Amelanchier arborea, downy serviceberry 

 Asimina triloba, pawpaw 

 Betula nigra, river birch 

 Carpinus caroliniana, American hornbeam 

 Carya cordiformis, bitternut hickory 

 Carya tomentosa, mockernut hickory 

 Castanea dentata, American chestnut 

 Chamaecyparis thyoides, Atlantic white-cedar 

 Cornus alternifolia, alternate-leaf dogwood 

 Cornus florida, flowering dogwood 

 Fagus grandifolia, American beech 

 Fraxinus americana, white ash 

 Fraxinus pennsylvanica, green ash 

 Ilex montana, mountain winterberry 

 Ilex verticillata, common winterberry 

 Juglans nigra, black walnut 

 Juniperus virginiana, eastern redcedar 

 Kalmia latifolia, mountain-laurel 

 Liriodendron tulipifera, yellow-poplar 

 Magnolia acuminata, cucumbertree 

 Ostrya virginiana, eastern hophornbeam 

 Platanus occidentalis, sycamore 

 Prunus americana, American plum 



Prunus serotina, black cherry (varieties to Arizona, Mexico, and 

 Guatemala) 



Quercus alba, white oak 



Quercus muehlenbergii, chinkapin oak 



Quercus velutina, black oak 



Rhus glabra, smooth sumac (also transcontinental) 



Sassafras albidum, sassafras 



Staphylea trifolia, American bladdernut 



Ulmus rubra, slippery elm 



Most tropical tree species native in southern Florida have a 

 wide distribution in the West Indies and on the continent. About 

 two-thirds are found in Puerto Rico, and some of these also in the 

 Virgin Islands (Little 1976). Of the 98 species, 67 are described 

 and illustrated in the two-volume reference on trees of Puerto Rico 

 and the Virgin Islands (Little and Wadsworth 1964; Little, Wood- 

 bury, and Wadsworth 1974) . Among these are 34 of the 60 classed 

 as rare in the southernmost counties of Florida. Two tree species 

 found in both Florida and Puerto Rico are native also in Hawaii: 

 Sapindus saponaria, wingleaf soapberry, and Dodonaea viscosa, 

 hopbush. 



Also, 3 tree species of wider distribution in the Southeastern 

 States reappear in Puerto Rico : Cyrilla racemiflora, swamp cyrilla, 

 Ilex cassine, dahoon, and Myrica cerifera, southern bayberry. 



Only about 34 of the 98 tropical species are restricted to Florida 

 and the West Indies. All the others reappear elsewhere on the con- 

 tinent, about 56 in Mexico, 54 in Central America, and 41 in 

 South America. Eight are native also in the Old World tropics or 

 represented there by very closely related species. Many are native 

 northward in northeastern Mexico (Tamaulipas) nearly to the 

 Texas border. 



Thirteen of the 98 tropical species are confined to the Florida 

 Keys and absent from the Southern Florida mainland (Little 

 1976). However, 7 of these occur also in Mexico or southward 

 on the continent. 



Several of Florida's tropical tree species are native also in other 

 States. Sapindus saponaria, wingleaf soapberry, and Forestiera 

 segregata, Florida-privet, continue northward on the Atlantic 



Coast to southeastern Georgia. Avicennia germinans, black-man- 

 grove, is scattered along the Gulf Coast of southern Mississippi, 

 southern Louisiana, and southeastern Texas. Dodonaea viscosa, 

 hopbush, of worldwide distribution, extends as a shrub from 

 Mexico into southern Arizona. These 3 reappear in extreme south- 

 ern Texas : 



Bumelia celastrina, safron-plum 



Solanum erianthum, mullein nightshade 



Zanthoxylum fagara, lime prickly-ash 



TREES OF THE FLORIDA KEYS 



Distribution of trees in the Florida Keys merits special men- 

 tion. The keys differ from the mainland in their tropical climate 

 with no freezing temperatures. "Flora of the Florida Keys" (Small 

 1913b) indicates the general range of each species. 



The Florida Keys are a long chain of small, flat islands mostly 

 less than 15 feet above sea level. They extend from near the south- 

 east corner of the Florida mainland west-southwest in an arc about 

 125 miles to Key West (Lat. 24° 36' N) . The Marquesas Keys and 

 Dry Tortugas are farther west, the last being coral reefs about 60 

 miles beyond. The Upper Florida Keys down to Bahia Honda Key 

 are of coral rock known as the Key Largo limestone. The Lower 

 Florida Keys from Big Pine Key to Key West and the Marquesas 

 Keys are of Miami oolitic limestone, the same formation as near 

 Miami. (Limestone outcrops in the Everglades of the mainland 

 are designated also as Everglades Keys.) 



The distribution of each tree species within the numerous keys 

 has been mapped so far as known. However, the exact distribution 

 of some species, island by island, has not been available. Certain 

 rare or uncommon species have restricted occurrence on only a 

 portion of the chain. 



Areas of natural vegetation in the Florida Keys are decreasing 

 at a rapid rate, because of real estate developments and recrea- 

 tional use. Some tree species, such as those of useful woods, have 

 become scarce. Several have disappeared from certain islands and 

 probably will do so from others. 



The earliest detailed plant collections in the Florida Keys were 

 made at Key West. John Loomis Blodgett (1809-53), a physician 

 and druggist who came there in 1838, was the first botanist to ex- 

 plore the Lower Florida Keys. His tree records were reported by 

 Nuttall (1842-49). 



Melvill (1884) published a list of the plants at Key West. It 

 was based mainly upon observations there in March 1872 but con- 

 tained records of others. Native trees totaled about 35 species, and 

 introduced trees about 12. Solanum erianthum (as S. verbascifol- 

 ium), mullein nightshade, was recorded as native and very com- 

 mon. Cordia sebestena, Geiger-tree, was classed as "probably not 

 native." Cocos nucifera, coconut, was naturalized and common. 

 Cotton, Gossypium barbadense, was listed as a naturalized large 

 shrub. 



Big Pine Key (with surrounding keys) has a published plant 

 list by Dickson, Woodbury, and Alexander (1953). The compiler 

 made a collection of the trees there in September 1952, about 45 

 native species. 



Two tree species with valuable woods have become extinct at 

 Key West and vicinity. Guaiacum sanctum, roughbark lignum- 

 vitae, was noted by Blodgett as abundant and by Melvill as not 

 common. Zanthoxylum flavum, West Indies satinwood, was com- 

 mon there, according to Blodgett, but not observed by Melvill. 



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