead logs or the ground andI have attached it to trees in nlY ham­mock where its lovely fronds, cut intoteeth like a comb, open or close up andturn brown according as' the weatheris damp or dry.

The Hounds Tongue Fern also growsfor the most part on decaying wood inthe hammocks. It was formally calleda Polypodium but is now Campylone­uron phyllitidis. It has lovely, entirelinear fronds, reaching a height ofthree feet a"nd is a striking' plantwhether hidden away in the half twi­light of the hammocks or grown inpots or vases.

Al10ther rather rare fern which re­sembles the last but has wider frondsL~ Aspleniurn serratum, the ;edges ofthe fronds being finely serrated. Thelast, though, occasionally grows to aconsiderable distance up tree trunksin damp hammocks. ,

PhlebodiulTI aureum is entirelyepiphytal in its habits, growing mostlyon the trunks of cabbage palmettos,where it forms knotty rootstalks andth-rows out its bold, large, deeply cutfronds.

N ephrolepis exaltata, the SwordFern is equally at home in the groundof hammocks, on rocks, or high upunder the crowns of palmettos and isvery abundant in many places.

A rarer species is Nephrolepis biser­rata, \vhich grows in damp groundwith fronds reaching sometimes ale-ngth of ten feet. It. is often found onpalmettos.. A lovely fern that grows on pal­mettos might 'be taken for a tuft ofgrass, hence its name Grass Fern. Its _fronds are linear, leathery and glossyabove, with edges slightly rev:olute.It is Vittaria lineata.

The Adiantums are all exquisitelybeautiful, but A. tenerum is especiallydelicate. It is found in hammocks inthe Homestead region and does wellin cultivation if kept damp and shaded.

At the head of the Miami River- isfound a large, bold fern (Menisciumreticulatum) which at first glancemight be taken for an Acrostichurn. Itis a \V~st Indian species and I have afine specimen in "my hammock whichwas broug"ht by Mr. John Soar from

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 117

the Isle of Pines. The late Mr. A. A.Eaton was very much interested in myplant but later when he discovered thesame thing growing in quantities nearthe JVliami pumping· station, remarkedthat he thought Mr. Soar had been"Carrying coals to Newcastle."

There are several fine Dryopterisgrowing wild in Dade County, D.patens being abundant on the banksof ditches. D. thelypteris in lTIucky,fresh water swan1ps, and a grand spec­ies D. ampla, was found in the hatTI"mock in the HOimestead )Countrywhich has an erect rootstalk and is inreality a tree fern.

There are many other species herewhich are well worthy of cultivationbut I cannot n1ention thenl on accountof lack of space.

Two species of fine epiphytal arch..ids grow in the n~ighborhood of Mi­ami, Epidendrum tampaense, which inearly summer has airy panicles ofvery pretty brownish flowers, whichare variegated with white and purple,and Cyrtopodium pu.nctatum which isnot so common. The former - hasthick linear leaves, while those of tIlelatter are broader and thin. The mat­ted roots turn upwards forming a sortof basin which catches falling leaves,insects and the like and no doubt thusfertilizes the plant. It has tall, branch­ing flower stems and greenish yello\\rflowers spotted brown in great abund­ance. On Para.dise Key a variety ofOncidium luridum is found on treesw.hich has heavy, thick leaves andflowers that superficially resemblethose of C'yrtopodium, and in the

12-H.

Homestead hammocks O. sphacelatumis aImost terrestrial.

A lovely Peperomia, P. magnolire­folia, with very thick, obovate leavesand rat tail spikes of greenish flowersis epiphytic on the live oaks.

One of our 'Tillandsias, T. fascicu­lata is a splendid orname·nt of thehammocks in spring. Like other spe­cies its seeds are furnished with cot­tony tails with which they are carriedby the wind and by means of which theseed attaches itself wherever it strikesa.nd germinates. This species hasflattened heads of brilliant red bractsout of which COlne slender, deep blueflowers and when in bloom they gleamlike spurts of fire among the trees.

Guzmannia monostacha is a hand­some epiphyte, excessively abundanton trees in the Homestead hammocks.It is a relative of the Tillandsias andbears heads of brovvn, white and richred flowers. A variety has elegantlystriped leaves. They sometimes growso abundantly as to break the limbs towhich they are attached.

Three 'species at least of ce'nturyplants grow wild in Dade County,Agave sisalana, A. rigida and A. neg­lecta. -All are str:iking, tropical look­ing plants and are often cultivated.

In fresh water and slightly brackishswamps Crinum an1ericanum lights upthe dreary waste with its splendedstarry white flowers. Associated withit are several species of Hymenocallis,with broad, soft leaves and heads ofspider-like satiny flowers, the stamensbeing connected by a thin, gauzy cup.

178 FLORIDA STAT·E HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

They will flourish if planted in dryerland.

Another beautiful swamp plant isHibiscus grandiflorus, with velvetylobed leaves and immense pink flowers.It may be propagated from seed orcuttings and I have established it inmy low land.

Kneiffia riparia, belonging to theevening primrose family, is a fine,branching plant growing in wet landalong streams, and bearing continuallylarge yellow :flower~.

CULTIVATED PALMS

Dade County seems to be a veri­table paradise for palms. I have aboutIS0 species native and exotic and near­ly all of tIlenl pronlise well. Nothingcan be finer as single isolated speci­mens or groups, or when planted inmixed masses, than the palms. Manyof the finer species are as .yet unattain..able or can only be had with difficultyand at great expense. I have import..ed many plants which have nearly alldied on account of the long voyage,and seeds which have rarely gernli..nated. But there are many fine thingsfor sale at our home nurseries now thatwere unattainable a few years ago,and are being offered at reasonableprices. I will begin witll the pinnatepalms and go through the genera inalphabetical order.

Archontophrenix alexandrre (knownas Ptychosperma alexandrre) and A.cunninghami (Seaforthia elegans) areelegant species offered by many deal­ers. In the former the underside of

.the leaves is a little nlore silvery than

in the latter, and tIle arching leavesdo not turn up edgewise. They growto considerable size and will do well inthe sunshine but should be plantedwhere they are protected from thewinds, as the leaflets break up verybadly when blown about.

Areca. I have had several speciesof these fine palms. So far I have notbeen able to make A. catechu, the Ori­ental Betel Nut, succeed.

A. glandifornlis is a grand palm,and is doing splendidly with me.

A. alicere and A. triandra promisewell, though I think likely the lattershould be grown in the shade.

Astrocaryum. I have only one spec­ies (A. mexicanum), planted in thehammock which is growing slowly butis in good health. The under sides ofthe leaves are a fine, silvery color andthe petioles and trunk are spiny.

Attalea. A. cohune is a magnificentspecies from Central America. I haveseen it in Honduras over 100 feet highand Mr. O. F. Cook .of the Departmentof Agriculture tells \me he has meas­ured leaves of it 55 feet long. '"rheyshoot up almost straight for a greatdistance, then curve out slightly at thetips. Commodore Monroe has a finespecinlen at his houle in CocoanutGrove which is beginning to form atrunk. It is a slow grower when youngand has one drawback when matured,and that is that the old leaves hangon to the plant and <1isfigure it. Ihave plants of A. gomphococca whichare doing well.

Acrocomia. A genus of very spinypalms with slender leaflets. I have

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 170

young plants of A. media, A. sclero­carpa and A. totai, all of which aredoing. well in the sun on pine land. Ihave what may be A. havanensis fronICtlba which has an immensely swolletlstem.

Bactris. Excessively spiny palmswhich are, however, quite ornamental.The leaves seem to suffer from coolweather arid come out in the springhere in bad condition. I have B. gasi­paes, the Peach P'alm of Brazil, B. aur­antiaca and an unnamed species.

Caryota, Carat or Fish-tail Palm. Ihave several species. C. blancoi, C.mitis, C. purpuracea, C. sobolifera andC. urens. C. mitis and soboliferas,ucker profusely and these suckersmay be used for propagating if takel1off carefully after they begin to throwottt roots. All the species bloom 'onlywhen fully nlatured, beginning tothrow out their magnificent tassels~

(in C. urens as large' as a man's body')itnmediately under the leaves and con­tinuing downward to tIle base of thestem, when the plant dies. I have hadbest success with them when plantedin the shade as they seem when infull sunshin~. to be particularly subjectto blotching of the leaves.

Chamredorea. Slender, often reed­like, dibecious palms sometimes throw­ing up suckers. They should be plantedin deep shad'e where they grow nicelyand bloom every year. I have C.arenbergiana, C. corallina and one ortwo others.

Chrysalidocarpus lutescens is ahandson1e~ popular palm, better knownas Areca lutescens. Its rather slender

stems and the petioles have a yellow­ish tint; it suckers freely and whetlwell grown is elegant. For some rea­son I have had poor success with thispalm until lately but it is now growingwell in pine and hammock land. It isquite tender.

Cocos. A genus of nlany Americanspecies, one of which, the cocoanut,I have already mentioned. The otherspecies here are subject to a peculiarleaf blight which forms "brownisllstreaks and sometimes kills quite largeplants. Aside from this most of thespecies do well here and nearly all aresomewhat hardy. I have an unnamedspecies in my grounds, said to comefrom Cuba, which is exceedingly fine,being a miniature of the big cocoa­nut. I have llever succeeded with C.insignis and weddelliana here, eitherin pots or in the open, alld it may b'e'that the lin1e in our soil is injuriousto them"

Desmoncus major is a thorny, slen­der palm from the lower West Indieswhere it climbs and holds on by meansof hooks at the end of the pinnre. Itis called "Croc-chiel1" in its nativecountry, a name meaning "the teethof a dog," in allusion to the dreadfulway in which it seizes and holds onto anyone 'running into it. I havea fine young plant in the hammockwhich is doing 'well and is just begin­ning to develop teeth.

Dictyosperma rubra and D. alba arefine paln1s, medium-sized, with ratherslender stems. I have a fine specimenI2 feet high of the former and it ha~

repeatedly fruited at Palm Beach. In

180 FLORIDA STATE 'a:ORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

the open its leaves are quite red whenyOllng but they change to green withage. Both species do well in the shadeor stlnshine.

Dypsis madagascariensis. A slen­der, reed-like palm with the pinnre ar­ral1ged in fascicles. I t is doing wellwith nle in shade and sunshine.

Elreis guineens-is. The Oil Palm oftropical Africa. It has bloomed andborne fruit for me and does moderate­ly well, though I think our winter cli­mate is a little too cool for it.

Euterpe. I have had several speciesof this genus, but for some reason allhave died. It has often happened thatwhere I have utterly failed with cer­tain plants, others have succeeded., andthat I have succeeded after repeatedfailures. These may do well here.

