122 IN LOWER FLORIDA WILDS 



grasslike, folded leaves which spring in a great 

 tuft from the root and the slender leaves are armed 

 on their edges with sharp teeth like those of a rip 

 saw. And a veritable rip saw it is, as anyone who 

 once comes in contact with it will agree. These 

 leaves attain a length of seven feet, and in late 

 spring or early summer the plant sends up a nearly 

 round flower stem to a height of ten feet or more. 

 This stem is protected with a bodyguard of these 

 savage leaves gathered about it. It has many 

 panicles of brownish flowers and when viewed 

 from a distance a stretch of it is an attractive 

 sight, but it is just as well to see it only from a 

 distance. Willoughby and others who have 

 crossed the Glades give graphic pictures of their 

 bloody battles with this merciless sedge. 



One of the most striking and interesting of 

 these large plants is the "gama grass " {Tripsacum 

 dactyloides) which is sometimes cultivated fer 

 ornament. It has broad, fine leaves and reaches 

 a height of twelve feet or more — the long flower- 

 ing stems have the seeds hidden in excavations 

 along their sides. There is a giant foxtail {Setaria 

 magna), a brother of the cultivated millet, which 

 seems to be rapidly spreading through the drier 



