154 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
lia, Spathodea campanlata, Terminalia 
catappa and Butea. 
Others that might be tried are Saraca 
Indica, Amherstia, Colvillea, Brownea 
and Laegerstromia tomentosa. These are 
the trees that lend enchantment to Ceylon 
and India, and as India is frequently vis¬ 
ited by low degrees of temperature, where 
the thermometer drops from 2 to 4 de¬ 
grees below the freezing point, we should 
be able to grow anything that stands that 
much cold in that country. Of course 
this means that only the southern part of 
Florida might be able to grow these last 
named varieties. 
After these come plants that possess pe¬ 
culiar forms that attract attention by their 
difference from the regular formations of 
trees and plants. Among these are the 
Agaves, Yuccas and Fourcroyas. There 
are many varieties in this type of plant, 
and some of them have indescribably 
beautiful blooms of most majestic mein. 
They are easy to grow and adapt them¬ 
selves readily to any and all characters of 
soil. The night blooming Cereus and sev¬ 
eral other cactus plants that are very flori- 
ferous lend a quaint note to our tropical 
flora. Two or three varieties of tree fern 
make attractive specimens where shade, 
moisture and rich soil are provided for 
them. To my way of thinking, the Ba¬ 
nana, the Ravenala, and a large leaved va¬ 
riety of Strelitzia are incomparable in 
producing tropical effects, and closely al¬ 
lied to these are the Alocasias, whose im¬ 
mense leaves suggest the rank luxuriance 
of tropical jungles. Where these grow, the 
Caladium, with its matchless coloring and 
graceful bearing, may be added. Papyrus, 
a tall growing grass, with an odd and 
feathery bloom, may be worked in most 
effectively, especially in a small garden. 
For climbers to cover the trunks of 
palms having leaf shields, are Pothos, 
with its great green leaves blotched with 
white and pale yellow; Monstera, with 
large leaves deeply cut and cleft; Nephy- 
thytis, with "'leaves quite as curious; all 
these form striking objects of beauty 
while still quite young. 
All the Tecomas and Bignonias do well 
in Florida and furnish a great variety of 
color, having white, pink, red, yellow and 
orange colored flowers. 
In California one sees the purple Bou¬ 
gainvillea until it palls on the eye. A far 
handsomer variety has a bloom of a pe¬ 
culiar red shade, but it is difficult to make 
grow and is quite rare and expensive. 
Some shrubs that I did not find in Cali¬ 
fornia that are superb for color effects 
are the Acalyphas in five or six varieties, 
and where these grow the Croton will 
stand outdoor conditions in the winter. 
The Hibiscus, in at least a dozen varie¬ 
ties, is a royal flowering shrub, and one 
that is almost a rival is the dwarf Poin- 
ciana, which flowers in one year from 
seed and has as brilliantly colored a flow¬ 
er as its tree-relative, with the advantage 
of being almost a constant bloomer. No 
garden should be without its night bloom¬ 
ing Jessamine with its rich perfume so 
suggestive of the charms of the Sunny 
South. 
In this list are something like 200 trees, 
plants and vines. If only a few of these 
were to be found in each dooryard, im¬ 
agine the picture of beauty that would 
gladden the eye. It lies within our pow¬ 
er to create it if each person would do his 