Howea. H. belmoreana and H~ for­steriana, better known as Kentias, areoffered by many dealers. Neitherseems to do really well here thougllthe latter does the better of tIle two.The lime in the soil may not be con­ge~ial for them.

Hydriastele wendlandiana. A tallgrowing paltJ;1 with long leaves, thesegments being truncate and raggedat the apex. It is a vigorous growerand promises well. here.

Hyophorbe yerschaffeltii and amari­caulis are two very striking and hand­some palms from Mauritius. They arelofty growers, with large, bulgingtrurlks, rather stiff, richly colored andorange tinted leaves. Both are grow­ing finely for me in shade and su-nshine.

Jubrea spectabilis. The southern­most palm of South America. I have

had poor success with this palm whichI have started from seed several times.I now have a specimen sent from. Cali­fornia four years ago which lookshealthy, b.ut has only 1)1ade one -leaf ill

all that time.. At that rate I shall be avery old man before it becomes a tree.

Kentia. The genus Kentia has beencompletely dismembered and the non1­enclature seems to be badly confused.For want of any better knowledge Ishall refer to it a fine species whichgoes under the name of Kentia macarthuri. It grows in large clumps withrather slender stems and obliquelytruncate leaflets. It is a rapid growerand soon forms a large clump, but it isa little tender and I am inclined tothink it would flourish best in a some­what.sheltered and s11aded place.

Martinezia caryotrefolia, the onlyspecies I have tried to grow, is aslender palm and does not seem todo very well. It is slightly spiny, haselegant leav'es with the broad segmentsraggedly truncate, and it grows quiterapidly in pots when young.

Phoenix. The Date Palms. I havesonle 20 or more nominal species ofthis genus and there 'are no palmsknown to me which are any moresatisfactory in every way for plantingin Dade County. They all growrapidly even when mere seedlings.They flottrish in all soils from lowsalt marshes which are occasionallyoverflowed to the highest, driest pineland, and all will grow rapidly and dowell without fertilizer. They are direci­ous, and a large proportion .of myplants have proven to be males. The

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 181

great clusters of creamy blossoms arequite attractive. A fem~le P. hun1ilishas borne fruit which has germinatedand made fine young plants. As itis the only specimen of the species Ihave, and no other males of anyspecies were in bloom anywhere nearit at the time it flowered, it seems proba­ble that it was self fertilized. P. cana­riensis is a majestic palm with a colos­sal trunk and leaves 10 to 12 feet long.P. sylvestris is fine, while P. roebelenii'i~ the gem of the genus. It is very dis­tinct in appearance, with delicate leavesof a peculiar green, and rich yellow spines.According to W. M. in Bailey's Cyclo­pedia of Americana Horticulture this hasstems only two or three feet in height in20 years. My best specimen, set out asa little plant about four years ago, andbadly crowded and robbed by a Ficus

- elastica, without fertilizer, is now fivefeet 4igh, has a trunk three feet highand five inches in diameter and is inbud for blossom. (For a fine articleon "Phoenix in Florida" by H. Nehrl­ing see the above quoted work, Vol.III, p. 1309.)

Raphia ruffia. I have this palnl butam not at all sure it will succeed. Itgrows very rapidly as a seedling butdoes not seem to- do well when larger.It is a fine species from Madagascarwith imm_~nse" nearly erect, pinnateleaves and enormous heads of fruitweighing from 200 to 300 pounds.

Roystonea. Besides our native spe­cies already mentioned we have R.oleracea from the West Indies, a mag­nificent species growing to a greatheight and R. borinquena from Porto

Rico. Both are doing well with me;the latter is growing very rapidly andpromises to do better on the pine landthan R. regia. It has a stouter, morefusiform trunk than R. regia andheavier leaflets.

Stevensonia grandifolia. I have notbeen successful so far with this nlag­nificen.t palm, largely owing to thefact that it seems to be very tender ina young state, but I hope to succeedwith it later.

Verschaffeltia, another fine palIn,has also proved very tender.

Wallichia. I have had W. densifloraand \V. caryotoides but neither of thenlhave succeeded and it is quite likelythat our limestone soil does not agree,vith thenl.

PALMATE LEAVED PALMS

Corypha. I have had three specie~

of this genus, C. umbraculifera, C. ge­banga and C. nlacropoda, but none ofthetTI have done ,veIl with me.

Chamrerops. A circum-Mediterran-ean genus of elegant palms. Probablyonly a single spec1es exists in Europe,though botanists have made manynominal species. This is C. humili~,and a form from northern Africa whichis more robust has received the nameof C. macrocarpa. I have fine largeplants of the former and small onesof the latter, all of which are doingwell. They are rather slow growing whenyoung.

.Erythea edulis, a fine, densely leav·­ed fan palm from Guadalupe Island.Lower California. So far it is a mod­erate grower, but -is in perfectly

182 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULT'URAL SOCIETY

healthy co.ndition on pine land and ismaking a fine ornament.

E. armata, the Blue Palm of LowerCalifornia is a still finer species. Ihave small specimens of it whichpromise well.

Hypha.ene. I have a single plant ofH. shatan about seven feet high andbeginning to form a trunk. The heav)1curved petioles are black bordered andhave very large, crooked, black spinesalong them, and the midribs aresharply recurved. The immenselythick blade is attached diagonally tothe petiole. '"fwo or three times thisspecimen was nearly killed by frostsbut now it seems to be well establishedand is growing with the greatest vIgor.The species of this genus form branch­ing trees, and the outer rind aroundthe seed is sweet and tastes like gin­gerbread, hence the name "Ginger-bread Palm." ,_

rnodes. The specie~ of this groupwere previously referred to Sabal, butO. F. Cook has shown that they arenot the true Sabals. One obvious dis­tinction is that in Sabal the leavesare nearly or quite flat, while in Inodesthe midrib is curved backward. Itis as satisfactory a group of palmsfor this region as the Phoenix and thatis saying all that can be said. I.ghiesbreghtii is one of the finest, withlarge leaves of unusually heavy text­ure I. mauriticeformis of the., WestIndies and northern South America issaid to have leaves 12 feet across. Allare well worthy of cultivation, as theyflourish on almost all our soils evenwithout fertilizer.

Latania. A genus of a few speciesfrom lVIauritius and vicinity, contain­ing some of the n10st noble palms onearth. They have large trunks andimmense leaves supported by massivepetioles, the whole often glaucous andhighly colored. L. glaucophyl1a isthe finest species, and magnificentspecimens of it are 'growing in Mianliand ·at Cape Florida. L. commersoniiis also a grand species and is growingat Cape Florida. The species are direc­ious.

Licuala. A genus of East India!1palms, several of which I have triedto cultivate with indifferent success.They grow for a while .and then ~et

sick and almost stand still.Livistona. Another genus of East

Indian palms but one which does muchbetter here than Licuala. L. chinen­sis is usually sold as L.atania borbonica,which is quite a different thing. It isa slow-growing fan palm with veryglossy leaves but after it reaches con­siderable size its growth is more rap­id. It is rather hardy and attains con­siderable size and is a most excellentand ttseful palm. L. subglobosa is arapid grower. L. hoogendorpii is do­ing well. L. australis is a slow growerbut quite hardy, and is a picturesquetree. L. rotundifolia is beautiftLI butseems a little delicate.

N ebwashingtonia. I have threespe.cies of this Mexican genus. N.robusta, a magnificent, strong-growing-palm with large glossy leaves whichhave stout prickles on the edges oftheir petioles. It is ~apidly becominga favorite here for street planting. N.

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULT'URAL SOCIETY 183

filifera has dull colored leaves and isgreatly inferior in vigor and beauty tothe robusta. N. sonorre, of which Ihave young specimens, is said to bemore delicate than the otllers.

Pritcllardia. A noble genus of palmsfrom the South Pacific containing afew species fully as handsome as theJjatanias. They have immense plait­ed leaves borne on heavy petioles. P.pac.lfica has the petioles covered with acreamy or whitish fluffy scurf. P.thurstoni and an unnamed specieswhich I have are very fine. Unfortu­nately they are all exceedingly tenderand even large plants are injured bysharp frosts.

Rhapis humilis and flabelliformisare clustered reed palms from China,and are exquisitely beautiful. Theformer does better for nle than thelatter.

Thrinax. There is no group ofpalms more conlpletely adapted toSouth Florida than the species of thisand allied genera. No less than sixspecies of Thrinax and Coccothrinaxgrow wild in Dade County. T. bar­badensis is an elegant palm which isdeeper colored in shade than in sun·shine, though it does well in both sit­uation~. T. altissima is altogether oneof the nl0st beautiful palms I have everseen. Its large, glossy, airy leaves arealmost flat and their lower edges lapover at the petiole.. All tIle species,however, are tender when young. .

Thrincoma alta, a new palm fromPorto Rico, does well, and promisesto be a beautiful little tree. All thespecies of this group do well in ham-

mock or pine land and need no fertil­izer.

Trachycarpus excelsus totally failsin this lo~ality. I have planted it re­peatedly in different soils and situa­tions .but it invariably soon dies. Iam satisfied that the soil does not suitit.

ORNAMENTAL EXOTIC TREES

Adenanthera pavonina, CircassianBean, is a pr~tty tree from India witlldelicate compound leaves and snlallbrownish or yellowish flowers. The3eare followed by spiral pods with bril­liant red, polished, lenticular seeds.They are an article of food in Indiaand are used extensively for necklaces.They may be strung readily with aheavy needle and thread or twine justas they are ripening, turning fromcreanl color to scarlet. If strung tooearly they shrivel, but they soon beginto harden and cannot be worked at all.

Acacia. Elegant trees with delicatecompound foliage and often prettyheads of flowers, but unfortunatelyonly a few of them do well here. A.bicornis or cornigera, from Mexico andCentral America which bears elongatedheads of yellowis'h .;flower~ and irrl­mense spines in pairs, united at thebase and looking like the horns of anox, does fairly well and two or threeunnamed species flourish.

Araucaria. A noble ge.nus of warnltemperate or subtropical conifers. A.excelsa is often grown in Dade County,though quite tender when young. Thisis the Norfolk Island pine, very com­monly cultivated in pots and tubs at

184 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULT'URAL SOCIETY

the north and when in perfect condi­tion is one of the most strikingly beau­tiful trees in the world. It does fairlywell here on pine land that is welldrained, and occasionally there areseen remarkably handsome specimens.A. bidwillii from Australia is anothernobl~ species with broad leaves whichseems tv be completely at home in ourpoor soil. I have a young A. brazil­iana which is doing well. A. imbricatahas been tried repeatedly by myselfand others, in shade and sunshine andin various soils but it has invariablydied.

Albizzia lebbek becomes a noble,wide spreading tree here in a veryshort tiOme. I ts common name "\V6­man's Tongue" was given it becausethe pods of the one and the tong~es

of the other are supposed to rattle, agross libel on botll.

