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closer acquaintance. The slender trunks are light gray and raised 

 above the surface of the ground on a coarse network of roots 

 making it very difficult to walk among them. Aerial roots are 

 sent down from the branches making the task still greater. 

 But most interesting of all is the method of reproduction. The 

 pendulous fruit is about an inch long and germinates while 

 attached to the parent plant, sending out a radicle a foot or 

 more long. After a time the whole structure falls, floats in an 

 upright position and takes root when stranded. Much of the 

 coast from Fort Lauderdale, around Cape Sable, and as far 

 north as Fort Myers on the west coast, is fringed with this 

 growth. Many square miles of the Cape Sable region is over- 

 grown with it and it penetrates the southern edge of the Ever- 

 glades for miles, gradually petering out to the north. The yellow 

 blossoms, about two-thirds of an inch long, are not especially 

 attractive except in masses. 



The White Mangrove or White Button-wood, Laguncularia 

 racemosa, is often found growing with the common species and 

 is not readily distinguished from it at a distance. It is not a 

 true mangrove and belongs to quite a different family. Its 

 white flowers are very fragrant. Still another tall shrub called 

 the Black Mangrove, Avicennia nitida, is found in pure stands 

 and growing with the other two. It also is not a true mangrove. 

 It grows much larger than the others, reaching a height of 

 seventy-five feet. The white flowers are somewhat mint-like in 

 structure and show the close relationship of the two families. 



The plants, briefly described here, gave me only a taste of 

 the rich botanical feast which I may enjoy in future trips which 

 I hope to take. 



Ridgewood, N. J. 



