July-November 1897, Botany Trip with Sargent and Canby Image 34

trees, sending down innumerable roots mixed with fine grape vines, Gumbo limbo, Earsia simi; the so - called bay with oak - like bark (pale gray) bright shiny lves is one of finest of the trees here. Many fine Cocopalms planted hereabouts, the handsomest of all palms, not native. The royal v beautiful, somewhat like Coco and is native; Sargent palm and many others besides palmettos, here are some lves beautifully silvery. Lemons, orange and lime native and v ab along raod in woods mixed with other trees. The Pawpaw a queer muggings, palm like crown of large lobed fig - like lves and yellow spangling racemes of flwers and green fruit 3 to 4 inches long 2 dia yel when ripe, dropped close about the stem beneath the lves and flrs stem marked with scars of lves, stalks occasionally 4 to 5 inches dia, mostly smaller 2 to 3 inch and 15 to 20 ft high. Jumbo limbo a rather ugly irregular trunked tree with mean dingy red bark, a species of thus with handsome glossy lves ab in these woods and v poisonous. Gordonia farther N. Called at Kirk Monroe’s place near Cocoanut Grove; he has been here 10yrs, sometimes staying all summer; lives on Mellins Food and writes 2 or 3 books a year; has nice home, palmy, fine spring on coral, bananas, orange, lemons, etc; has charming wife, Scotch, born in Glasgow, made eggnog, gave me first glass as the talker, etc. made 2d visit P.M. At Hotel met traveler studying rubber; crossed S America 3 times. Rubber trees killed by carelessly wounding them, cutting thro’ the bark, weevil gets in and kills them. Rubber is now the most valuable tree products next to gold most important of all. One kind of mango very handsome when young, fine glossy lves like magnolia, seeds germinate on tree and frop into water, root and sinks and strikes into mud, leaf end out of water. Black mango less beautiful. [Nov 14]. Going down to coast to Key West.https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/jmj-all/3567/thumbnail.jp