Aleurites. Candle nut tree. Age··nus of trees of majestic appearance andlarge, striking leaves. A. moluccanahas handsome lobed leaves and bearsan excellent edible nut. It has bornefruit in Dade County. A. trispermahas very large cordate leaves and is abeautiful tree. It is from China andis perfectly hardy. All three flourishhere like weeds, the only drawbackbeing that their rather brittle limbsbreak up badly during hurricanes, andthey should therefore be planted in5heltered locations.

Andira it1ermis, West Indian Cab­bage Tree, has elegant pinnate leaveswith ,vavy leaflets and is said tf) bear11andsome purple flowers. It is a beau­tiful tree but so far -I have not been

able to make it succeed as well as Iwould like to.

Bauhinia. A large genus of tropicaltrees and shrubs generally havingshowy flowers. B. purpurea is one ofour finest trees~ being covered withlarge' orchid-like blossoms in late win­ter' and spring, lTIOst beautifully varie­gated. One of these trees in full bloornis a sight worth going a long way tosee. B. alba and B. furfuracea havehandsome white flowers, both bloonl­ing at various seasons. B. triandrahas lovely pink flowers striped withw}1ite. B. tomentosa has yellow flow­ers. I have a large growing unnamedspecies that bears a great profusion ofwhitish blossoms tinted purple throughthe late fall and winter. The curiousleaves of all the species which are more orless bifid at the apex are attractive.They all do well here in our light soilbut should be liberally fertilized forbest resul ts.

Bonlbax. Silk Cotton tree. A softwooded, rapid growing tree of theWest Indian region, attaining im­mense proportions. It has digitate,deciduous leaves and the stems andtrunk bear strong prickles. In latewinter when the tree is nearly or quitenaked it becomes covered with verylarge showy red flowers. It daes wellin Dade County. At the Royal Poin­ciana Hotel at Palm Beach are verylarge specimens for Florida.

Bischofia trifoliata from the EastIndies is a rapid-growing tree withhandsome trifoliate leaves which flour­ishes finely here.

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULT·URAL SOCIETY 185

Bixa orellana, a West Indian treehas cordate leaves, pink flowers likeimmense and glorified peach blossoms,and soft, prickly pods whose seeds arecovered with an orange red paste. Itis the Arnatto or Roucou, and the pasteis used alike to decorate the bodies ofSouth American Indians and to colorthe butter and cheese of civilized man.I t does fairly well if fertilized.

Butea frondosa. An Indian tree withvery large trifoliate leaves and redflowers. Sir Joseph Hooker in theHinlal,ayan Journals says "In the So­ane Valley Butea frondosa was abund­antly in flower and a gorgeous sight.In mass the inflorescence resemblessheets of flame and individually theflowers are eminently beautiful, thebright orange-red petals contrastingbrilliantly against the jet-black, vel­vety calyx." I have repeatedly failedwith this tree but at last a specimenplanted in the edge of the rocky hanl­mock in a rather dry place is doingfinely.

Cassia fistula has 11andsome, largepinnate leaves and drooping leaflets,and long, pendant, pale yellow clustersof flowers. When in bloom it is one ofthe most charming of objects. Thereis a fine sp~cimen at the Sub-TropicalLaboratory near Miami.

Caesalpinia sappan is a rather at­tractive, thorny tree with fine, bi­pinnate leaves, yellow flowers andstriking seed pods, which does wellhere. C. coriaria is a tree with deli­cately beautiful compound leaves andgreenish, fragrant flowers, a little tenderwhen young, but it will probably

do well when established. C. gilliesiiso far has not done well.

Calophyllum inophyllum, a nobletree from the East Indies has fine largeglossy leaves and large handsomewhite flowers. It is very tend'er 11erebut probably will do well when it isonce established.

Castilla elastica. This is the Cen­tral American Rubber Tree and Ihave seen specimens or' it in southernCuba that were fine. It grows wellhere in summer but the cool weather

.. and especially frosts put it back badly.Cr.~scentia cujete. An awkward

growing tree with long, narrow leavesand not particularly ornamental, but itbears curious, purplish,' trunlpet shap­ed blossoms on the nlain stem andlarge branches, which produce the cele­brated calabashes, used everywhere intropical America. It is a rapid grow­er, but is very tender, and will do wellhere when large.

Delonix regia, the Royal Poinciana,vies with one other tree (Amherstianobilis) for the position of King ofFlowering Trees. It is a native ofMadagascar, but long ago was carriedall around the tropics and cultivated forits glorious flowers and foliage. Itsmarvellously beautiful bipinnate, darkgreen leaves alone would give it a highrank among ornamentals. These comeout a.pale, delicate green in April andat the same time the tree is coveredwith great masses of bloom, eacllflower being four inch~s or nlore indiameter. The outside of the thickpetals is yellow, the inside is red. Thepetals are clawed, a rich warm red and

186 FLORIDA Sr.ATE HORTICULT'URAL SOCIETY

often variegated inside. It blooms, ill with a columnar stem, smooth, varie·some cases, at intervals well into the gated green bark, limbs in whorls andsummer and some trees bear clusters digitate 5-9 foliate, smooth leaves. Theof flowers that would not go into a flowers are yellowish and attractivehalf bushel basket. There is con- The tree grows to a great size andsiderable variation in growth and does finely here but the wood· is brittlebloom, and one form is always low and breaks in storms.growing and wide spreading and is Euphorbia tirucalli is a small treecertainly a distinct variety if not a with pendant, succulent branches,separate species. The immense pods milky juice and very small leaves. Itare striking and rather ornamental, and is a strange and attractive plant. E.the trees are readily grown here from antiquorum has triangular, variegatedseed and flourish in all kinds of latld branches, almost no leaves, is spin}-,except that which is quite wet. . and is a strange looking small tree t(l

Enterolobiull1 cyclocarpum is a h'and- northern eyes. Both do well here insome tree with bipinnate leaves, green- poor dry soil but are tender whenish flowers in heads, and pods bent small.back in a complete circle. A rapid Eucalyptus. A large genus of tree~

grower. from the Australian region, man~Y' ofErythrina. Coral Tree. A genus which attain an enormous height.

of leguminous trees with several spec· Quite a large number of species areies, all with trifoliate leaves and h~nd- grown in Dade County where mostsome red flowers. The stems and of them do well. E. robusta is atrunks are prickly. They are decidu- broad leaved, fine species, qttite orna­ous in wil1ter and in late winter or mental in bloom. E. ficifolia for someearly spring bear large spikes of daz- reason has not done well with me. Itzling flowers. Here they are troubled has handsome scarlet flowers. E. ros­with a brownish borer which enters trata, E. viminalis and many othersinto the ends of the gro~ing branches have no true leaves, bearing only phyl­and the large flower buds so that the lodia, or leaflike expansions of the peti­trees bloom but little. If the ends of ole, alike on both sides, and set edge·the linlbs ,vhich are bored are cut back wise on the tree instead of 110rizont..to healthy wood as soon as the leaves ally. E. globulus has true leaves whenfall there will be a much better show young and phyllodia when matureof bloom. They grow well in our the latter being wholly unlike the for­sandy soil. I have E. carnea, E. velu· mer.tina, E. umbrosa and one or two Ficus. An immense genus rangingothers. from warm temperate regions through

Eriodendron, Silk Cotton Tree. E. the tropics and from lowly creepers toanfractuosum, probably, is cultivated lofty trees. Nearly all the· manyhere. It is a strikingly handsome tree species introduced here do well. F.

FLORIDA STATE HORTlCULT'URAL SOCIETY 187

altissima is one of the best. F. ny...mphrefolia has enormous cordateleaves. F~. religiosa is the sacred Titree of India. F. benghalensis is theBanyan and F. pumila and barbata arecreepers which will cover walls ortrees.

F. elastica is the well known IndiaRubber. . A specimen of this treegrows in Lemon City having a heada hundred feet across. The variegatedvariety is very fine. F. parcelli hasalso attractive variegated leaves.

Garcinia 1110rella. A handso111e treewith long, leathery, glossy, oppositeleaves and yellowish flowers. Thegamboge of conlmerce is made fromit. The mangosteen (G. mangostana)will not grow here but the gambagepromises well.

Gliricidia. Two species of this legu­minous tree promise well here, G. pla­tycarpa from Cuba and G. maculataof Central America. The latter hasbloomed beautifully here. Both havehandsome pink flowers, but are tenderwhen young-.

Grevillea robusta. Australian SilkOak, is grown in great quantities inthe 110rth as an ornamental plal1t, hav...ing elegant fern-like leaves. Here itbecomes a large tree, bearing in springgreat clusters of strange, handsome,golden flowers. G. hilli is somewhatsinlilar to robusta but has pink orwhite flowers.

Heterophragma adenophyllum is atree becoming 50 feet high, from India,having digitate leaves and brownishyellow, woolly flowers. The longpods are spirally twisted. I have a fine

young tre~ on pine land which givesgood promise of s<:>on furnishing cork­screws for all of Dade County.

Hura crepitans, Sand Box of theWest Indies, is a large tree with ele­gant cordate leaves, inconspicuousflowers and flattenedJ ribbed seed pods,which burst with a loud noise whenripe. It is grown here but does notgenerally succeed very well.

Jacaranda mirriosrefolia is a Brazil­ian tree with charnling compoundleaves with innumerable small leaflets.When young it grows quite well, butas soon as it reaches a considerablesize it does not generally flourish. Ithas handsonle blue trumpet-like flow­ers.

Kigelia pinnata is a pinnate leavedtree from tropical Africa, related toBignonia. It has large, dull red,trumpet-shaped flowers and sausage­shaped fruits, suspended by long stems.There is a large tree at CocoanutGrove, on high, rocky land. '

Lagerstrcemia flos-reginre. A superbtree bearing enormous fascicles ofrose purple fl<!wers. I t is very muchlarger and finer in all its parts thanthe ordinary crape myrtle (L. Indica).There is a fine specimen on the placeformerly belonging to Rev. ThomasSpencer, near Miami.

Magnolia. Magnolia fretida (grandi­flora) does not grow wild as far southas this, but I have a young tree in theedge of the swamp that is doing well.M. glauca is co'mmon here in swamps.

Melaleuca leucodendron, the Caje­put Tree, grows finely here, either onhigh or swam.py land. It is an attract-

188 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

ive tree with lanceolate phyllodia andsmall white blossoms. The bark isvery thick and remarkably spongy.The leaves are strongly scented.

Melia azedarach umbraculiformis,Texas Umbrella Tree, is conlmon here,but as a rule does not reach the perfec...tion it does in North Florida. M.sempervirens, said to come from Ja­maica, though probably originally fromthe Orient, is an elegant, rapid grow­ing tree, here nearly always in bloom.The trees of this genus are subject tosoft scale wllich can be killed withkeroV\Tater.

