TRANSACTIONS OF WAGNER 

 72 



VEGETATION OF SOUTH FLORIDA 



Srnilax sp. as a liane runs from low tree to low tree, contributing to make 

 the jungle almost impenetrable, while Baccharis halimifolia L. grows in the 

 forefront of the thicket. The Spanish-bayonet, Yucca aloifolia L., and Sabal 

 palmetto (Walt.) R. and S. are scattered. Pinus caribasa Morelet is not infre- 

 quent. The prickly ash, Xanthoxylum clava-Herculis L., is a tree with its stem 

 covered with prickles raised on corky bases. The denseness of this coastal 

 scrub of low trees is enhanced by the masses of saw-palmetto, Serenoa ser- 

 rulata (Michx.) Hook. The holly, Ilex opaca Ait., yaupon, Ilex vomitoria 

 Ait. (I. Cassine Walt.), on Christmas Day, 1910, when Anastasia Island was 

 visited, were bright with red berries. The bull-bay, Magnolia foetida (L.) 

 Sarg., with large dark evergreen leaves is a conspicuous tree in the thicket at 

 all times, especially in the winter. Beneath the large shrubs and trees were 

 found three smaller shrubs, Myrica cerifera L., Vaccinium nitidum Andr. and 

 Zenobia cassinifolia (Vent.) Pollard (= Andromeda speciosa Michx.). The 

 herbaceous constituents of the scrub collected by me are a grass, Muhlenbergia 

 filipes M. A. Curtis, and Houstonia rotundifolia (Michx.) in sandy areas, and 

 Solidago angustifolia Ell. The heart of the strand forest on Anastasia Island 

 is indicated by taller pine, oak, palmetto, and bull-bay trees with an under- 

 growth of saw-palmetto, Serenoa serrulata (Michx.) Hook. Here the woods 

 on December 2 5th were as green as they are in July in the Philadelphia neigh- 

 borhood. The leaves of the dominant constituents of the thicket are leathery, 

 and in the live oak the edges are frequently curled. The tips of the branches, 

 especially the laterals of the terminal branches, end in hard, spiny tips which 

 is an expression of the xerophytism of the vegetation. The presence of many 

 shrubs and trees with avivectent fruits, such as the bay, the holly, the yaupon, 

 the red-cedar, and the waxberry, is without question due to the fact that 

 migratory shore birds find covert in the depths of the bush, where they feed 

 upon the juicy berries and drupes which they find on the plants there. Fly- 

 ing northward, or southward, from island to island, or in more sustained flight 

 for considerable distances along the Atlantic coast, such species as the holly, 

 Ilex opaca, and red-cedar, Juniperus virginiania, have a distribution far to the 

 north. 



The outer edge of the thicket formation which occupies the eastern end 

 of Sanibel Island, extending west to a prairie that occupies its center, is char- 

 acterized by such trees as the seaside-grape, Coccolobis uvifera (L.) Jacq., 

 and buttonwood, Conocarpus erecta L. Low rounded shrubs compose the 



