Cunninghamia Sinensis

Cunninghamia Sinensis is another fine hardy conifer which should have a light, well-drained soil. It will probably do well in the north part of Florida.

Cupressus

Several species are grown in the state, among them being C. funebris, C. knightiana, C. lawsoniana, C. torulosa and others, all of which make good wind breaks. They succeed in any soil that is not too wet. All are hardy.

Cyathea, Alsophila, Dicksonia, Cibotium And Hematilia

Cyathea, Alsophila, Dicksonia, Cibotium And Hematilia are fine tree-ferns, some of which may succeed but as a general thing most of them probably will not do well here. In a yard at Fort Myers I saw a fine specimen of a tree-fern about five feet high in partial shade, but I could not make out what it was.

Cycas Revoluta And C. Circinalis

Cycas Revoluta And C. Circinalis are fine decorative small trees, the former being hardy throughout the state; the latter is tender. The former grows slowly; the latter much more rapidly, is taller and has longer leaves. They are propagated from suckers which spring up around the trunk. These should be taken off carefully, completely defoliated and rooted in a moist, shaded place. These plants are often stricken with a destructive blight for which I know no remedy.

Dammara Australis

Dammara Australis is a fine conifer from New Zealand and would be hardy anywhere in Florida.

Delonix Regia, Royal Poinciana

Delonix Regia, Royal Poinciana, a native of Madagascar, is one of the most glorious trees in the world, and is now cultivated everywhere in the tropics. It can only be grown here in the lower part of the state, in a general way south of Latitude 270. Here it casts its beautiful bipinnate foliage in winter, the new leaves appearing in April or May and at the same time the tree is covered with immense clusters of large red flowers, variegated with white, yellow and purple. Trees in the neighborhood of Miami attain a height of forty feet and often twice that size of crown, and when almost solidly covered with bloom they look from a distance like a great burst of flame. I have seen clusters of flowers fully as large as a bushel basket. I said when I first saw one of these trees in bloom that I was willing to endure the torment of mosquitoes, sand burs, land crabs and all the pests and vermin of Florida in order that I might live in a land where the royal poinciana flaunted its splendid blossoms to the sky.

Dillenia

A genus of beautiful Oriental tropical trees having large leaves and handsome flowers. D. indica is sparingly cultivated in lower Florida but is greatly subject to root knot, and I have never succeeded with it on that account.

Eriodendron, Silk Cotton Tree

A genus of very large, rapid growing trees from the tropics of the Old and New Worlds. E. anfractuosum becomes an enormous tree in the West Indies; its trunk is usually smooth and bulging, and in a young state it is variegated with light and dark green. It is perfectly at home in lower Florida in pine or hammock land.

Erythrina, Coral Tree

A genus with thorny stems and trifoliate leaves, bearing brilliant red flowers in long racemes. In certain districts a borer greatly injures the branches and in some cases destroys the flowers. There is a good deal of similarity among many of the species but E. crista-galli is quite distinct. In the north this is almost herbaceous, being bedded out in summer and dug up and wintered in a cellar. At Fort Myers I saw a fine tree of this fifteen feet high. It would be hardy throughout the state; the rest are tender.

Eucalyptus

A large genus of trees which has its metropolis in Australia. Quite a number are cultivated in South Florida and in some cases specimens are already reaching considerable size. In many instances the trees have proper leaves; in others they have only phyllodia, which are leaf-like expansions that are alike on both sides and hang vertically. Most of the trees are brittle and break badly in high wind.

Euphorbia

Some of the species are weeds, others are shrubs and still others are trees. E. havanensis has triangular branches which are variegated and furnished with spines, and it is much used in Cuba for hedges. E. tiriculli has round stems and very rudimentary leaves, a most curious tree. E. sanguinea has a dense crown of deep, metallic purple foliage. These species are tender.

Ficus

An immense genus of trees, shrubs and vines from the warmer parts of the earth, which furnishes many ornaments for the garden. F. religiosa, which looks like a glorified cottonwood, is the sacred Ti or Bo or Pipal Tree of the Hindus; a rapid grower and quite ornamental. F. elastica is the original India Rubber Tree, much cultivated in rooms and plant houses in the north; here it becomes an immense, wide-spreading tree. F. altissima is a handsome tree with large, glossy leaves; F. pandurata has very large fiddle-shaped foliage and has not long been introduced into Florida. F. bengalensis is the famous Banyan Tree which drops numbers of air roots that establish themselves in the ground until the tree covers a large area. F. rubiginosa, F. macrophylla,

F. Cunninghami, F. Infectoria

F. Cunninghami, F. Infectoria and several others are cultivated in our area. F. parcelii has finely variegated leaves, green, splashed white; F. nymphaefolia has cordate, pointed, glossy leaves a foot in length. All the above are growing in my grounds and are, no doubt, tender. A number of species drop air roots which fasten into the ground and produce banyan trees on a small scale.