Moringa moringa, is a tree, nativeof India but now widely distributedin the tropics. It has airy, compoul1dleaves and clusters of somewhat pea..shaped, white, fragrant flowers and isalways in bloonl. It bears long, cur..ious, triangular pods. The whole treehas a pungent odor and taste and thesoft roots, as large as a man's arm,make an excellent substitute for horse··radish, hence the l1an1e HorseradishTree.

Pachira. A genus of handsometrees from tropical America with largeglossy, leathery, digitate leaves andshowy flowers. P. princeps has whiteflowers with red stamens and growsin brackish swamps. P. macrocarpahas very large white flowers. P.fastuosa from Cuba drops its leavesin winter and in February is coveredwith immense crin1son blo.ssoms, oneof the handsomest trees I ever saw.I have-. a tree of another species whichI cannot determine, that has white

110cturnal flowers. All grow here fine..ly in the pine land.

Pandanus. A large genus but theonly one we cultivate that I am surereaches the proportions of a tree isP. uti~is, commonly called the ScrewPine. It is a most striking and trop­ical looking object. The nearlysmooth trunk is copper colored andmarked with the scars of fallen. leaves.It is supported at the base by manylarge air roots. The branches usuallyconle in wllorls of three, and the long,folded, spiny leaves are arranged in aperfect spiral. The tree is dioecious,the flowers are large and strange, andare followed by immense, nearly glob­ular heads of seeds which are glossyand highly colored. I have a fenlaletree near my house which now hasthree of these great seed heads, each'larger than a man's 11ead and veryheavy. Taken in all, I know of noplant more astonishing in appearancethan this, for it seems to be a conl­bination of vagaries in. every part.

Parmentiera cerifera. Candle Tree. ­This is another' of the vagaries of thetropics. I t is a tree with wingedtrifoliate leaves from tropical Anlerica.It has large white trumpet shapedflowers and long, cylindrical yellow'fruits which very greatly resemblecandles, and they hang in profusionfrom the branches. They are saidto be edible. Will probably do wellhere.

.Peltophorum ferrugineum. A treewith handsome bipinnate foliage,a rapid grower and a native of Ceylon..The young leaves and shoots are cov-

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 189

ered with a brown, velvety tonlentum.It bears rusty yellow flowers twice ayear and they are fragrant. Macmil­lan in Tropical Gardening, says that itis a magnificent sight when in fullbloom.

Pimenta vulgaris, the well knownAllspice is a handsome tree, nativeof Jamaica, with long, shining leaves.Every part of it is rich in the flavorof allspice. I have ~ tree eight feethigh planted in the thick scrub of thehammock which is growing finely.

Plumeria, Frangipa~i. I have threespecies, P. alba, with white flowers.P. acutifolia, flowers pink and white,and P. tricolor, flowers white, yello\vand red. The thick, succulent stenlSof these snlall tropical Atnerican treeslose most of their leaves in winter.The flowers of all are deliciously fra­grant, and from them frangipani isnlade.. A magnificent specimen of thelatter species is growing in the groundsof Conlmodore Monroe at CocoanutGrove. They all do well here but aretender.

Paritium elatum. Cuban Bast Tree.A member of the Hibiscus family, withimmense, nearly circular, cordateleaves and large flowers that are apeculiar yellow when they open, butlater become brownish red. I havea large tree in the pine land, 40 feethigh and as nluch across, that hasbeen constantly in bloom for morethan five years.

Saraca indica is a tree with drooping,glossy, compound leaves that are ofwaxy texture when they come out, andbeautifully colored. The orange red

flowers are handsome but it has notdone well for me. It should probablyhave a dan1p, shady situation.

Schizolobium excelsum. A rapidgrowing tree from Brazil wit}l splen­did bipinnate leaves of immense sizeand yellow flowers. Will probablysucceed here though it is quite tender.

Stereospermum suaveolens, A treebelonging to the Bignoniacrea, havingenormous compound leaves and dullred trumpet-shaped flowers. It is do­ing well for me.

Sterculia. Several species, which donot generally do well here. S. alatawith immense oval leaves has provena failure. I have had S. platanifoliasix years and though it seems healthyit is only three feet high. S. carthag­enensis is a noble tree, of which thereis a fine specimen at the SUb-TropicalLaboratory near Miami.

Swietenia macrophylla. A magnifi­cent tree frOnl the American tropics.It has the largest pinnate leaves Ihave ever seen. These it retains fora long time and they become highlycolored before they fall. It is a vigor­ous, rapid grower, apparently quitehardy, and my specimen has had nofertilizer though planted in pine land.If it stands wind well I predict that itwill make a good tree for plantingalong roads.

Theobroma, Cacao. A beautifulorna11)ental tree but very tender andit has utterly failed with me so far.

Terminalia catappa is a common butexceedingly striking tree. Its branch­es come out in whorls and grow hori­zontally. The obovate leaves some-

11)0 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULT'URAL SOCIETY

times' measure 12 inches in widthby 22 in length, and they turn themost ~onderfully purplish crimsonwhen cool weather comes. It is unfor­tunately very brittle. It flourishes inthe poorest soil without fertilizer., Thespesia. Trees of the Hibiscusfamily, one of whichJ T. grandiflora, isa fine, rapid grower and promises to dowell here.

Thevetia nerifolia is a small WestIndian tree with narrow shining leavesand funnel shaped, very fragrant blos­soms, yellow or salmon colored. Itdoes well on our pine land but shouldbe fertilized. The whole tree is verypoisonous.

ORNAMENTAL FRUIT TREES AND PLANTS

In the north it is considered badtaste to plant fruit trees in one's orna··mental grounds as they generally pos­sess.little beauty. In the tropics thereare many fruit bearing trees which arel1ighly ornamental in foliage, flowersand fruit.

Achtas sapota, Sapodilla, is a hand·­some, evergreen, tropical tree withelliptical, leathery, shining leaves, thebranches disposed in whorls. It is abeautiful qbject plant~d alone or Inix­ed with otl1er trees.

Artocarpus, Bread Fruit and JackFruit. The former with its im-mense, incised, glossy leaves is, whenwell grown, one of the grandest ob­jects of nature. There is a fine photo-'graph of this in McMillan's Handbool{of Tropical Gardening. It is verytender when "young, and I have not yet ..succeeded with it. There is a fine

specimen of Jack Fruit growing ill

pine land at Cocoanut Grove. .Carica papaya, the common pawpaw

is a striking ornamental plant. Thecultivated form has larger fruit thanthe wild one.

Carissa. The specific nomenclatureof this group is somewhat confused. Ihave what may be C. grandiflora andC. arduina. Both have beau:tiful,thick, glossy leaves and enormouspairs of thorns. The large, waxy,starry, fragrant flowers make a lovelyc.ontrast to the deep green leaves andthe crimson fruit. They are as conl­pletely at home here as weeds.

Cecropia palmata is a rapid growing,awkward tree from the West Indieswith imnlense deeply cut leaves which aresilvery beneath. It is a striking orna­ment and does well here.

Citrus. The orange, the lemon, thetangerine, the'grapefruit and especiallythe' kumquat are beautiful ornamentswith their rich, glossy leaves, fragrantflowers and golden fruit.

Chrysophyllum cainito (Star Apple).This is as handsome a tree as our wildspecies and blends finely with otherornamental trees.

Eriobotrya japonica. Loquat, haselegant, large, serrate leaves, is veryhardy, and is a beautiful tree.

Eugenia jambo's and E. malaccensis,Rose Apple and Malacca Apple aresuperb ornamentals. The former has··long, leathery, glossy leaves andlarge. heads of creamy stamens. Itblooms in late winter' and spring and itis a sight never to-be forgotten to partits branches .and p~er into the· serni-·

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULT'URAL SOCIETY

darkness inside and see its lovelyblossoms, gleaming like stars. E.malaccensis has crimsol1 flowers andis a gorgeous tree but is very tender.The former does finely here anywhere.

Mammea americana, Mamee Apple,in a lofty, tropical tree with heavy,glossy leaves and fragrant whiteflowers. It is very tender when youngbut becomes a large tree here.

Mangifera indica, Mango. No finer,nobler, ornamental tree is grown inthis region. I t has a well roundedhead of lo"ng! leathery, shining leavesand the upright panicles of brownisl1flowers are quite attractive. It is per­fectly at home in our poor soil andwould make a fine tree to plant alongroads.

Musa. The banana and plantainrank among the most striking andbeautiful of tropical ornamental plants.Uufortunately the plantain does notdo well here and even the banana doesnot flourish here with the luxuriancetllat it does in the tropics. The bananadoes best in a rich, damp soil, thoughit does not like to stand in stagnantwater, but it may be nlade to grovvfinely on pine land if given plenty offertilizer and cultivation alld shouldbe planted freely in ornamentalgrounds.

Phyllanthus distichus. OtahiteGooseberry. It is one of the anomaliesof our vegetation, that our cherriesgrow on evergreen bushes and ourgooseberries on thornless trees. Thelong' pinnate leaves of this tree, curveddownward in the middle are indes­cribably beautiful, and when the new

growth comes out it is of a rich, red­'dish brown color. The tree is ratherbrittle and should be planted in a' pro­tected place.

P. emblica is a very handsome treewith long, wand-like branches and exqui­site leaves.

Pomegranate (Punica granatum).It is a beautiful shrub with scarlet,trumpet-shaped flowers and handsome,large red fruit. For some reason itdoes not always do well here.

Tamarind, (Tamarindus indica) .It is a noble tree with finely roughen­ed bark and delicately beautiful foliage.I t does well here in pine and harrimock.

ORNAMENTAL EXOTIC SHRUBS

It is hard to draw any hard and fastdistinction between trees and shrubs.In a general way tIle latter are smallerand often send up nunlerous stemsfronl the ground.

Allama.nda n·eriifolia and A. williamsimay be grown as shrubs or sprawlers.The former is one of the most florifer­ous plants we have here, and is cov­ered nearly all the year with fine, largetrumpet-shaped, yellow flowers. Sogreat is the drain on it from constantblossoming that it should be repeated­ly fertilized and cultivated to keep it invigor. It is one of our very best shrubs.A. williamsi is a fine flori ferous species.

Aralia guilfoylei is an elegant, erectshrub with glossy pinnate leavesvariegated with white, which doeswell here. I have a plant under thename of A. pulchra with beautiful,glossy, digitate leave's, which promises

192 FLORJDA STATE HORTICULT'URAL SOCIETY

well but is probably not an Aralia. Itmay be an Oreopanax.

