INDIGENOUS FLOWERS. 109 
‘Were I, O God, in churchless lands remaining, 
Far from all voice of teachers or divines, 
My soul would find in flowers of thy ordaining, 
Priests, sermons, shrines.” 
The following extracts from ‘Letters from the Bahama 
Islands,” written by an American lady in 1823-4, give an account 
of some of the more prominent flowers to be seen in Nassau and 
its suburbs. 
“‘The indigenous plants and flowers, and flowering shrubs are 
abundant and beautiful; and, it is said, there are five thousand 
varieties. I am very fond of the mignonette tree; it bears pale 
yellow and green flowers, and has the most powerful and delicious 
fragrance. The acacia is very different from that of the same 
name with us; the flower isa little, round, yellow ball, about 
the size of a chestnut, looks like a tuft of fringe, and is filled 
with a yellow powder and has a sweet perfume. The blossom of 
the mahogany tree is beautiful, and so is the yellow and crimson 
flower fence or Barbadoe’s pride. The coral tree is very curious; 
the flower looks like a bunch of red, cut coral, and grows at the 
top of the branch distinct from any leaves; the stem, which is 
five or six inches long, stands perfectly erect, and, though beau- 
tiful, it is ungraceful. The coral vine bears a blossom of the 
same color and shape, and runs in wild profusion over all the 
stone walls and hedges, but has no odor. Myrtles, jessamines, 
tuberoses, and roses, the amaryllis of every species, the convolvu- 
lus, the sensitive plant, and Arabian jasmine, are seen in every 
direction, and grow wild among therocks. Groves of the olean- 
der are very common, and, prized as they are with you, are 
thought almost vulgar here, as well as the beautiful south-sea 
rose. The mutable rose is a native of this climate; the bignonia 
bears a yellow trumpet flower; the blue passion flower, which 
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