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HOME | CHAMPION TREES TOUR | TAMARIND TRAIL TOUR | DESBIENS POND TOUR | NEWS
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The Tamarind Trail Tour takes you through the west end of the garden to a long- established area, where you will see many large trees. Here you will find a mixture of native and exotic trees, including two National Champion trees, the Locust-berry and the Wild Dilly. To reach the trail from the parking lot, walk straight ahead following the blue arrows to the Tamarind Trail. The plants we have identified for your attention are numbered sequentially: |
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1. Poisonwood
Metopium toxiferum. Native.
As indicated by the name, all parts of this tree are poisonous. The poison is
a resin, visible on the gray or reddish bark as dark oily splotches. The tree
has dark, green, glossy, wedge-shaped leaflets hanging from the stem, usually
in a cluster of five. They are often blotched with irregular spots of the black
resin. The small creamy-white blossom clusters develop into oval, dull orange
fruit, greatly favored by the White Crowned Pigeon. More and larger Poisonwood
trees grow near Desbiens Pond and in the hammock.
2. Sea Grape
Coccoloba uvifera. Native.
This species grows as a sprawling shrub or a low tree with large leathery, round
leaves. They turn green and then red before they fall from the tree. The little
yellowish- green or white flowers grow on a raceme or stalk 6 to 12 inches long.
the purple fruits, which ripen one-at-a-time, are said to make an excellent
jelly. Fruits resemble a grape cluster, giving the tree its common name.
3. Black Ironwood
Krugiodendron ferreum. Native.
As its name implies, this tree has very dense, heavy wood. Because the specific
gravity of its wood is 1.45, it does not float in water. It has gray bark. The
leaves are thick, dark, and heavy with a blunt notched end. They sometimes appear
tattered because they may remain on the tree for several years. A small yellow-green
flower becomes a black round fruit with a single seed.
4. Spanish Stopper
Eugenia foetida. Native.
"Stoppers" is the name given to a group of native trees that grow
in the shady understory of the hammock. The name "stopper" comes from
the former use of parts of the tree to make a tea which was used as an antidote
to a purgative. The leaves are fragrant. The small white flowers cluster on
the branch and develop into one-quarter inch red or black fruits which are attractive
to many birds.
5. Pigeon Plum
Coccoloba diversifolia. Native.
The Pigeon Plum, another favorite food of the White Crown Pigeon, has large
shiny leaves which vary in shape and size. The bark is gray, beige, and brown
and it falls off in patches. The fruit is small and round, purple or black.
Pigeon Plum is related to the Sea Grape; both species have a clasping petiole
that wraps around the branch.
6. Wild Dilly
Manilkara bahamensis. Native.
This evergreen tree or shrub has wood that is heavy, hard, strong, and close-
grained. Frequently found in coastal hammocks, the tree is salt tolerant. Flowers
are light yellow and form drooping clusters. The brown, rough-skinned fruit
is one inch in diameter and globe shaped. The leaves are two to four inches
long and are leathery, dull, and dark green. They cluster at the ends of the
branches. This tree is a relative of the more well-known Sapodilla, whose white,
sticky latex contains chicle, an ingredient in chewing gum.
7. Tamarind
Tamarindus indica. Introduced.
This large evergreen tree, a native of India, has feathery yellow-green leaves
and long brown seed pods. These pods hang on the tree long after they are mature.
Their sticky pulp has a long culinary history and is used in steak sauces, chutneys,
drinks, and in the manufacture of bitters. Here in the Keys the pulp is often
added to "fruit cut-up." The delicate flowers, which open in March, are white
and coral with very long stamens and a soft perfume.
8. Milk Bark
Drypetes diversifolia. Native.
This tree has dense, heavy wood that was used for wharf pilings because it was
not damaged by shipworms. . It grows to 30 feet or more and is usually found
in hammocks. The bark is white and may be marked with colorful or black lichens.