Ardisia crenulata is a pretty shrubwith crenate, leathery leaves andwaxy, crimson berries that remain inperfection a long time. I have notbeen very successful with it but havehad best results by planting it in shadein the edge of the hammock.

Aucuba japonica, Japan Gold DustTree. I have totally failed to makethis lovely plant grow here. I havekept it in fair condition in a pot butwhen turned outJ even in a shaded lo­cation the leaves turn black and itsoon dies. It may be either the soilor a too warm climate that is thetrouble.

Azalea. None of the Azaleas, Cam­ellias, Rhododendrons or the tea plantswill grow for me. No doubt this ison account of the lime in the soil. TheGardenia also fails, probably for thesame reason.

Bauhin.ia. Several species of thischarming genus are shrubs and a feware cliJ;nbers. B. acuminata is a fineshrub with lovely, large, white flowerswhich blooms throughout the springand summer. I have a small species~eceived as B. picta, but which is notthat. It has handsome, pale yellowflowers, shaped much like those ofAbutilon. With a good assortmentof Bauhinias one can have flowersthroughout. the entire year here.

Brunfelsia americana has obovate,shining leaves 'and yellowish, salver-shap­ed, fragrant flowers. The tube of theflower is exceedingly long. It does re-

n1arkably well here .in pine land and i~

a very free bloomer.Cassia. None of the shrubby' species

I have tried have done well.Caesalpinia pulcherril;na is a favorite

shrub in South Florida and well it maybe. It is easily grown from see'd and

'it flaunts its gorgeous scarlet and yel-low flowers to ;the \St1n neaTly thewhole year through. There is a va­riety with yellow flowers. The plantsshould be headed back and fertilizedafter their periods of blooming. C.nuga is a thorny, half clinlbing shrubwhich promises .well.

Catesbrea spinosa is an elegant shrubfrom the Bahamas. It has small, thick,shining leaves, is quite spiny, and bearsnumbers of pendant, trumpet shaped,lemon yellow flowers. These are cutinto four segments on the border andare from four to six inches in length. Itdoes well in ordinary pine land.

Cestrum. C. nocturnum is theNight Blooming Jessamine. . "Theflowers are small and greenish whitebut give out, at night only, the mostpowerful perfume. A large bush willscent an acre of garden on a calmnight. There are those who conl­plain of t11ese strong odors as beingoverpowering but they are never so tcme·. I love when out walking at nightto plunge my head in the very middleof these bushes and revel in the wealthof their fragrance. C. diurnum is avery fragrant day bloomer. C. ele­gans and aurantiacum have failed withme, probably on account of root knot.

Clerodendron squamatum has larg~

soft, cordate leaves and brilliant scar-

FLORIDA STATE HORTlCULT'URAL SOCIETY 193

let flowers. C. fragrans with doublewhite flowers has been naturalizedhere. C. siphonanthus, with longtubed, dirty white flowers and showyberries has also escaped cultivation.C. th.ompsonre is either a shrub or halfvine and has elegant flowers withwhite calyx and a deep red corolla.All flourish here.

Codiaeum. The Crotons. Perhapsthe finest ornamental leaved plants wegrow. The climate here is a little toocold at times in winter for them to dotheir best and the soil is ge.nerally.rather poor for them. However, ifplanted where they are protected andheavily fertilized they nlake a gloriollsshow. A large variety is grown il1Dade County but the names are ingreat confusion. They are hybrids,from two or three species belonging inthe South Seas and have a great di­versity in the forms of the leaves andc.oloring. Everyone should plantCratons.

Dombeya wallachi, is a "\vonderfullyvigorous, rapid grower with immense,soft leaves measuring a foot or morein length and width. The flowers be­gin to open in late winter and the plantcontinues to bloom for a long time.They are in very large heads, a hand­some pink, and remind one of thoseof the Hydrangeas. A poor stub of aplant put out in the pine land withoutfertilizer ~as.t ·fall bloomed superblyand is now six feet high and as· muchacross.

Duranta plumieri is a rampant grow­er and bears spikes of blue flowerslooking like magnified forget-me-nots.

I3-H.

During the winter when it is in bloomswarms of butterflies of many colorshover around it and contribute not alittle to iJs beauty.

Euphorbia splendens is a fine oldthorny, succulent plant with prettyred bracts. E. sanguinea. I have re­ceived a plant bearing this name fromReasoner Bros. which has ovate leavesof an indescribably rich, bronzy purple

• crimson with lighter veins. It is an ex­quisite plant, half shrubby and growswell but is very tender. E. pulcherrima,commonly known as Poinsettia pul­cherrima is one of the finest ornamentsof our gardens. It begins to developits dazzling crimson bracts in NQvem­ber or sometimes in October and oftenholds them until in March. As soon asthe new growth starts in the springthe stems should be severely cut bacl{and these may be cut up and plantedto within one bud in the ground tomake new plants. As the old plantsgrow through the summer it is wellto pinch out the tops to make thetnbranch. They should be well fertil­ized, for with the best care they arcusually rather short lived here.

Eugenia microphylla. An exquisite­ly beautiful shrub with dark green,linear leaves. It makes repeatedgrowths through the year and theyoung leaves are yellowish or brown­ish pale green, a charming contrastwith the old ones. It promises to suc­ceed here but I think it will do bestwhen it is partly shaded.

Hibiscus. The two first ornam.ent­al plants that the settler here puts outare Coconut palms and Chinese Hibis-

FLORIDA ~TATE HORTICULT'URAL SOCIETY194

IE~CllS. l"'hese, from their beauty andtheir adaptability are planted wherevercivilized or semi-civilized man is foundwithin the tropics. There are a dozenor more varieties here in cultivationand aU do exceptionally well. Put acutting into the ground and within ayear it is flaunting its gloriotlS blos­soms to the Florida sun. When theplants become old and scraggy all thatis necessary to do is to ell t them se­verely back just before growth startsand in a little while they are a nlassof fine new growth and foliage. Ihave plants eight years old so cut backw'hich have never had any fertilizer,that are the picture of health and vigor.H. mutabilis, with soft, v~lvety, angledleaves and large pink flowers thatopen in the morning and turn darkthrough tfie day, is very fine.. Thesanle cutting back process is almostnecessary with this, in fact I practiceit with OleaBders and a great variet)~

of things that beC01TIe old and losetheir vigor.

Ixora. One of the finest genera ofshrubs that can be cultivated in thisregion, though they are tender andneed protection when young. I. coc­cinea, scarlet; I. colei, white; I. am­bona, orange, and there are yellowand pink varieties. They should lJe inevery garden.

Hydrangeas. These have utterlyfailed with nle and I presume that our~oil is not suita~le.

Jasminum. The genus contains aconsiderable number of species, mostof which do well her~. J. sambac, theArabian Jessamine and ~ts varieties,

J. pubescens, and J. simplicifoliutnhave white flowers. J. primulinum isa vigorous grower and has large yellowflowers. These do better with nle thanany others. Most of them may begrown as shrubs or sprawlers.

Lagerstrcelnia, L. indica, the wellknown crape myrtle is quite commOl1here, but it does not do so· well as itdoes further north. There are white,

IJ purple, pink and light red varieties.l\1alvaviscus arboreus, an old fash­

ioned shrub with upright, Abutilon-likescarlet flowers. It will do fairlywell \vith good soil and plenty of fer­tilizer.

N erium, or Oleander. The olean­ders are among the best ornaments 0'£our gardens, being hardy, generallyhealthy and floriferous. They bearcrops of their hal1dsolne flowers sever­al times a year and some flowers maybe picked at any time. There is a con­siderable variety of colors from whiteto pink, cllerry red, rich crimson andpurplish, and there are yellowishflowered varieties though as yet noclear yellow. They succeed equallywell in pine, hamlTIOck and muck land.

Nipa fruticans. The Thatc·h Palmof the East Indies. ·Sprouted seedsof this plant have been sent to mefrom the Bureau of Agriculture at Ma­nila which I have planted in rn)T

brackish swamp and they are doingfinely. It is not a true palm but isrelated to Pandanus according to Lind­ley and others and its systematicposition is in doubt. It is a beautifulo.bject and it is probable that it will dowell in our salt marshes.

FLORIDA STATE HORT..ICULT·URAL SOCIETY 195

Panax. Ornamental leaved plants,anlong which we have P. excelsum;

-Po plttmatum; P. aureum and P. victo­rice, the two last with variegatedleayes. They are very tender andshould be sheltered.

Phyllanthus nivosus roseo-pictus.A lovely, small, delicate shrub whichhas beautifully variegated leaves,green, brown, white and pink. It isused sometimes for hedges here. P.atropttrpureus, of which I have a finespecimen has dark purplish leaves andis much more vigorous than theformer.

Pittosporum. Hardy shrubs withglossy, handsome leaves wllicll bearsmall, frag-rant flowers. P. tobira anda variegated variety, P. viridiflorunland P. undulatum do fillely here andsoon make large shrubs, but so fat

"have not bloomed for me.Plumbago. Leadworts. P. capen­

sis, blue, and a white variety and P.rosea, do well. P. larpentre has nots,ucceeded with me.

Raphiolepis indica and R. japonica,two hardy, neat shrubs witll obovate,glossy leaves and pretty white ·flowers,produced almost contil1uously, are de­sirable and do well here.

Ricinus. The Castor Bean. R.communis has become naturalizedhere around dwellings, as well as thesmaller variety or species, R. sanguin­eus, with all the parts deep purple red.They are striking, short lived plants.

Rosa. The Rose. Although inmany places this is the acknowledgedQueen of Flowers, it is hardly so here.All the species do best in a strong,

tenacious soil and ours is too light andpoor to suit them. They do betterin the hammock land, and if abundant­ly fertilized with bone meal and wellwatered sonle of tllem will succeedfor a while. They will probably dobetter in tIle Homestead region ofDade County than elsewhere in it.

Solandra grandiflora is a sprawliqg,rapid growing shrub or half clitnberthat bears immense, tubular, yellow'flowers. It grows finely and bloomsprofusely in our pine land.

Tabernremontana coronaria is a S1t­perb large shrub or small tree withleathery, very glossy leaves and large,waxy white, senli-double flowerswhich are fragrant at certain hours ofthe day. It blooms abundantlythroughout a large part of the yearand is completely at home in DadeCounty.

Tecoma stans. This lovely shrub,or in some cases a small tree, is a na­tive 'of Mexico and the West Indies,but is becoming naturalized in DadeCounty, Florida. It is an uprightgrower witll airy, pinnate foliage andenormous clusters of large, fragrant,golden flowers. It is a poor nlal1'splant and will grow anywhere, spring­ing up spontaneously in and aroundgardens and dwellings and requiringno care.

