124 If^ LOWER FLORIDA fVILDS 



more than water and some fiber. At Okeechobee I 

 saw a man throw a sharpened lath at the stem of 

 one of the largest of these plants and drive it clear 

 through so that the point projected on the other 

 side. One can hardly understand why so flimsy a 

 stem is not broken and overthrown by the wind, 

 especially since it chooses the most exposed station. 



Wonderful as is the growth of the water hemp it 

 is completely outdone by that of another native 

 plant, Agave neglecta, which Hves in the pinelands 

 along the border of the Everglades. It requires 

 five or six years for this agave to complete its huge 

 rosette of basal leaves, — the whole often being 

 over fourteen feet across. Then up shoots a 

 pole or flowering stem which, just after the start, 

 grows at the rate of two feet a day. I measured 

 one of these stems, — thirteen inches in diameter 

 at the base and forty-two feet eight inches high I 

 This astounding stem was produced in about a 

 month ! 



Generally there are few attractive plants in 

 swamps, but in the Glades there are many. Carina 

 flaccida (a cousin of the cultivated species) has 

 exceedingly pretty yellow blossoms. The pick- 

 erel weed (Pontederia) with heads of blue flowers 



