PLANTS OF DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA 
33 
and delicately beautiful foliage. It does 
well here in pine and hammock. 
ORNAMENTAL EXOTIC SHRUBS. 
It is hard to draw any hard and fast 
distinction between trees and shrubs. In 
a general way the latter are smaller and 
often send up numerous stems from the 
ground. 
Allamanda neriifolia and A. williamsi 
may be grown as shrubs or sprawlers. 
The former is one of the most florifer- 
ous plants we have here, and is covered 
nearly all the year with fine, large trum¬ 
pet-shaped, yellow flowers. So great is 
the drain on it from constant blossom¬ 
ing that it should be repeatedly fertilized 
and cultivated to keep it in vigor. It is 
one of our very best shrubs. A. will¬ 
iamsi is a fine floriferous species. 
Aralia guilfoylei is an elegant, erect 
shrub with glossy pinnate leaves varie¬ 
gated with white, which does well here. 
I have a plant under the name of A. 
pulchra with beautiful, glossy, digitate 
leaves, which promises well but is prob¬ 
ably not an Aralia. It may be an Oreo- 
panax. 
Ardisia crenulata is a pretty shrub 
with crenate, leathery leaves and waxy, 
crimson berries that remain in perfection 
a long time. I have not been very suc¬ 
cessful with it but have had best results 
by planting it in shade in the edge of the 
hammock. 
Aucuba japonica, Japan Gold Dust 
Tree. I have totally failed to make this 
lovely plant grow here. I have kept it 
in fair condition in a pot but when 
turned out, even in a shaded location the 
leaves turn black and it soon dies. It 
may be either the soil or a too warm cli¬ 
mate that is the trouble. 
Azalea. None of the Azaleas, Ca¬ 
mellias, Rhododendrons or tea plants will 
grow for me. No doubt this is on ac¬ 
count of the lime in the soil. The Gar¬ 
denia also fails, probably for the same 
reason. 
Bauhinia. Several species of this 
charming genus are shrubs and a few 
are climbers. B. acuminata is a fine 
shrub with lovely, large, white flowers 
which blooms throughout the spring and 
summer. I have a small species received 
as B. picta, but which is not that. It 
has handsome, pale yellow flowers, 
shaped much like those of Abutilon. 
With a good assortment of Bauhinias 
one can have flowers throughout the en¬ 
tire year here. 
Brunfelsia americana has obovate, 
shining leaves and yellowish, salver¬ 
shaped, fragrant flowers. The tube of the 
flower is exceedingly long. It does re¬ 
markably well here in pine land and is 
a very free bloomer. 
Cassia. None of the shrubbery species 
I have tried have done well. 
Caesalpinia pulcherrima is a favorite 
shrub in South Florida and well it may 
be. It is easily grown from seed and 
it flaunts its gorgeous scarlet and yel¬ 
low flowers to the sun nearly the whole 
year through. There is a variety with 
yellow flowers. The plants should be 
headed back and fertilized after their 
periods of blooming. C. nuga is a thorny, 
half climbing shrub which promises well. 
Catesbaea spinosa is an elegant shrub 
from the Bahamas. It has small, thick, 
shining leaves, is quite spiny, and bears 
numbers of pendant, trumpet-shaped, 
lemon yellow flowers. These are cut into 
four segments on the border and are 
from four to six inches in length. It does 
well in ordinary pine land. 
Cestrum. C. nocturnum is the Night 
Blooming Jessamine. The flowers are 
small and greenish white but give out, at 
night only, the most powerful perfume. 
A large bush will scent an acre of garden 
on a calm night. There are those who 
complain of these strong odors as being 
overpowering but they are never so to 
me. I love when out walking at night 
to plunge my head in the very middle of 
these bushes and revel in the wealth of 
their fragrance. C. diurnum is a very 
fragrant day bloomer. C. elegans and 
aurantiacum have failed with me, prob¬ 
ably on account of root knot. 
Clerodendron squamatum has large 
soft, cordate leaves and brilliant scarlet 
flowers. C. fragrans with double white 
flowers has been naturalized here. C. 
siphonanthus, with long tubed, dirty 
white flowers and showy berries has also 
