IN FLORIDA 99 



but I have never been able to make anything larger than small 

 plants with a few leaves grow. 



Along the shores of Biscayne Bay and for some distance to the 

 northward there grows a dwarf I nodes (I. megacarpa) in rocky 

 or sandy pine land, which is believed by some to be a depau- 

 perate form of the common cabbage palmetto. The trunk of this 

 form is either prostrate or bent back deep into the ground, from 

 whence it rises to the surface where it throws out a head of 

 leaves. Its larger seeds and peculiar manner of growth would 

 seem to be good distinguishing characters. If given plenty of 

 fertilizer this makes a fine object, and, with the saw palmetto, 

 is very useful for forming low screens along the sea. 



The despised saw palmetto (Serenoa serrulata), when given 

 room and a little care, makes fine clumps and can be used with 

 highly decorative effect, especially at the border of large groups 

 of palms. There are several varieties of it, just as there are of 

 the cabbage palmetto. One of them has leaves of a glaucous, 

 bluish tint, in another they are brilliant green; and there are forms 

 which are almost arboreal. 



In the northern part of the state a low growing fan palm 

 (Sabal adansoni) is found, mostly in moist ground, which some- 

 what resembles the saw palmetto. It has been placed by some 

 botanists in with the genus Inodes but the most obvious differ- 

 ence is that this species has flat leaves while in all the Inodes 

 the midrib is curved back toward the summit of the leaf. This 

 low Sabal does finely on pine land and is a good species for 

 borders of groups of palms. 



Growing in the same general region as the last is the porcu- 

 pine palm, Rhapidophyllum hystrix, which has fan-shaped 

 leaves that are silvery underneath and is armed with many 

 long spines or needles. It is an exceedingly slow grower but is 

 well worth cultivating in shaded situations, and when in bloom 

 is very attractive. 



The genus Thrinax, comprising fan-leaved, usually slender 

 stemmed, palms is represented in Florida by four species, all 

 of them living on the lower keys and the extreme southern part 

 of the mainland. Until recently the species have been in much 

 confusion, it having been believed that all of ours were West 



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