The Palms and the Palmettos 



2. Genus PSEUDOPHCENIX, H. Wendl. 



The Sargent Palm {P seudophoenix Sargenti, H. Wendl.) 

 is found only on Key Largo and Elliott Key. A slender tree 

 with white rind tapering from the middle to the leafy top and 

 the flaring base, it is distinguished from the royal palm by the 

 shorter leaves which stand erect, and the orange-coloured fruits 

 that hang ripe among the leaves in May and June. The tree 

 is found in a considerable grove on Key Largo. The flowers 

 have not been described. Young trees are sometimes met with 

 now in Florida gardens. 



3. Genus WASHINGTONIA, H. Wendl. 



The Desert Palm of California {W ashtngtonia filamentosa, 

 O. Kuntze) is a striking feature of the Colorado desert and of 

 cafion sides in the neighbouring mountains. It is found in groves 

 or in isolated clumps in wet alkali soil, where it rises to the height 

 of 50 to 75 feet, a crown of spreading, fan-like leaves above a 

 stout trunk clothed almost to the ground with a dense thatch 

 of the dead leaves, which, bending back upon each other in 

 succession, form a broad basal cone. The black berries are pro- 

 fusely borne on the branching spikes in September. They are 

 dry and thin fleshed, but Indians use them for food. The Wash- 

 ington palm has come into extensive cultivation in California 

 and southern Europe. 



4. Genus SERENOA, Hook. 



Serenoa arhorescens, Sarg., grows on hummocks in swampy 

 lands along the southwestern coast of Florida. It is a slender tree 

 30 to 40 feet high, often with more than one arching or prostrate 

 stem. The fan-like leaves are pale yellow-green above, blue- 

 green below, and about 2 feet across. The flower stems are 

 branched and about a yard long, thickly set with minute yellowish 

 flowers, which are followed by resinous black drupes. 



5. Genus THRINAX, Sw. 



The Thatch, or Silk-top Palmetto (Thrinax Floridana, 

 Sarg.) has a silver lining in its glossy green fan leaves, making 



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