Thunbergia erecta. A moderatesized shrub witll large curved, violet­blue, trumpet-like flowers having ayellow throat. It must be grown ina nlore or less shaded location and ifso planted will flourish and. bear quan­tities of its lovely flowers with little

196 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

attention, though it responds to goodtreatment. There is a white flower­ed variety which is not so fine.

Viburuum tinus. A fine, old-fash­ioned. evergreen shrub bearing prettywhite flowers and known as Laurus­tinus. It is perfectly hardy and pronl­ises well here.

EXOTIC O'RNAMENTAL VINES AND

C;REE,PERS

Abrus precatorius, Crab's Eye Vine,A lofty climbing vine with qelicate­pinnate leaves and small pods of roundred seeds, each with a black eye andcalled "Crab's Eyes." The wholeplant has a decided taste of licorice.It is distributed allover the tropicsand according to Tenson-Woods itgrows near the mangroves in Mal­aysia. It soon spreads rapidly whenintroduced on a place here.

Agdestis clematidea is a rapidgrowing vine with soft, cordateleaves and large panicles of lovely,small, waxy white flolvers. It growsfrom great ill scented tubers, in somecases larger than a bushel' basket.'When once the roots are well grown itsoon covers a large area.

Allamanda hendersoni is a magnifi­cent sprawler, with glossy leaves andvery large, trumpet-shaped, goldenflowers. It is often used to cover pi­azzas here, though it is sometimes.grQwn as a shrub. The tubes of thelarge flowers are favorite resorts of thetree frogs from whence they cheer theheart of the nature lover with their de­lightful music. I have A. schottii

which is doing -well" but has notbloomed yet.

Antigeonon leptopus. Mountain rose.A lovely vine from Mexico with airyracenles of the most lJrilliant rose col­~red flowers, blooming almost the en­tire year. It stands l1eglect well.

Argyreia tilirefolia is a rampantclilnber with very large, handsome,cordate leaves and white and violetflowers that is related to the morningglory. A fine specimen is growing in·the grounds of Dr. John Gifford at Co­coaunt Grove.

Aristolochia, Birthwort. A. elegansis sometimes cultivated here for itslarge purple and white blotched, verycurious flowers.

Asparagus plumosus is well knownat the north and does well here plantedin a -sheltered place.

Bignonia venusta lis,co.perhaps, thehandsomest vine planted in SouthFlorida.. I t has trifoliate, glabrousleaves and immense clusters of themost vivid orange scarlet, long, tubue:lar blossoms, produced in astonishingabunda.nce in late winte,r and earlyspring. The drooping corollas contin­ually loosen at the base a.nd slide downthe long bright pistils and for a timehang there suspended, thus addinganother element of beauty to these su­perb flowers. There is a wonderfullyfine vine covering some 60 feet of pi-'azza at the house of Mrs. Fuller, inCocoanut Grove, and when this is inbloom there are spaces of many squareyards where nothing but masses of itslovely flowers are seen. B. crucigera,Cross Vine, is a native of northern

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 197

Florida, with dull red flowers. B.chalTlberlaynii has yellow flowers. Thevines attach themselves by n1eans ofhooked tendrils.

Bougainvillea spectabilis is a thornyvine with the most dazzling purplebracts and when it does well is one ofthe showiest of our winter bloomers.A leaf rolling caterpillar sometimeseats the young growth so badly thatthe vine is a failure. B. lateritia haslarge leaves and very showy brick redflowers but is very difficult to propa­gate. I have a very fine vine of it.

Cereus. A few species do well here.C. nycticalus and C. grandiflorussprawl around the bases of trees, some...tin1es clinlbing by air roots and bloOll1beautifully here in spring or early St11TI­mer. C. triangularis has become natu­ralized at the Punch Bowl, south ofMiami. I have seen a specimen clanlb-.ering over a live oak at the residenceof Mr. John Soar.. at Little River, withover 50 flowers open, each averaginga foot or more across. Several otherclimbing species promise well here.

Cryptostegia grandiflora is a rampantvine ,vith glossy leaves and handsome,purplish, bell-shaped, starry flowersa couple of inches across. C. mada­gascariensis has red veined leaves buthas not yet bloomed for m.e. Bothproduce rubber.

Dioscorea alata and one or two otherspecies, the yams of the tropics, arerapid growers during the warm season,but die down in late winter. Theyhave strikingly handsome, large leavesand interesting, triangular, wingedseed.

Entada scandens. The great brown,flattened seeds of this West Indianvine are often washed up on our shoresand I have planted many of them.They sometimes germinate and evengrow to a height of 20 feet but forsome reason die, yet I hope sometimeto succeed with it. The vine has deli­cate, bipinnate leaves and climbs bymea1?-S of tendrils. Its enormous, twis­ted pods are from six to eight feetlong.

Euonymus radicans has completelyfailed with me though I have oftentried it in various situations.. Gelsemiunl sempervirens, Carolina

Jessamine, is a native of North Flori­da but probably does not grow wild inDade County. It is sparingly cultivat­ed here but does not always do well.

Gloriosa superba and virescens, twolovely vines bearing flowers variegat­ed red and yellow, resembling lilies,are cultivated here occasionally,· butthey do not succeed very well with mc.

Roya carnosa, the well known waxplant, is doing ,veIl in my slat house,but has not, so far, succeeded well outof doors.

Ipomoea, or Mrorning Glory., An im­mense genus, several species of whiclldo well here. I. tuberosa has fine,glossy, palmat~ leaves and brightgolden flowers in winter that look asthough they were varnished. I. sidi­folia forms imm·ense, knotted, ribbedstems, running to a great distance andbearing in large clusters, unnumberedrather small, white flowers with agreellish center. They are muchsought for by bees. It blooms about

198 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULT'URAL SOCIETY

Christmas and is called ChristmasVine. I have one which covers· anextensive chicken yard fence alJ.dhouse and a quarter of an acre ofground and I have estimated that amillion flowers opened on this vineevery day for six weeks.

I. horsfallire has lobed leaves andelegant deep crimson, glossy flowers,perhaps the 'finest of all. A beautifulvine of this covers. a pergola at Dr.John Gifford's place in CocoanutGrove. A number ·ofother species dowell here.

L·onicera or honeysuckle. L. japoni­ca is cultivated here and does fairlywell.

Monstera deliciosa. A remarkablevine making a very strong growthand having colossal leaves, lacinated atthe edges and full of natural holesI t attaches itself to trees or cliffs byaerial roots and sends down feed rootsfroin great elevations. The plant isan Aroid and its great white spathe iscream colored, boat shaped, and .al­most as thick as one's hand. CharlesKingley states that when it is openinga heat is generated sufficient to sen­sibly affect the thermometer. This is trueof the flowers of Victoria. The fruitis elongated and cone-like and ripens 18nlonths after the- flower blooms. I havea grand specimen planted in my hammockwhich climbs a mastic tree and is now over20 feet high and sometimes has one cropof fruit on it and sometimes 'two. Itis the Ceriman of the West Indies.

Mucuna urens. The large seeds ofthis West Indian vine are often washedup on our shores and many of them will

gernlinate and grow, though theplants have .never become establishedin a wild state in Florida, so far asI know. I have repeatedly. plal1ted theseeds and had vil1es get up to 20 or 30feet and for some reason they havedied. At last I have several vines that,tugether, run ·over a half acre of thehammock. It has trifoliate leaves andlarge clusters of strange and handsonle,pendant, yellow flowers in winter andspring. These are followed by podsmore or less covett-ed with stinginghairs. When ripe the seed is an inchin diameter, brownish with a distinctborder. The stems of these vines,knotted and twisted together, arenow as large as my thigh.

Passiflora. Several species of pas­sion flowers have been tried here butthey do not seem to do well and die ina sl10rt time.

Pereskia. A climbing, leafy cactusof which we have two species. P.aculeata and P. bleo. Both have pinkflowers but those of the latter arefiner, looking something like those ofa single rose.

Philodendron. I have several un­named species of this fine Aroid genus,.all of which are climbers and are doingwell in the hamlnock. One which Ipresume to be P. lacerum h.as largepfnnatifid leaves and is a noble plant.

Petrrea. A lovely, half climbingshrub with bluish flowers, very flor­iferous but quite difficult to propagate.There is a fine specimen in the groundsof the Royal Palm· Hotel at Miami.

Pathos. When established in suit~

able ground P. aureus is a strong

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 199

growing vine with very large, cordatethick, shining leaves, splashed andstriped with yellow. It is a handsomeplant and does best in rather damp

. rich soil. P. argyreus is a more deli­cate species marked with white.

Pueraria thunbergiana, a popularvine at the north has never succeededwith me. It is no reason, though, be­cause I cannot succeed with a plantthat SOlne one else may not make itdo well and it has several times hap­pened that after repeated failures Ihave at last been completely successful.

Tecoma. rr. capensis is a sprawlerwith pretty, deep green, pinnate leavesand heads of brilliant scarlet, trumpetlike flowers. When it is once estab­lished it spreads rapidly over theground and throws out roots at everyjoint. It is perfectly at home hereand may either be trained up a piazzaor allowed to form a mass.

Solanum. Two species are veryfine vines with pinnatifid leaves andlight blue flowers. In S. seaforthianumthe individual flowers are rather small;in S. wendlandii they are sometimestwo inches across and lighter colored.The berries of S. seaforthianum arebrilliant red and handsome and aremuch relished by the mocking birds.One of these vines grows on my northpiazza- and daily a mocking bird comesfor his feed of berries, having little fearof the inmates of the house. .

Stephanotis floribunda. An old -hot­house favorite at the north. I l1aveone planted in tIle edge of the ham­

I mock which has run up a tall live oak

where it opens each sumnler its lovelywhite, waxy, fragrant flowers.

Thunbergia alata. A pretty, small,herbaceous vine with bright cheerfullooking flowers, wllite, buff and deepyellow, and each of these has a fornlwith a dark eye. Along the edge ofnlY hammock in a spot sheltered withother growth I planted seeds of theseand now they run allover every shruband tree and on the ground and makethe place gay with their thousands ofblossoms. TJiis is "ThunbergiaNook." T. fragrans is something likeT. alata but the leaves are heavier andthe flowers larger and of finer sub­stance, pure white. I have not beenable to succeed \vith T. laurifolia or T.grandiflora.

Trachelospermum jasminoides. Thisbeautiful vine with its airy clusters ofstarry white, fragrant flowers is ageneral favorite, even with rabbits, forthey have repeatedly eaten it to theground for me. It is commonly calledthe Confederate Jessamine and is oneof the best plants we grow.

Vallaris dichoton'la. A beautifulclinlber with dark rich foliage andwhite flowers. I have a fine specimen

in the edge of my hammock.Zebrina pendula. 1'his is the old,

well-known Tradescantia zebrina,with its pretty purp~e and silvery strip­ed leaves, everywhere grown in thenorth as a basket plant. It would dovery finely here in moist land and par­tial shade if the land crabs would let it-alone but they tear it to pieces insummer more than it grows the restof the year.

