156 BOTANICAL GAZETTE. 



which open eastward and allow a fine view of the ocean. Great nat- 

 ural beauties and art skillfully directed, have conspired to render 

 this a home worthy its cultured occupants, who have bestowed upon 

 it the Greek name Thalassa. The Palmetto is the glory of the '-land 

 of flowers,'' and here, at the very gates of the State one may see it 

 in its perfect development, and study it in its various stages of 

 growth. During the first year the Palmetto puts forth one or two 

 lanceolate, plaited leaves and a multitude of tough, cord-like roots. 

 Having securely established itself in the ground it begins to develop 

 its characteristic fan-shaped leaves, the linear divisions of which di- 

 verge from a stout, recurved midrib. For many years the trunk is 

 concealed by the imbricated bases of the huge leaf-stalks; these are 

 provided with sheaths of tough, interwoven brown fibres, which en- 

 circle the stem and hold them in position long after the leaves dis- 

 appear. These old leaf-stalks split at the base as the trunk enlarges, 

 become bleached, and, bristling from the trunks like ivory tusks, 

 present a most singular appearance. After many years the leaf- 

 stalks fall oil" and leave exposed the brown, cylindrical, somewhat 

 ringed trunks which are sometimes thicker at the top than at the bot- 

 tom. The small, creamy-white flowers are borne in immense pan- 

 icles and are succeeded by black berries which have the flavor of 

 dates and are generally gathered by birds before they mature. To 

 the extreme diversity of appearance of the Palmetto, these forests 

 mainly owe their peculiar beauty. Each heightening the eff"ect of 

 the other, tlie scene borrows grace I'rom the young sprays, grandeur 

 from tlie towering brown shafts and picturesqueness from the white- 

 pronged trunks of the younger trees, while variety and contrast are 

 added by numerous species of Magnolia, Oak. Bay and other ever- 

 green trees, whose leaning trunks and larger branches support aerial 

 gardens of Ferns, Orchids, Tillandsias and innumerable vines. The 

 transition irom these forests to the shrubby thickets bordering the 

 sea is as sudden and surprising as if one were to step from Cuba into 

 Laljrador. Tliere, from a black vegetable mold and in a damp atmos- 

 phere, every thing grows in tropical luxuriance, here on the storm- 

 swept sands, the Bay-berry, Ilex, and Dwarf Oaks interlock their 

 rigid branches as if in mutual protection against the elements, form- 

 ing impenetrable copses, reminding one of the growths found on 

 mountains. Between the limits of aborescent growth and the sea is 

 a desolate expanse of white sand, in places smooth as a floor, in oth- 

 ers hollowed out into moats which are filled with water, and in others 

 piled up in hillocks or dunes, which appear like earth-works thrown 



