THE PAPAWS 167 



branches, a great arbor is made for the comfort of people 

 in regions where the sun's rays are overpowering in the 

 middle of the day. 



Our own ^g trees in North America are but sprawhng 

 parasitic trees, unable to stand alone. They are found 

 only in the south of Florida, and therefore are generally 

 unknown. 



The Golden Fig 



Ficus aiirea, Nutt. 



The golden fig climbs up other trees and strangles its 

 host with its coiling stems and aerial roots. One far- 

 famed specimen has grown and spread like a banyan tree, 

 its trunk and head supported by secondary stems that 

 have struck downward from the branches. Smooth as a 

 beech in bark, crowned with glossy, beautiful foliage, like 

 the rubber plants, this parasitic fig is a splendid tropical 

 tree, but the host that supports all this luxuriance is 

 sacrificed utterly. The little yellow figs that snuggle in 

 the axils of the leaves turn purple, sweet, and juicy as they 

 ripen. They are sometimes used in making preserves. 

 An interesting characteristic of the wood of the golden 

 fig is its wonderful lightness. Bulk for bulk, it is only 

 one fourth as heavy as water. 



THE PAPAWS 



Two of the forty-eight genera of the tropical custard- 

 apple family are represented by a solitary species each in 

 the warmer parts of the United States. Important fruit 

 and ornamental trees in the tropics of the Old World are 



