IN THE PRIMEVAL FOREST 217 



What axe the trees which compose this forest? 

 You cannot so easily tell because the foliage is far 

 above your head and it is too dark to distinguish 

 it. Occasionally a limb hangs down so that one 

 can observe its leaves but barring this an expert 

 botanist, familiar with all this growth cannot 

 positively determine the trees by their trunks 

 alone. From the road or a cleared spot you will 

 likely see a very large tree, somewhat crooked 

 and with smooth trunk of a rich coppery color; 

 the leaves glossy. This is a gumbo limbo 

 {Bur sera gummifera), the most striking object in 

 all the hammock. Even the dullest or most indif- 

 ferent tourist looks at and asks what it is. Its 

 outer bark peels off in thin paper layers like that 

 of the birches, hence it is sometimes called "West 

 Indian Birch." It belongs to a family rich in 

 balsams and it is said to be one of the trees which 

 furnishes the gum elemi of the druggists. Another 

 tree, the satinleaf {Chrysophyllum oUv(i^orme),vAtla. 

 intense, metallic green, glossy leaves, the under 

 surfaces of which are covered with brownish golden 

 hairs, is thrust out into the open where we can 

 readily observe it. These hairs are closely ap- 

 pressed and when the wind turns the leaves they 