200 FLORIDA STATE HORTlCUL'TURAL SOCIETY

EXOTIC HERBACEOUS ORNAMENTALS

I t is hard to draw the line betweenherbaceous plants and shrubs, or 'evenbetween them and trees. I have plac­ed the banana and traveler's tree herethough they may have tree like pr~~portions, because they are succulentand d.o not branch.

Acalypha. The Acalyphas arearn'ong our most gorgeous garden or­namentals. When full grown the redleaved species look like sheets of flame?n the landscape, but the descriptionsIn the cyclopedi~s are so vagu'e as tobe absolutely worthless for purposesof identification. We have a formwith large, dark, bronzy red leaves. 'varIegated, often to half the leaf witb. 'CarlTIlne. A second form has smaller,narrower leaves, the ground colorlighter than in the first, and is moregreenish, the light ~olor being carmine.A t~ird form has much the same. colors

'as the second but the leaf is 1110recoarsely serrate and is often contorted.A. marginata has green leaves margin­.ed with white, the green turning todeep red bronze in winter, the whiteto pink or red. A. miltoniana is an ele·gant form with narrow, often curled,cut leaves and there is a fine sporttrom it witl1 broader leaves} the bord­ers margined and blotched with yet...

. low. All these do well here, the A.marginata being the strongest growerand the hardiest. A. godseffiana,beautifully Inargined white and pink,has not done well with me. A.sanderi has long cat-tail-like, brilliantred flower spikes, but is quite tender.

Achyranthes and Alternantherasrichly colored plants have not succeed~ed with me.

Aechmea. Choice epiphytic plantswhich do well when fastened on totrees in the hammock. A. discolor ha~

broad leaves, deep green above andrich purple below, with coral red calyxe&and deep blue corollas.

Alocasia. . Several species of thisAroid ~enus are fine, but there is greatconfUSIon as to systematic posi~ion. A.Inacrorhiz.a and its variegated variety areoften cultivated. A. rrezeli has handsomegreen leaves spotted whitish.

Agave. I have about 25 species ofthis fine genus and all are doing wellor promise to. A. americana, varie­gated variety is especially fine, so isA. salmo11ea and A. recurvata. A.victoria reginre is a little gem. Theseplants once established soon propagatethenlse}ves by undergroul1d su.ckers,and when they bloom, by bulblets. Ihave a plant of an unnamed specieswith a spread of 13 feet and a heightof nearly I I, which shows no signs ofblossoming. Plants bloom here some­times within three or four years afterplanting.

Alpinia nutans" Shell Flower. Ahandsome, rank growing, canna-likeplant, with curious and elegant flowersw~ich does best in rich. rather moistsoil.

Annuals of several kinds do' wellhere in the cooler part of the year andespecially if watered. Phlox drummon­dii, Petunias, Portulaca, Iberis orCandytuft and Marigolds make thegarden gay in winter and spring.

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 201

Anthurium. I have not succeededwell with most of the species offeredin the catalogues. A. huegelii, a state­ly plant with immense, oblong leaves,which I have introduced from the lime­stone mountains of Cuba, grows finelyhere and will be an excellent plant forrockeries.

Asparagus sprengeri is used a gooddeal for vases and does well.

Bambusa, Bamboos. A number ofspecies do finely here. Among them B.argentea and a striped variety formimmense plants 35 to 40 feet high anddo well on high or low ground. B. dis­ticha is a rather dwarf species reach­ing 10 feet high with handsome foliage.B. spinosa is very thorny and is a largespecies from the East Indies. B. vul­garis grows to 60 feet here and ·doeswell anywhere but especially on lowland. B. verticillata is a handsomespecies with striped stenls, .forming im­mense clumps. All these are doingwell. B. arundinacea. and Arundinariametake have not yet done well withme, neither have Phyllostachys aureaor violescens. Dendrocalanlus strictuswill probably succeed. The commonCyperus alternifolius, Umbrella Grass,is rarely found growing wild here andit does well in moist places.

Begonia heracleifolia is a rank grow­ing species 'iVith large, sharply lobed,hirsute leaves and panicles of pinkflowers, and is" fine for rockeries wherenot too dry. My experience with theother species is that they are uncertain.

Bryophyllum calycinum is a succu­lent with opposite leaves and clusters

of attractive green and brown flowers.It is useful for .rock work.

Cactus. Several species have alreadybeen mentioned. I have' tried manyspecies of Cereus and Opuntia that doindifferently ,veIl or fail. Melocactushas be·en brought from the Bahamasbut does not live long. I have beenrather successful with Phyllocactiplanted on the trees, and species ofRhipsalis do well as epiphytes.

Caladium. The fancy leaved Cala­diums do quite well under a slat housebut have not succeeded with me out ofdoors. -

Cannas do well in moist, rich, earth,but have failed with me on pine land.

Coleus. These gorgeous .plantswould do well here but for the. rootknot, caused by a villianous littlenematode worm in their roots,changing tl1em into great knots, afterwhic11 the plant dies. This root knotis a terrible pest here and it attacksand destroys a great variety of smallplants. Whenever a little plant lookssickly it is well to dig it up, and, if nottoo far gone cut the roots back towhere they are healthy and reset ina new place. Son1etimes valuableplants ll1ay be saved in this way.

Crinum. Beautiful amaryllidaceousplants with pink, white and reddish,large flowers. I think they shouldhave rather rich, damp soil as I 11avronly had indifferent success with themon high pine land.

Cttrcuma. These do well on moist,rich soil and have very attractive headsof curious flowers but I have failedwith them on high land.

202 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

Dasylirion serratifolium, a Yucca­like plant with the ends of the leavesalways looking as if dead, h'as a tallpanicle of white flowers. It does wellin dry land but with me is a slowgrower. Would lool{ well on rocker­ies.

Dieffenbachia. Beautiful, broadleaved plants which in most species arefinely variegated, but so tender herethat I have no success with 'thenl inwitlter even in the slat house.

Dracaena lindeni. I have a fineplant of this in my hammock. All theother species I have tried soon fail. D.godseffiana may succeed planted in ahalf shaded place.

Eranthemunl pulchellum growsrankly in pine land and bears quanti..ties of lovely blue flowers all winter.It should have a place ill every gardenhere. E. atrosanguineum, withhandsome, very dark, purplish leaves,would do well but is excessively tender.E. albo-marginatull1 is a beautiftl1plant but seetns quite tender.

Fittonia argyroneura and F. ver­schaffeltii are lovely little trailers, theleaves of the former netted with silver,ot the latter with coppery red. Theyneed shade and moisture but are verytender.

Ferns. Many of the species can begrown in slat houses but I have hadpoor success with most of them whel1planted out. I have a deep artificialpool in the hammock and on its rockysides I have planted many ferns andSelaginellas. The native species most­ly live; nearly all of the exotic' onesdie sooner or later.

Furcrrea. I have a dozen species ofthese fine, stately plants and all growin the .poorest land without fertilizer.They closely resemble the Agaves btltgenerally do not have such sharpthorns, and th~ flowers are more orna;;.mental. F. lindeni is a magnificentplant with striped leaves. The des­criptions in the encyclopedias are soimperfect that I aln unable to identifymost of my plants. With the Agp.vesthey are most strikingly tropical look­ing ornaments of the garden and theyall do well here.

Gynura aurantiaca, Velvet Plant..Quite an attractive plant with velvety,ptlrplish leaves and orange, tassel-likeflowers. Planted anywhere it willflourish, but does best in shade.

Hedychium coronarium, GarlandFlo,ver, belonging to the ginger family,is a handsome plant witll attractivewhite, fragrant blossoms and does beston damp rich soil.

Heliconia. Several species of noble,tropical plants with exceedingly oddhandsome flowers, but none have donewell for me.

Hippeastrum. Conlmonly known asAmaryllis. Beautiful bulbous plantsof numerous species which do fairlywell here. H. reginre has large, red,showy flowers with a greenish center.H. johnsoni has deep red flowers witha white stripe in the center of eachpetal. H. eque~tre is an old, wellknown plant with flowers somewhatlike those of H. reg-inre. I have neversucceeded with H. aulica. The lubbergrasshopper is the sworn enemy ofthe Hippeastrums and Crinums and

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 203

many a beautiful plant falls a victim toits voracity. In early spring I watchfor the young which relnain togetherwhen hatched, often 50 or mote in alot, and I kill everyone at that time.By doing this I prevent infinite dam­age later. Prof.' Henry N ehrling, ofGotha, Fla., a veteran horticulturist,has originated a marvelously fine strainof hybrid Hippeastrums.

Iris. Some of the melYlbers of thislovely genus do vlel1 here in low, richground. At Cocoanut Grove along"The Trail" one of the species has be­come naturalized in the edge of thebrackish swamp. I have plants of I.germanica, the Gernlan, and I. kaemp­fert, the Japanese Iris, growing andpromising well.

Jacobinia coccinea is one of ourstandard herbaceous plants and is quitecommon in this vicinity. It grows anddoes well in sal1dy pine land andflaunts its gay spikes of scarlet, tubular,varnished flowers nearly all the year.

Lantana. Coarse, rough plal1ts, butalways covered with their bright headsof flowers, white, lilac, yellow and or­ange being the prevailing· tints. Theydo well here when not troubled withroot knot and are improved by beingfertilized.

Leonotis leonurus. One of the verybest herbaceous plants ·for this region.It will take care of itself when onceit is' established, sending up rankgrowths which carry whorls of orange,tubular flowers:

Musa. Some of the ornamental mu­sas have succeeded with me arid othershave failed. M. rhodochlamys, from

Congo, is a glorious species, very vig­orous and healthy, with rather uprightleaves and handsome bloom. M. mar­tini and M. gillettii are fine. M. ros­acea is a pretty plant and these havesonletinles succeeded. I have had poorsuccess with M. ensete, the great Abys­sinian species, and several others.

Pandanus. Quite a nUlnber of spe­cies belong here which might be calledshrubs or small trees as well as herb­aceous plants. P. veitchii is a favoriteat the north, and is a noble plant here,forming great clunlps 10 to: 12 feetacross and considerably higher, but itloses much of its color when plantedout. P. sanderi grows fully as largeas veitchii but retains at all seasons itsmarvelous coloring. P. candelabrum,the striped variety, is a fine plant butloses some of its color in the open. Ihave a fine group of these tl1ree in asheltered, partly shaded place and asa mass 0'£ splendid tropical color andgrowth I have never seen it equalled.P. baptistii is beautifully striped andholds its color well; it is entirely freefronl spines. I have a mass of thisthat is 20 feet across al1d 12 feet high,that has been plnated about five years.P. luzonicus alld P. odoratissimuspromise well. P. graminifolius is adelicate species which stands on stiltedroots and P. pacificus is a beautiful,broad leaved species, but unfortunatelyboth are excessively tender, even achill injuring thenl. None of thesepine land.

