i io IN LOWER FLORIDA WILDS 



dense growth of littoral forest, were crossed before 

 we reached our destination, and several times 

 Douthett got into the wrong channel. I cannot 

 understand how anyone first could have found his 

 way through this labyrinth or, once accomplished, 

 ever follow it again. 



Over the channels great mangroves arch, dim- 

 ming the sun's glare to soft twilight beneath. 

 Air roots everywhere descend into the channels 

 so completely obstructing the passage that we 

 had frequently to chop our way through. Im- 

 mense orchids (Cyrtopodium punctatum) were in 

 bloom among the trees, and a world of air pines 

 and Catopsis cling to the branches. On the 

 ground are gigantic ferns (Acrostichum), forming 

 the densest thickets, and a monster vine (Ecasto- 

 phyllum) sprawls over everything. Here and 

 there a great courida (Avicennia) towers above 

 the mangroves; the ground beneath being thickly 

 covered with erect quills or pneumatophores, the 

 curious growth from the roots of this tree. 



One of the anomalies of this general region is 

 the cacti. We usually associate such plants with 

 desert or semi-arid places but along this southern 

 shore one or more Opuntias and two species of 



