The Mulberries, the Osage Orange and the Figs 



sacred peepul tree of the Hindoos. Our native fig trees are sprawl- 

 ing parasitic forms, unable to stand alone. 



The Golden Fig (F. aurea, Nutt.) climbs up another tree, 

 which it strangles with its coiling stems and aerial roots. There is 

 a famous specimen tree on one of the islands of southern Florida, 

 which has spread by striking root with its drooping branches until 

 it now covers with its secondary trunks an area of a quarter of an 

 acre. It looks much like a banyan tree. More often in South 

 Florida one sees this tree with a sturdy sin'gle trunk which has 

 swallowed up the parasite that supported it in youth. Smooth as 

 a beech trunk, with a crown of foliage more glossy than the live 

 oak, this is a large and beautiful tree. The little yellow figs 

 snuggle in the axils of the leaves and turn purple when ripe. 

 They are succulent and sweet, and are sometimes used for jams 

 and preserves. 



Another interesting thing about Ficus aurea is that its wood 

 is lighter than that of any other native tree. Its specific gravity 

 is 0.26, which means that, bulk for bulk, this substance is only 

 one-fourth as heavy as water. Most of our woods range between 

 0.40 and 0.80. The heaviest wood belongs also to a Florida tree, 

 Krugiodendron jerreum, Urb., whose specific gravity, when sea- 

 soned, is 1.302. 



The Poplar-leaf Fig (F. populnea, Willd.) is a rare parasite 

 clambering up other trees on coral islands and reefs off the south- 

 ernmost coast of Florida. Its thin, dark green leaves and long- 

 stemmed fruits distinguish it from its near relative. 



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