PLANTS OF DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA 
and it is quite abundant in places in the 
Bahamas. It is a stiff, formal, very 
deep green palm with pinnate leaves and 
does well under cultivation. 
The common cabbage palmetto (In¬ 
odes palmetto) is found rather spar¬ 
ingly in Dade County and is always a 
striking tree, either when young and 
covered with the old split-leaf stalks 
(“boots”) or as an old tree with its tall, 
rough, often crooked stem and globular 
head. It will grow well in all soils. 
Along the shore of Biscayne Bay is 
a dwarf species (Inodes megacarpa), 
which is everywhere mingled with the 
saw palmetto. In clearing it is well to 
leave specimens occasionally, as they 
make fine clumps when given a chance. 
Mingled with the last two is a dwarf, 
fan-leaved palm of exquisite beauty 
(Coccothrinax garberi) named for a 
dear botanist who explored and collected 
in South Florida. The upper sides of 
the leaves are glossy and a rich green; 
the under surfaces are the loveliest 
satiny or silvery color imaginable. It is 
rather a slow grower and never attains 
any great height. It is found only on 
the shores of Biscayne Bay. 
On one or more of the Lower Keys 
is found an allied species (Coccothrinax 
jucunda) which is much like the C. gar¬ 
beri, only that it is larger in all its parts, 
reaching a height of 25 feet. Its bril¬ 
liant purple berries are edible, and it is 
one of the handsomest palms I know, but 
it grows very slowly when young. 
There are certainly four species of 
Thrinax native to extreme South Flor¬ 
ida, all of which are well worthy of cul¬ 
tivation and are perfectly at home with¬ 
out fertilizer in our poorest soil. One 
of these the writer has brought to the 
attention of botanists recently, and 
though quite common it has been over¬ 
looked or taken for something else. It 
is T. wendlandiana, also found in Cuba. 
Acoelorraphe wrightii is a fine native 
palm which Mr. John and Marion Soar 
height, and will do well in wet situations. 
It grows wild in the Madeira Hammock 
and in Cuba. A. arborescens becomes a 
straggling tree 30 to 40 feet high, the 
stems sometimes nearly prostrate. 
The common saw palmetto, Serenoa 
serrulata, needs only a word. If given 
a chance it will make quite fine speci¬ 
mens. 
native ornamental trees. 
Our common pine is different from 
the species found in Georgia and North 
Florida, it being a native of Cuba. It 
has gone under more aliases than a pro¬ 
fessional crook or confidence man, hav¬ 
ing been called Pinus tseda, P. hetero- 
phylla, P. cubensis, P. elliottii, P. baha- 
mensis, and it is now believed that Pinus 
caribsea is the correct name. It is a 
handsome tree when young, with its 
great masses of long, rich green needles; 
it is stately when in its prime and pic¬ 
turesque in its old age. When at it best 
its somewhat flattened, rounded top re¬ 
minds one of the very striking Pinus 
pinea of Southern Europe which paint¬ 
ers love to introduce into their canvases. 
Two uncommonly fine specimens of 
nearly equal size grew in my grounds 
about 40 feet apart, the one nearly north 
of the other. I built my house about 
35 feet to the westward of these trees 
and they stand there in their erect, sol¬ 
dierly attitude as guardians. From them 
I have named my home “The Sentinels,” 
and somehow I imagine that they watch 
over me and mine night and day. Three 
other pine trees north of the house were 
left undisturbed when clearing, and these 
are “The Three Graces.” In the dark¬ 
ness of the night they cut the sky line 
with wonderful effect. Trees and 
shrubs planted under the pines do very 
well, and I think it a fine idea to leave 
a few standing in ornamental grounds, 
and especially about one’s house 
protection against lightning. 
Our native red cedar was formerly 
as a 
1. jumi aim xv_L<aiivjii vJUdi Will JLIcUlVC rCU 
discovered in extreme South Florida/ believed to be the same as the northern 
and was brought to the attention of form, but is now referred to Juniperus 
Prof. C. S. Sargent by the writer. It is barbadensis, a West Indian species. It 
a handsome fan palm, growing in im- is sometimes planted, but to my mind 
50 feet across and 25 in ' is too suggestive of a northern climate 
mense 
tufts 
