TRANSACTIONS OF WAGNER 

 100 



VEGETATION OF SOUTH FLORIDA 



gustifolia Michx., Hieracium megacephalum Nash, and Helianthella grandi- 

 flora T. & G. and such grasses as Aristida stricta Michx., Andropogon 

 argyraeus Schult., A. longiberbis Hack. All the herbaceous plants have large 

 underground parts, tubers, or thick roots, thus Commelina angustifolia Michx. 

 has an immense fascicle of horizontally spreading roots. Tradescantia has a 

 similar root system, while Helianthella grandiflora T. & G. has an oblong tuber 

 buried 15 to 20 cms. deep with a horizontal stem, which rises obliquely upward. 

 Such plants withstand the destructive action of forest fires. Other plants of 

 the long-leaf pine forest are Asclepias humistrata Walt., Asimina pygmaea 

 (Barts.) A. Gray, Aldenella tenuifolia (T. & G.) Greene, Stillingia sylvatica 

 L., Croton argyranthemus Michx., Cnidoscolus stimulosus (Michx.) A. Gray, 

 Eriogonum floridanum Small., E. tomentosum Michx., Portulaca pilosa L., 

 Ceanothus microphyllus Michx. and Piriqueta caroliniana (Walt.) Urb. 



My field notes, as they concern the territorial limits of this monograph, 

 begin at Bartow in Polk County. Here Pinus palustris Mill, forms pure forest. 

 The trees are draped with festoons of the Spanish-moss, Dendropogon (Tilland- 

 sia) usneoides (L.) Raf., which peculiarity of selecting the pine trees seems to 

 prevail throughout the pine region of the west coast. The pineland alternates 

 with hammock-land, branch swamps and sclerophyllous scrub with rounded 

 clumps of saw-palmetto. The saw-palmetto, Serenoa serrulata (Michx.) Hook, 

 is the prevailing undergrowth in the long-leaf pine formation, which continues 

 south past Homeland, Ft. Meade to Torrey, where the pine forest is character- 

 ized by the presence of scattered oaks. Near Wauchula are elevated sandy 

 hills with long-leaf pine, live oaks and saw palmettos. An open prairie occurs at 

 Zolfo succeeded by open, pure growths of Pinus palustris. This type of country 

 continues to Brownsville, where is pure white sand, the pine forest is filled 

 with scattered oaks with the associated undergrowing saw-palmetto and wire- 

 grass, probably Aristida stricta Michx. Open pine flatwoods are found about 

 Arcadia, Nocatee and Ft. Ogden. At Ft. Ogden, the woods were bright with 

 the flowers of the he-huckleberry or fly-catcher, Bejaria racemosa Vent., a 

 shrub about 2 feet tall, associated with Callicarpa americana L. and Xolisma 

 fruticosa (Michx.) Nash. The long-leaf pine forest at Morganton blends with 

 the salt marshes of Peace River and Charlotte Harbor, where the outer edge 

 of the pine forest between it and the salt marsh is occupied by the palmetto, 

 Sabal palmetto (Walt.) R. & S. This in turn alternates with pine savannas, 

 which are seen as Cleveland is approached. Here the undergrowth consists of 



