PLANTS OF DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA 
27 
and in late winter or early spring bear 
large spikes of dazzling flowers. Here 
they are troubled with a brownish borer 
which enters into the ends of the grow¬ 
ing branches and the large flower buds 
so that the trees bloom but little. If 
the ends of the limbs which are bored 
are cut back to healthy wood as soon as 
the leaves fall there will be a much 
"better show of bloom. They grow well 
in our sandy soil. I have E. carnea, E. 
velutina, E. umbrosa and one or two 
others. 
Eriodendron, Silk Cotton Tree. E. 
anfractuosum, probably, is cultivated 
here. It is a strikingly handsome tree 
with a columnar stem, smooth, or nearly 
smooth, variegated green bark, limbs in 
whorls and digitate 5-9 foliate, smooth 
leaves. The flowers are yellowish and 
attractive. The tree grows to a great 
size and does finely here, but the wood 
is brittle and breaks in storms. 
Euphorbia tirucalli is a small tree with 
pendant, succulent branches, milky juice 
and very small leaves. It is a strange 
and attractive plant. E. antiquorum has 
triangular, variegated branches, almost 
no leaves, is spiny, and is a strange look¬ 
ing tree to northern eyes. Both do well 
here in poor dry soil, but are tender when 
small. 
Eucalyptus. A large genus of trees 
from the Australian region, many of 
which attain an enormous height. Quite 
a large number of species are grown in 
Dade County where most of them do 
well. E. robusta is a broad leaved, fine 
-species, quite ornamental in bloom. E. 
ficifolia for some reason has not done 
well with me. It has handsome scarlet 
flowers. E. rostrata, E. viminalis and 
many others have no true leaves, bear¬ 
ing only phyllodia, or leaf-like expan¬ 
sions of the petiole, alike on both sides, 
and set edgewise on the tree instead of 
horizontally. E. globulus has true leaves 
when young and phyllodia when mature, 
the latter being wholly unlike the for¬ 
mer. 
Ficus. An immense genus ranging 
from warm temperate regions through 
the tropics and from lowly creepers to 
lofty trees. Nearly all the many species 
introduced here do well. F. altissima 
is one of the best. F. nymphsefolia has 
enormous cordate leaves. F. religiosa is 
the sacred Ti tree of India. F. ben- 
ghalensis is the Banyan and F. pumila 
and barbata are creepers which will 
cover walls or trees. 
F. elastica is the well known India 
Rubber. A specimen of this tree grows 
in Lemon City having a head a hun¬ 
dred feet across. The variegated va- 
viety is very fine. F. parcelli has also 
attractive variegated leaves. 
Garcinia morella. A handsome tree 
with long, leathery, glossy, opposite 
leaves and yellowish flowers. The gam¬ 
boge of commerce is made from it. The 
mangosteen (G. mangostana) will not 
grow here, but the gamboge promises 
well. 
Gliricidia. Two species of this legu¬ 
minous tree promise well here, G. pla- 
tycarpa from Cuba and G. maculata of 
Central America. The latter has 
bloomed beautifully here. Both have 
handsome pink flowers, but are tender 
when young. 
Grevillea robusta. Australian Silk 
Oak, is grown in great quantities in the 
north as an ornamental plant, having 
elegant fern-like leaves. Here it be¬ 
comes a large tree, bearing in spring 
great clusters of strange, handsome, 
golden flowers. G. hilli is somewhat 
similar to robusta, but has pink or white 
flowers. 
Heterophragma adenophyllum is a 
tree becoming 50 feet high, from India, 
having digitate leaves and brownish 
yellow, woolly flowers. The long pods 
are spirally twisted. I have a fine young 
tree on pine land which gives good 
promise of soon furnishing corkscrews 
for all of Dade County. 
Hura crepitans, Sand Box of the 
West Indies, is a large tree with ele¬ 
gant cordate leaves, inconspicuous 
flowers and flattened, ribbed seed pods, 
which burst with a loud noise when ripe. 
It is grown here, but does not generally 
succeed very well. 
Jacaranda mimossefolia is a Brazilian 
tree having charming compound leaves 
with innumerable small leaflets. When 
