PREFACE 



My introduction to the flora of Florida occurred in the 

 fall of 1901 when I assisted in securing specimens of the 

 native and exotic plants of southern Florida for cultivat- 

 ing in the conservatories of the New York Botanical 

 Garden, then lately completed. This experience, follow- 

 ing a decade of study on the plant specimens previously 

 collected in that state and preserved in the herbarium of 

 Columbia University, decided me to devote what time I 

 could command to the botanical exploration of Florida. 



In the fall of 1903 field-work was begun. Since then 

 it has been continued mainly as periods of vacation be- 

 came available, at first with aid from the New York Bo- 

 tanical Garden and later under the patronage of Mr. 

 Charles Deering. 



I have visited the extremes of the state and much of 

 the intervening territory ; but vast areas, particularly the 

 uninhabited or sparsely populated parts of the mainland, 

 the coastal islands, and the Florida reef, are largely vir- 

 gin territory. 



Records of explorations have appeared in papers cited 

 in the appended list, while various technical papers deal- 

 ing with the new and rare plants, and local floras based 

 largely on the field-work, have appeared elsewhere. 



I. Report on Exploration in Tropical Florida. — Journal of the 

 New York Botanical Garden 5 : 49-5^. 1904. 

 . 2. Report upon Further Exploration of Southern Florida. — 

 Journal of the New York Botanical Garden 5: 157-164. 

 1904. 



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