PREFACE. 



This handbook contains descriptions of all the trees kno■\^^^ to the 

 author to gi-ow naturally in Florida. 



The peculiar geographic position of Florida and the diversity of its 

 surface, although apparently slight, results in a larger tree-flora than any 

 other area of similar size in North America, at least north of the Tropic 

 of Cancer; in fact, nearly one half of the trees known to occur naturally 

 in North America north of Mexico and the West Indies, grow naturally in 

 the relatively small area of the State of Florida. 



The state consists primarily of two major divisions, the first a northern 

 portion, a comparatively naiTow strip of territoiy extending east and west 

 for a distance of nearly four hundred miles. Here trees characteristic of 

 temperate regions predominate. The second division consists of a large 

 peninsula and accompanying islands, and the Florida Keys, extending 

 southward into the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico, for a distance of 

 over four hundi-ed miles, reaching almost to the Tropic of Cancer. In this 

 portion of the state, trees of temperate regions .gradually give place to 

 those characteristic of subtropical regions; and these, in turn, on the 

 Everglade Keys at the southern end of the peninsula, and on the Florida 

 Keys, are replaced by trees of a strictly tropical character. However, this 

 extraordinaiy arboreous floi-a is surprising when Ave take into account the 

 simple topography and the slight diversity of climate in which it apparently 

 was developed and in which it now thrives. 



The major divisions already referred to may be subdivided into a 

 score of geographic regions, but on the following pages in connection with 

 the distribution of the species, the northern portion of the state, the first 

 mentioned major division, is subdivided into eastern, middle, and western. 

 The peninsula, with its accompanying islands, is subdivided into a northern 

 portion and a southern portion. Two prominent minor divisions of the 

 southern portion are frequently mentioned, namely, the Everglades, and 

 the Everglade Keys, which are situated in the southern end of the Ever- 

 glades. The Florida Keys, which support a number of trees not known 

 elsewhere in the state, lie for the most part, south of the mainland of 

 peninsular Florida. At the end of each paragraph devoted to the geo- 

 graphic distribution, the extralimital distribution of a species is indicated, 

 thus "Go." and "Ala." indicate that outside of the state of Florida the 

 plant is found only in Georgia or Alabama; and " Coni." means that the 



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