130 ORNAMENTAL GARDENING 



striking trees in the vegetable kingdom. I have not succeeded 

 with it so far. A. imbricata, Monkey Puzzle from Chile, has 

 totally failed here but it may do something in clayey soil in 

 northern Florida. Mr. Frank MacLaren of Fernandina informs 

 me that A . bidwiUi succeeds there with some protection. 



Barringtonia is a genus of beautiful flowered trees from the 

 East Indian region, none of which, so far as I know, have been 

 tried in Florida. The species should be planted in moist places 

 near the sea. 



Bauhinia. A large genus of trees, shrubs and vines from the 

 Old and New World Tropics, all of which, so far as I have seen 

 tried, do well in South Florida. The queen of them all is B. 

 purpurea of which a specimen in Fort Myers has reached a 

 height of nearly forty feet with a trunk diameter of two feet. 

 Its gorgeous variegated purple flowers that open in late winter 

 are like those of some superb orchid. B. alba has white flowers, 

 blooming at intervals through the year; B. furfuracea is a thorny 

 tree with white nocturnal blossoms; B. krugii has pink and yellow 

 flowers; B. triandria seems to be represented here by two varie- 

 ties, one with pale purplish flowers, the other having them pink 

 and white striped. B. tomentosa has yellow flowers. Most of 

 these will stand some frost and if mounded up in winter would 

 go through a hard freeze with a loss of only the tops. They 

 should be planted in all gardens. 



Bischofia javanica, from Java, has fine large, trifoliate leaves 

 and is quite ornamental. It is much hardier than would be 

 supposed, coming from the heart of the tropics. 



Bixa orellana, Arnotto, a tree from the West Indies, whose 

 seeds are covered with a reddish paste, annatto, which is not 

 only used to color butter and cheese but to decorate the faces 

 and bodies of tropical Indians. It does well in lower Florida. 



Bombax ceiba, one of the silk cotton trees, rejoices in a variety 

 of scientific names but that does not prevent it from being an 

 interesting and attractive tree. It is a rapid grower, and in its 

 native place, the American Tropics, it reaches enormous dimen- 

 sions. It casts its digitate leaves in winter and in early spring 

 bears great waxy red flowers. If it is planted in pine land it 

 would be well to give it plenty of muck. 



