592 



FLORIDA 



FLOWER 



desirable varieties are the common native guava, White 

 Winter, Cattley and Chinese. The native varieties yield 

 the bulk of the fruit used. The Cattley and Chinese do 

 well in central and southern Florida, while the White 

 Winter and native varieties grow to greatest perfection 

 in southern Florida. 



Mangoes have not been grown extensively for north- 

 ern markets. The greatest difficulty has been that of 

 securing trees of unquestionable vahie for setting out a 

 grove. Since the difficulty in the way of grafting and 

 budding has been overcome, the groves will multiply 

 rapidly. Up to the present time the local markets have 

 demanded more fruit than has been supplied them. 

 Well drained first-class flat-woods land and fertile high 

 hammocks furnish good soil for mangoes. Apricot and 

 No. 11 (Apple) are favorite varieties. They are grown 

 mostly in southern Florida, though fruited in southern 

 portions of central Florida. 



CocoANUTS are confined to southern Florida and along 

 the seacoast. While the trees continue to grow when 

 transplanted to the higher lands, they need the low, 

 moist lands of the coast for fruiting and for highest 

 development. 



The Avocado Pear has entered the markets to some 

 extent. The soil should be like that for mangoes. Their 

 cultivation is confined to central and southern Florida. 



Vegetables. — There are several classes of soils upon 

 which vegetables are grown extensively; viz., ham- 

 mock, flat-woods, the low islands around the coast, and 

 the marl or drained lands. The low hammocks, espe- 

 cially those composed almost exclusively of cabbage 

 palmetto, produce the largest crops and probably the 

 largest profits, while flat-woods land is probably more 

 extensively cultivated than any other. In a general 

 way ail the classes of land mentioned above are capa- 

 ble of growing most or all of the vegetables occur- 

 ring in the markets. Certain vegetables show a general 

 preference for certain classes of land. A high hard- 

 wood hammock grows beans, beets, cabbage, cauliflower, 

 coUards, eggplant, Irish potatoes, lettuce, watermelons, 

 muskmelon, onion, okra, English peas, pepper, radish, 

 squashes, rutabaga, tomato and sweet potato well; 

 though first-class flat-woods land grows cabbage, cauli- 

 flower, eggplant, lettuce, watermelon, muskmelon, 

 onion, tomato and sweet potato to greater perfection. 

 Low cabbage palmetto hammocks grow beets, cabbage, 

 cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, lettuce, nutmeg melons 

 and tomatoes to best advantage. The low islands around 

 the coast have areas varying in size from a few square 

 rods to many acres in extent, — sometimes reaching a 

 mile in length of unbroken rows. The most important 

 crops grown on these islands are beans, eggplant, pep- 

 pers and tomatoes. The marl or drained lands of the 

 southeast coast raise principally tomatoes, peppers, 

 eggplant and okra. p. h. Rolfs. 



FLORIDA ARROW BOOT. Zamia integrifoVm. 



FLORIDA SWAMP LILY, ^ee Crinum Americunum. 



FLORISTS' FLOWERS. This term is considerably 

 used in England to include a group of plants that num- 

 ber their horticultural varieties by the hundreds, and in 

 which the original species or types are no longer culti- 

 vated, or else cultivated merely for their interest as 

 prototypes. The list includes 40-50 groups of plants, or 

 even less. In America the term florists' flowers is lit- 

 tle used, and is mostly restricted to certain cut-flowers 

 of great importance to florists, without regard to 

 whether their varieties are numerous or not. Thus, the 

 calla lily, Easter lily, heliotrope, lily-of-the-valley. Mar- 

 guerite, mignonette, sweet alyssum and tuberose are of 

 considerable commercial importance to florists, but they 

 are not extremely prolific in varieties. Inasmuch as the 

 cut-flower trade has been greater than the plant trade 

 in America, the American florist har<lly thinks of the 

 following plants as florists' flowers ; azalea, calceo- 

 laria, cineraria, fuchsia, geranium, gloxinia, pelargo- 

 nium, primula, nor such old-fashioned favorites as 

 Anemnne coronaria. auricula, camellia, polyanthus and 

 ranunculus. The English writers often speak of the 

 dahlia as a florists' flower, and sometimes also the 

 other very variable summer bulbs, as cannas, gladiolus. 



and perhaps lilies, though the American florists sell 

 comparatively few flowers cut from these plants in sum- 

 mer. Of hardy border plants, the following are very 

 rich in horticultural varieties : China asters, poppies. 



ad verbena (all of 



stocks, sweet peas, trop.'eolum 

 which are annuals), and the 

 following perennials : holly- 

 hocks, pansies, peonies, phlox, 

 pyrethrum. Others of great im- 

 portance are aquilegia, cam- 

 panula and eschscholzia, but 

 these are mostly less rich in 

 hortictiltural varieties. It has 

 been said that florists' flowers 

 are always propagated by cut- 

 tings or other asexual parts, 

 but this definition would ex- 

 clude calceolarias and cinera- 

 rias, which come fairly true from 

 seed. In America the four most 

 important cut-flowers are the 

 rose, carnation, violet and chry- 

 santhemum. Consult floricul- 

 ture and Cut-flowers. 



FLOWER : technically, a 

 short stem carrying one or more 

 specialized leaves which bear 

 sporangia. The word is com- 

 monly applied to those flowers 

 whose sporangial leaves are 

 protected and made conspicu- 

 ous by colored leaves. It is also CI, "'*-"'" ^"^' 

 popnfarly applied to these clus- Showmg ^ton,s,^ ovary. 



floral envelopes. 



ters of colored leaves even when 

 the sporangial leaves are want- 

 ing, as in hydrangeas, snowballs, chrysanthemums and 

 most "double flowers." 



When most completely developed, a flower consists of 

 the central short stem, the iorus, to which the other 

 parts (leaves) are attached. The leaves, passing from 

 below upwards, are distinguishable into floral leaves, or 

 the sepals and petals; and the sporangial leaves, or the 

 stamens and carpels. The numberof these parts is vari- 

 able. When "double" flowers are produced, the floral 

 leaves usually are multiplied at the expense of the 

 sporangial ones. In Fig. 825 all these parts are shown. 

 The ovary, showing six ovules, sits on the torus or 

 receptacle. On the ovary are three styles. Stamens are 

 at the side. The sepals rise above the petals. 



Bracts. — The leaves growing on or near the branches 

 of the flower cluster are usually different in form and 

 size from the foliage; they are called bracts. Note the 

 bracts on the carnation flower (Fig. 366). Sometimes 

 they are bright-colored and are an attractive supple- 

 ment to the flower, being popularly looked upon as a 

 part of the flower, as in scarlet sage, flowering dogwood 

 (Fig. 558) and poinsettia {Fig. 797)'. In the arum family 

 (Fig. 79, 137, 146, .318, 7.34) a single huge bract envelops 



826. Flower of the 

 Strawberry. 

 Showing the high tonis 

 the center. 



the entire flower-cluster. When the bracts grow very 

 close to the torus they are almost indistinguishable from 

 the outer floral leaves, as in the strawberry (Fig. 827) 

 and hepatica (Fig. 834). 



jTorf/.s". — The torus is the short stem or axis on which 

 flower leaves are borne. It differs from other parts of 

 the stem chiefly in that, after the rudiments of the flower 



