2 
7 VEGETATION OF SOUTH FLORIDA 
Smilax sp. as a liane runs from low tree to low tree, contributing to make 
the jungle almost impenetrable, while Baccharis halimifolia L. grows in the 
forefront of the thicket. The Spanish-bayonet, Yucca aloifolia L., and Sabal 
palmetto (Walt.) R. and S. are scattered. Pinus caribaea Morelet is not infre- 
quent. The prickly ash, Xanthoxylum clava-Herculis L., is a tree with its stem 
covered with prickles raised on corky bases. The denseness of this coastal 
scrub of low trees is enhanced by the masses of saw-palmetto, Serenoa ser- 
rulata (Michx.) Hook. The holly, Ilex opaca Ait., yaupon, Ilex vomitoria 
Ait. (I. Cassine Walt.), on Christmas Day, тото, when Anastasia Island was 
visited, were bright with red berries. The bull-bay, Magnolia foetida (L.) 
Sarg., with large dark evergreen leaves is a conspicuous tree in the thicket at 
all times, especially in the winter. Beneath the large shrubs and trees were 
found three smaller shrubs, Myrica cerifera L., Vaccinium nitidum Andr. and 
Zenobia cassinifolia (Vent.) Pollard (=Andromeda speciosa Michx.). The 
herbaceous constituents of the scrub collected by me are a grass, Muhlenbergia 
filipes M. A. Curtis, and Houstonia rotundifolia (Michx.) in sandy areas, and 
Solidago angustifolia Ell. The heart of the strand forest on Anastasia Island 
is indicated by taller pine, oak, palmetto, and bull-bay trees with an under- 
growth of saw-palmetto, Serenoa serrulata (Michx.) Hook. Here the woods 
on December 25th were as green as they are in July in the Philadelphia neigh- 
borhood. The leaves of the dominant constituents of the thicket are leathery, 
and in the live oak the edges are frequently curled. The tips of the branches, 
especially the laterals of the terminal branches, end in hard, spiny tips which 
is an expression of the xerophytism of the vegetation. The presence of many 
shrubs and trees with avivectent fruits, such as the bay, the holly, the yaupon, 
the red-cedar, and the waxberry, is without question due to the fact that 
migratory shore birds find covert in the depths of the bush, where they feed 
upon the juicy berries and drupes which they find on the plants there. Fly- 
ing northward, or southward, from island to island, or in more sustained flight 
for considerable distances along the Atlantic coast, such species as the holly, 
Ilex opaca, and red-cedar, Juniperus virginiania, have a distribution far to the 
north. 
The outer edge of the thicket formation which occupies the eastern end 
of Sanibel Island, extending west to a prairie that occupies its center, is char- 
acterized by such trees as the seaside-grape, Coccolobis uvifera (L.) Jacq., 
and buttonwood, Conocarpus erecta L. Low rounded shrubs compose the 
