BOOK RFA'IEW 

 A key to Florida trees* 



Florida is, indeed, the Land of l lowers. The \isiting botan- 

 ist from the north is likely to be overwhelmed by the immense 

 number of species new to him. There are over three thousand 

 species of plants in the state. Of these there are more than four 

 hundred species of trees, more than in all the remainder of the 

 United States. One hundred and seven species and subspecies 

 of ferns and their allies are found within the border of the state. 



Fortunately in only a few sections are there great concen- 

 trations of species. The total number is spread over five hundred 

 miles in latitude and about one hundred miles in longitude 

 except in the extreme northern part. In great areas, such as the 

 "Piney \\'oods," pure Everglades and Prairie sections, only 

 comparatively few species are found. In the far south, how- 

 ever, one will be kept very busy identifying the great variety 

 of tropical and subtropical plants concentrated in the relatively 

 small areas of the so-called Hammocks. 



Added to the great number of native plants is a wealth of 

 exotic ones from all quarters of the tropics which have been 

 planted in the gardens of extensi^'e estates, public parks, along 

 highways and about small private homes. 



"The Manual of the Southeastern Flora" by Small covers 

 all the native flowering plants for the technical botanists and 

 Mary Francis Baker's "Florida Wild Flowers" will enable the 

 non-technical plant lover to identify the more striking plants 

 at the time of the blooming. 



Unfortunately, until recently, there has been no way of 

 identifying the exotic trees and shrubs or the native ones when 

 not in bloom. Miss Barrett's book of seventy-nine pages is 

 designed to fill this lack. On the first few pages definitions of 

 the small numbers of technical terms used are given. Nearly a 

 page is devoted to the naming of places where concentration 

 of exotics may be seen. Another page gives a short bibliog- 

 raphy. The keys are based on leaf size, shape, margin, vena- 

 tion, and whether simple or compound. 



Sometimes twig, and other characters are mentioned. 



* A Leaf Key to Florida Broad-Leaved Trees, Native & Exotic, Except 

 Palms. By Mary Franklin Barrett. Published by the author, 57 Union .Street, 

 Montclair, N.J., pp. 79, 1937. $L50. 



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