The leaves have raised veins and may take different shapes and sizes as indicated
by the botanical name, diversifolia. Flowers are tiny and appear in dense
clusters in the leaf axils in May and June. The single-stoned fruits are ivory-white
and oval in shape. Because there are two main flowering periods, one in spring
and one in autumn, it sometimes happens that fruits and flowers may occur on
the tree at the same time.
9. Cinnamon Bark
Canella winterana. Native.
An ENDANGERED species, this attractive hardwood tree has thick, leathery, bright
green leaves. The inner bark and leaves emit a spicy odor. This characteristic
of the inner bark gives it commercial use as "Wild Cinnamon Bark," a substitute
for cinnamon, to which it is similar. The flowers, consisting of five small
petals, occur in colors from white to red to purple. The fruit is bright red.
10. Gumbo Limbo
Bursera simaruba. Native.
A large fast-growing tree, the Gumbo Limbo has a thick trunk, wide crown, and
reddish-brown, papery, peeling bark. Sometimes called the tourist tree, it is
semi-deciduous. The small greenish-white flowers, which occur in panicles, produce
dark red fruits. Historically the resin was widely used in home remedies and
it is said to be an antidote for poisonwood- induced rash. The sap was used
to make glue and varnish. The leaves were used for tea.
11. Locustberry
Byrsonima lucida. Native.
This tree, because it is a Champion Tree, is quite different from the usual
members of this genera. It is most often seen as a part of the South Florida
pineland flora in the form of a spreading shrub. In the hammocks of the Florida
Keys, it occurs as a small tree. It is listed as ENDANGERED. The one- or two-inch
obovate leaves are dark green and shiny on the upper side but dull and light
green below. The tiny flowers occur in clusters with claw-like petals that last
for several days. Initially they are white or pink; they then change to yellow
and finally to crimson. Flowering generally occurs in the spring.
12. Woman's Tongue
Albizia lebbeck. Introduced.
This native of tropical Asia and Australia has become naturalized in the Keys.
It thrives so well here that it sometimes reaches a height of 50 feet or more.
A fast growing tree, it has foot-long brown seed pods which clatter in the wind
when they have dried; the clatter is a distinguishing characteristic of this
large tree and may be responsible for its common name. The leaves are light
green, pinnately compound and form an attractive pattern against the sky. The
flowers are pale yellow and reminiscent of a powder puff.
13. Lignum Vitae
Guaiacum sanctum. Native.
Amazing characteristics of this slow-growing tree are that it has a resin content
of 30% and a specific gravity of 1.25. It is so dense that it doesn't float
in salt water. This high resin content gives the wood a self-lubricating quality,
making it useful for mechanical devices such a shaft bearings and pulleys. It
was used for centuries as a medicinal and at one time was thought to be a cure
for syphilis. These attributes, real or imagined, created such a demand that
the tree has been placed on the ENDANGERED list. The leaves are dark green and
glossy and the pairs of leaves all occur in the same plane. The small flowers,
which occur in March or April, are bright blue with five twisted petals. They
are followed by five-lobed capsular green fruits, which ripen to yellow in autumn.
These split open and reveal black seeds, each of which show a bright red aril
thought to be attractive to birds. This tree
14. Blolly
Guapira discolor. Native.
This small tree, common to hammocks, may also occur as a large shrub. Many vertical
twigs often appear on the branches. The light green leaves vary in shape and
size and have a translucent midrib with inconspicuous veins and wavy margins.
The greenish-yellow flowers are tubular with no petals, and the red fleshy fruits
are oval-shaped with ten ribs.
15. Purge Nut Thicket
Ximenia americana. Native.
This spiny spreading shrub, a common species of the hammocks of the Keys, is
widely distributed throughout the tropics of the Americas, Africa, and Australia.
The branches are heavily spined. The yellowish-green leaves are one to three
inches long and the petiole or leaf stem is grooved. The small pale yellow flowers
occur in clusters of four to six on a long stalk. The yellow plum-like fruit
can be found year round. The roasted seed of this fruit has a purgative effect,
thus leading to the common name. This species is a partial root parasite, meaning
that it forms a haustoria, an absorptive structure, on the root which attaches
to and penetrates the roots of nearby plants and obtains food from them.
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