THE SA W PALMETTO. 25 



After removing some of the dust and grime of 

 travel, refreshing the inner man and disposing of my 

 baggage, I set out northward on a short tour of ex- 

 ploration. The houses, for the most part, are on 

 large lots, and possess extensive lawns filled with 

 shrubbery and flowers. At the end of the street 

 the roadway enters at once the unfenced forest and 

 continues thus for miles northward. These woods 

 bordering the river, as well as all others which after- 

 ward came to my notice, excepting the pine-barrens, 

 are not clear and open like most of those in the north- 

 ern states, but are so filled with tropical undergrowth 

 that one can scarcely force his way through them. 

 Fully eighty per cent, of this undergrowth in the 

 vicinity of Ormond is composed of the saw palmetto, 

 Serenoa serrulata Hook. Its creeping stem branches 

 and ramifies in every direction just beneath the sur- 

 face. The large, circular, fan-shaped leaves, with 

 many sharp teeth along the edges of their petioles, 

 rise at short intervals from the joints of the under- 

 ground stem and reach a height of two to four feet. 

 Their teeth clutch and tear at one's clothing at every 

 onward step. Covering, as the leaves do, almost 

 every square foot of surface, they present a most 

 formidable obstacle to persons desiring to penetrate 

 the forest. These leaves have a strong fiber and their 

 blades are used in filling mattresses. The flowers 

 furnish fine bee pasturage. The root is said to be 

 rich in tannin; while the black drupes or berries, 



