THE NORTH TEMPERATE ZONE 113 



With the live oaks, which usually are found in the hammocks, 

 are associated species of figs (Ficus), mahogany, custard apples, 

 laurels (Persea), Terminalia, Eugenia, Guayacum, Chrysophyllum, 

 Sideroxylon, Mimusops and other trees and shrubs unknown 

 elsewhere in the United States. The tropical character of the 

 flora of south Florida is shown by the number of trees and shrubs 

 of the madder family (Rubiaceae), a feature of most tropical coun- 

 tries. In the temperate regions, most Rubiaceae are herbaceous. 



Various Araceae, Crinum and Hymenocallis of the Amaryl- 

 lidaceae, Canna, and Thalia (Marantaceae), are all suggestive 

 of the West Indies, and in the humid atmosphere of the hammocks, 

 the trees are laden with epiphytic ferns, orchids and Bromeliads, 

 presenting a pretty tropical picture. Florida has many species of 

 orchids, some of which like Vanilla and Epidendrum are distinctly 

 tropical types, and very handsome. Peperomia, a distinctly tropi- 

 cal genus of the pepper family has two species in southern Florida. 



No feature of the flora of south Florida is more distinctly tropical 

 than the palms, of which there are over a dozen species. Except 

 for the palmettoes, which reach the Gulf states and Carolinas, all 

 the palms of the eastern United States are confined to southern 

 Florida. 



The coconut thrives along the shore as it does in most tropical 

 countries, and in addition are some dozen other species of palms 

 most of which are confined to this region. The finest palm of 

 Florida is the royal palm (Oreodoxa regia), also a native of Cuba. 



Most of the conifers of Florida are pines, except in the swamps 

 where the cypress occurs. An exception is the rare and interesting 

 Torreya taxifolia, a member of the yew family, known only from 

 a very limited habitat in middle Florida. The only other American 

 species T. Calif ornica is confined to central California. 



The fern flora of Florida is not particularly rich, but in the south 

 includes a number of tropical genera and species. Among these 

 may be mentioned Vittaria, Ceratopteris, Acrostichum aureum, 

 several species of Polypodium, and the remarkable Ophioglossum 

 (Cheiroglossa) palmatum. The latter, as well as a good many 

 others, grow as epiphytes in the hammocks. Several species of 

 Selaginella, Psilotum triquetrum and Lycopodium cernuum, are 

 also suggestive of the tropics. 



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