ALONG THE MANGROVE SHORE 265 



marshy ground, forming what is called the littoral. 

 It has been supposed that we have two Annonas 

 or pond apples, Annona glabra, with rather broad, 

 glaucous leaves, and sepals and petals of about the 

 same length; and Annona palustris with narrower, 

 bright green leaves and the sepals longer than the 

 petals. But it turns out that the young plants 

 generally have the leaves of the former, this being 

 sometimes true of vigorous shoots on large trees. 

 I have repeatedly seen the two kinds of leaves on 

 one tree and the flowers are extremely variable. 

 Around the southern shore of Lake Okeechobee 

 this tree forms dense, lofty forests standing on 

 stilted roots like the mangrove. The wood is 

 extremely light and soft and is used for rafts and 

 floats for seines, while the roots are made into 

 razor strops. 



Two vines are common, Ecastophyllum browni, 

 an immense sprawler, and Rhabdadenia bifiora, both 

 of which reach to the tops of the tallest trees. 

 Here too is a magnolia supposed to extend its 

 range to the maritime swamps of New England, 

 and a persimmon identified as the northern one 

 but now considered distinct. It may grow in the 

 edge of standing water but the northern species 



