724 
Florida . 
[December, 
Another tree of historic interest is the Torreya, Only 
four species are found; one in China, one in Japan, one in 
California, and one in Florida. The Torreya Calif ornica is 
rare in California. We have found it only in the Yosemite, 
although it occurs in other parts of the State. The Torreya 
taxifolia is restricted in Florida to a district not more than 
io miles long, on the banks of the Apalachicola. This 
ancient genus is moribund. 
On the “ Keys ” the flora is tropical. The Keys are coral 
reefs just emerging from the Atlantic. Those which are 
least advanced support no growth but the mangrove. The 
seed is borne on the tide from adjacent land, and its mode 
of growth is such as to give the tree anchorage to the coral. 
On the low Keys, called the Thousand Islands, the mangrove 
attains a height of 60 feet. 
The mahogany has held a place in the list of Floridian 
flora, but it grows only on Umbrella Keys. 
Gummifera might be written as the specific name of many 
shrubs and trees of Florida. Bursera gummifera, called 
“ gumbo limbo,” is most prolific in gum. The Ficus aurea, 
or wild fig, exudes a gum something like india-rubber. 
The Sive oak is abundant, but is often dwarfed. The red 
cedar attains its highest excellence on Cedar Keys, where it 
is cut for the pencil-faCtories of the north. It is the Bermu- 
diana, a variety of the Juniperus Virginiana. 
The pitch and yellow-pines occur everywhere except in 
the swamps. The Sabal palmetto is anywhere except on the 
high pine-land. 
A peculiarity of all Florida trees growing in wet or boggy 
land is a bulging out of the trunk near the ground. It is 
most striking in the bald cypress, and least noticeable in 
the oaks. 
The herbaceous flora is rich and varied. I have seen the 
face of the earth saffron-coloured from a carpet of Polygala 
nana. I have seen a roadside fringed with that beautiful 
orchid Pogonia. Perhaps the most highly specialised plant 
in the State is the Sarracenia variolaria, introduced to the 
botanical world a few years ago by Dr. Mellichamp, of 
North Carolina. It is carnivorous, and as a fly-catcher it is 
excelled only by its cousin, the Darlingtonia of California. 
The fauna in mammalian types is poor ; in reptiles, birds, 
and insedts it is rich. The alligator is common, and the 
true crococile has been found, although it is rare. 
When Florida came under the eye of history she sup- 
ported a tribe of Indians, the Seminoles, who had made a 
little advance in agriculture. A remnant of this tribe still 