P'edilanthus tithymaloides is a suc­culent plant with curious. red flowers

204 FLORIDA ST·ATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

shaped a little like a human foot. It isbeginning to be naturalized.

Pelargonium. The Horseshoe Gera..niums do not succeed here when plant­ed out, as a general thing, though theyare sonletimes grown in pots. Thescented Pelargoniunls do very well forawhile if fertilized. )

Ravenala. Two species of nobleplants though R. madagascarimsis iscommonly called "Travelers' Tree." Itforms a trunk though it does notbranch, and has distichous leav.es. Itdoes fairly well on pine land but flour­ishes best in rich, damp. soil. I havea specimen about six years planted,vhich is placed in such a situation andit is the finest I have seen. I t -is 25feet high and is just beginning to form.a trunk which is four feet and I I in..ches in circumferen~e at the ground.It has 17 leaves with Cl: spread of 29feet, their stems being about 10 feetlong and the blades 3 feet wide and 9feet or more in length. The flattenedleaf stems where they join tIle trunkare as large as a man's arm; at theblades about the size of his wrist. Ithas not bloomed yet. It is easily themost striking plant on the place. R.guyailensis has not done well with nle.

Richardia, the well known CallaI-Jily, is only a partial success here.

Russelia juncea, a slender, twiggystemnled plant, bearing quantities ofcoral red, tubular flowers, is beginningto be naturalized here. It is a Mexi­can plant and is perfectly adapted toour poor soil and is always in bloSSOlTI.A variety lemoinei is more floriferousthan the type.

Sansevieria zeylanica, a striking, va­riegated plant, takes absolute posses­sion of the soil to the exclusion of al­most everything else wherever plant­ed. I have two other species.

Strobilanthus dyerianus is a hand­so~ plant variegated with iridescenttints of purple and bronze. It hasnever done well for me, but perhaps itmight succeed in rich, damp soil, part­ly shaded, where it would not betroubled by land crabs.

Strelitzia. Magnificent plallts withthe leaves distichously placed, bearingpeculiar, very handsome blossoms calledsometinles Bird. of Paradise Flo,vers.I ha,re S. re'ginae, a small species, arldS. augusta, which reaches a height of18 feet.

Tillandsias and Vriesias all do wellhere fastened firmly to trees in thehammock. V. splendens ~s a lovelyplant, its leaves barred across witIlbrown. Cryptanthus zonatus is abeautiful epiphyte, also barred.

Tradescantia discolor is a fine plantwith deep purple under surfaces of theleaves . that will do well here almostanywhere. It is a good plant for rockwork, as is its near relative, Zebrinapendula.

Vi'nca rosea. Commonly called Mad­agascar periwinkle. Wherever mallgoes in South Florida this plant goe~

fJSO. There is a purple, a pure ,vlliteand a variety" ith a red eye. Thewhite variety is the 1110st vigorotls andfloriferous and works up beautifully inboquets. If given a little extra carein the way of fertilizing the growtbwill be finer and th~ flowers larger.

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 205

Xanthosoma violaceun1. A grandplant with immense arrow head leavestinted bluish or violet, which is oftel1grown around houses. It should haveplenty of fertilizer to make it do it~

best, and it likes moisture.

ORCHIDS

I must devote a few words to thes€strange, lovely and interesting plantsbefore I close this list. I have a.bout70 species of epiphytal and sUb-epi­phytal orchids in my hammock. Afew of them are native, the rest ofthem I have planted on the trees anc'this may be successfully done by an)'"one who has hammock. The plant isplaced in proper position on a tree andpieces of shingle or thin board arenailed \vith one end on the tree and theother pressing the roots to the tree.It is absolutely essential that the plant~

be firmly placed, for if they can bemoved about they will not become es­tablished. I often put a little sphag­num around the roots and water occa·...sionally until they are established. Ihave bloom from time to time througll­out the year, and when they are all es­tablished I shall have a constant suc­cession o·f flowers. The Cattleyas standsat the head of these, both because theyare. so much at home and for their S11­

perb blossoms. The Laelias arc al­most equally fine. The Dendrobiumsgenerally do well and so do the Epi­dendrums. Schomburgkia tibicina, theVandas, Oncidiums, Zygopetalums,Miltonias and some others do well. Id'oubt if the Odontoglossums succeed.I have not tried Phalanopsis.

The above list of ornamental plantsof Dade COUl1ty is nowhere near com­plete. There are no doubt, manythings cultivated by others that I havenot seen which should be included andthere are hundreds of species that I have,or have had, that I have not listed, partlybecause to do so would extend this paperbeyond reasonable limits, and in part onaccount of not having had many of themlong enough to form any idea of whatthey will do. I have growi1J.g now, orhave had, everything in the above list,vvith perhaps a dozen exceptions. ManyWIll succeed when other trials withthem have been made. It was a longtime befqlre suc~ess was re:ached byfloriculturists in the north with theVictoria regia, and for a time it wasbelieved it could not be made to grovvunder glass, but now it and other spe­cies are common. A few things, prob­ably, which now promise well, will failfor various reasons. .But we can haveno conception of the immense varietyof species from the warn1er parts ofthe world that will flourish in this fa­vored land. If treated right this poorsoil becomes better and better as theyears go by, fitted for a greater varietyof plant life. When one begins, it isin some cases sour, and cultivationsweetens it. Roots decay and add toits fertility. I never destroy an atomof anything that grows with me, weeds,"grass, l~aves, broken limbs, are all usedas mulch and to make humus, the cry­ing need of the soil. And as one'strees and shrubs become grown theyshade the ground and afford protec-

206 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

tion in a marked degree from the sun,frosts and hurricalles. .

No attempt has been made in thispaper to bring the nomenclaturedown to date or to adopt any systemused by anybody. It was prepared inthe greatest possible haste on accountof iack of time to properly handle thesubject. I have simply givell a nanlethat has at some time been applied toeach plant discussed.

With regard to propagation I couldnot give detailed instruction withoutextending this paper beyond reasona­ble limits. A large nUll1ber of our cul­tivated plants raise fertile seeds whichcan be easily grown. Many may bepropagated from sucker.s or layers,the Ficus can be air-layered, that isin the rainy season, a cut lTIay be ll1anein the limb, which is kept opell by abit of wood. Sphagnulll nlOSS is wrap­ped around the wound and the whole istied up with twiqe and wetted occa­sionally. Most soft-wooded. speciescan be rooted from _cuttings, thoughthese will not root so readily fromplants in the ope.n as from those grow­ing in pots. If one has nluch propa­gating to do he should build a slathouse with tight, low walls and roofstrips so laid that they will cover abouttwo-thirds of the space. Either onraised benches or the ground he cansow seed and root cuttings. Hardyseeds can be sown and cuttings canbe rooted in the cool part of the year,those of tender plants should be put inin the spring or sumnler. It is well tohave a pit covered wit!l glass whichcan be shut tight on cold nights, where

one can preserve the very tenderthings. Even a small frame coveredwith glazed sash is a great help inpropagating.

I nlake clainl to no skill whatever asa propagator or grower of plants.There are those who succeed where Ifail, who seem to have a genius formaking things grow. But after all, asPeter Henderson 11as said, eterllal vig­ilance counts for mor~ in growingplants thall any skill. I call only clainlfor myself the deep, devoted love forthelTI such as a lTIother has for her lit~

tIe child. Looking over Iny groundsI feel that the dream of my life hascome true, that the reality is far grand­er, more beautiful and satisfying thanI tll0ught it ever could be. It is asource of the greatest pleasure to meto wander alTIOng these dear thingsto watch the dormant buds breaking,to filld sOlne rare and cherished floweropening at last. I feel that I am apart and parcel of it fl.ll as I walk inmy garden with a sense of reverence .anddevotion.

I love to wander in my ground~

at night; the trees seem larger than inthe glowing sunlight.. I love to lookupward \'There their tops make a blotof darkness against the lighter sky.I.love to walk in the hammock at nighteven when it is darkest. But it ismost beautiful when the moon over­head pours' down its ligl1t through theepiphyte-laden trees like a sheet of il­luminated spray from some waterfall.I cannot close this paper more fit­tingly than by quoting the words ofCharles Ki.ngsley, in his Christmas in

FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 207

the West Indies: "But" how beautifulthey are all and each after their kinds!What joy for a nlan to stand at hisdoor and simply look at them grow­ing, leafing, blossoming, fruiting, with­out pause, throughout the perpetual

summer, in 11is little Garden of the

Hesperides, where, as in those of the

Phoenicians of old, 'pear grows ripe

on pear and fig on· fig' for ever and

for ever."

ORNAMENTALS AT PUNTA GORDA

Mrs. Marian A. McAdow

M1". President~ Ladies and Gentlemen.:In preparing this paper on ornanlental

horticulture I have endeavored to keepin view the fact of what our necessitiesand peculiar environtnent are and I shalltry to make my knowledge, gained bythirteen years' experience in growing thetropical plants that best adapt themselvesto the conditions that exist in this semi­tropical part of our country assist someof my hearers who may have a desire tobeautify their surroundings by plantingsuch trees and shrubbery as will best con­form themselves to the soil and climateof their particular locality. I shall usecominon names for plants so far as Ican, as they are more easily remembere"dthan are the -botanical tel1"ms and anynurseryman to whom you may applyknows the common names as well as tIleLatin ones for the plants and trees Ishall name.

My experience in growing tropicalplants has all been acquired in PuntaGorda, which is 85 miles farther northon the Gulf Coast than Miami is on theAtlantic Coast. The grounds of my home

extend 400 feet along the waters of Char­lotte Harbor, an arm of the Gulf that ex­tends 30 miles up into the land. For 200

feet of this strip we filled in a plat ex­tending 85 feet into the waters of the Bay.Our tides raise the water from I to 3 feetand on three occasions an unusually hightide has covered this filled-in plat and ittl1ay interest you to know that this saltbath never killed or injured any of the 4Cor So varieties of trees and plants growingthereon, with the exception of a bed ofornamental-leaved Strobilanthes; in factit rather acted as an invigorating tonic.These three flood-tides occurred in sum­mer, however, when the rains had fresh­ened the waters of the Bay considerably,or I might have another story to tell.This filled-in ground is about one foothigher than the average high tide andrarely dries out as does the upper terracewhich is about two feet higher. The orig"'ina! filling and soil of the terrace was com­nlon white sea-sand. It has been enrichedwith dead leaves, barnyard and commer­cial fertilizer-s to produce results that mayb(; duplicated by anyone who has the am-