26 PINE FAMILY 



The zamia abundant in pinelands in extreme southern 

 Florida, and also found locally elsewhere in the state, Z. 

 integrifolia, is characterized by the comparatively few 

 parallel veins in the narrow leaflets. Z. umbrosa, found 

 chiefly near the East Coast in the region north and south 

 of Daytona, has slightly broader leaflets with 20 to 30 

 parallel veins. 



The exotic sago palm (which is not a palm but is closely 

 related to the zamias) is frequently planted for ornament, 

 and an edible starch is prepared from its stems. 



PINE FAMILY (Pimceae) 



Gymnosperms, the botanical division to which Zamia and cone- 

 bearing trees belong, have naked seeds that are not enclosed in 

 a seed-vessel as are those of the Angiosperms, which now con- 

 stitute the great majority of seed-bearing plants. 



Pines (Genus Pinus) 



Our chief and most valuable long-leaf pines are P. 

 palustris, common through the southern states, and known 

 as southern yellow pine, and P. caribaea, the slash pine, 

 a more tropical species, which in many parts of Florida, 

 especially in low ground and in the extreme south, replaces 

 the more widely known yellow pine. P. palustris has 

 large cones, 6 to 10 inches long, and leaves 8 to 18 inches 

 long, in clusters of three. The cones of P. caribaea are 

 only 4 to 6 inches long, and the leaves, which are both 

 in clusters of two and of three, are from 8 to 12 inches 

 long. Both are handsome and symmetrical in youth, and 

 picturesque in age. Pollen falls abundantly from the 

 trees in late winter, when the new growth is like hundreds 

 of candles among the dark green leaves. 



P. clausa, the sand pine, or spruce pine, of the dunes, 

 where it leans inland with outstretched branches, as though 

 fleeing from the winds, has short leaves, two to three inches 



