298 IN LOWER FLORIDA WILDS 



facing the sea are scorched by the strong, salt- 

 laden wind and its head leans far to leeward. The 

 large, stiff leaves are nearly round and almost as 

 thick as cowhide leather. They are of a pleasing 

 shade of green with red veins; in late winter they 

 turn to unnamed tints of yellow, red, or purple, 

 autumn leaves without frost. The purple fruit 

 grows in long racemes and is edible, for those who 

 like it. Of this tree Charles Kingsley has said, 

 "This shore grape, which the West Indians esteem 

 as we might a bramble, we found to be, without 

 exception, the most beautiful broad-leafed plant 

 we had ever seen." It is certainly a most striking 

 tree and no one not an expert botanist would ever 

 suspect that it belonged to the buckwheat family. 

 On level spots and in slight depressions at the 

 line of extreme high tide a vast amount of trash 

 often accumulates, and it is always interesting to 

 dig this over for the many curious things it con- 

 tains. In it may be found seeds of three species 

 of Mucuna or sea bean which are often polished 

 and worn for ornament. Rarely one finds a lovely 

 carmine bean with a black border (Canavalia 

 rusiosperma). An almost globular seed a full inch 

 across is the fruit of a magnificent palm of South 



