28 
PLANTS OF DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA 
young it grows quite well, but as soon 
as it reaches a considerable size it does 
not generally flourish. It has handsome 
blue trumpet-like flowers. 
Kigelia pinnata is a pinnate leaved 
tree from tropical Africa related to 
Bignonia. It has large, dull red, 
trumpet-shaped flowers and sausage¬ 
shaped fruits, suspended by long stems. 
There is a large tree at Cocoanut Grove, 
on high, rocky land. 
Lagerstroemia flos-reginse. A superb 
tree bearing enormous fascicles of rose 
purple flowers. It is very much larger 
and finer in all its parts than the ordi¬ 
nary crape myrtle (L. Indica). There 
is a fine specimen on the place formerly 
belonging to Rev. Thomas Spencer, near 
Miami. 
Magnolia. Magnolia foetida (grandi- 
flora) does not grow wild as far south as 
this, but I have a young tree in the edge 
of the swamp that is doing well. M. 
glauca is common here in swamps. 
Melaleuca leucodendron, the Cajeput 
Tree, grows finely here, either on high 
or swampy land. It is an attractive 
tree with lanceolate phvllodia and small 
white blossoms. The bark is very thick 
and remarkably spongy. The leaves are 
strongly scented. 
Melia azedarach umbraculiformis, 
Texas Umbrella Tree, is common here, 
but as a rule does not reach the perfec¬ 
tion it does in North Florida. M. sem- 
pervirens, said to come from Jamaica, 
though probably originally from the 
Orient, is an elegant, rapid growing tree, 
here nearly always in bloom. The trees 
of this genus are subject to soft scale 
which can be killed with kerowater. 
Moringa moringa, is a native of India, 
but is now widely distributed in the 
tropics. It has airy, compound leaves 
and clusters of somewhat pea-shaped, 
white, fragrant flowers and is always in 
bloom. It bears long, curious, triangular 
pods. The whole tree has a pungent 
odor and taste and the soft roots, as 
large as a man’s arm, make an excellent 
substitute for horseradish, hence the 
name Florseradish Tree. 
Pachira. A genus of handsome trees 
from tropical America with large glossy, 
leathery, digitate leaves and showy flow¬ 
ers. P. princeps has white flowers with 
red stamens and grows in brackish 
swamps. P. macrocarpa has very large 
white flowers. P. fastuosa from Cuba 
drops its leaves in winter and in Feb¬ 
ruary is covered with immense crimson 
blossoms, one of the handsomest trees I 
ever saw. I have a tree of another 
species which I cannot determine, that 
has white nocturnal flowers. All grow 
here finely in the pine land. 
Pandanus. A large genus, but the 
only one we cultivate that I am sure 
reaches the proportions of a tree is P. 
utilis, commonly called the Screw Pine. 
It is a most striking and tropical looking 
object. The nearly smooth trunk is 
copper colored and marked with the 
scars of fallen leaves. It. is supported 
at the base by many large air roots. The 
branches usually come in whorls of 
three, and the long, folded, spiny leaves 
are arranged in a perfect spiral. The 
tree is dioecious, the flowers are large 
and strange, and are followed by im¬ 
mense, nearly globular heads of seeds 
which are glossy and highly colored. I 
have a female tree near my house which 
now has three of these great seed heads, 
each larger than a man’s head and very 
heavy. Taken in all, I know of no plant 
more astonishing in appearance than this, 
for it seems to be a combination of 
vagaries in every part. 
Parmentiera cerifera. Candle Tree. 
This is another of the vagaries of the 
tropics. It is a tree with winged tri¬ 
foliate leaves from tropical America. It 
has large white trumpet shaped flowers 
and long, cylindrical yellow fruits which 
very greatly resemble candles, and they 
hang in profusion from the branches. 
They are said to be edible. Will prob¬ 
ably do well here. 
Peltophorum ferrugineum. A tree 
with handsome bipinnate foliage, a rapid 
grower and a native of Ceylon. The 
young leaves and shoots are covered 
with a brown, velvety tomentum. It 
bears rusty yellow flowers twice a year 
and they are fragrant. Macmillan in 
Tropical Gardening, says that it is a 
magnificent sight when in full bloom. 
