The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1938-02-07

OLlC VI INT kd14cSt CoCl4S III lIlG
country. a hmburger tree. with
fruit that smells and tastes Ike
the famous cheese, a rare cactus
worth $500. small breadfruit
trees, vines and trees, with gor-
geOus clusters of pink, red. white,
blue. purple blooms, palm tree
not listed in literature and the
only star apple tree in the Unit
ed States, are some of the re-
markable botanical wonders to
be seen in the gardens of Miss
Mollie Parker's home, lois South
street.
The beautiful grounds have
around a hundred visitors a week.
Miss Parker said The plants are
watered from a natural sweet wa
ter well from which $1,000 to TO-
600 gallons of water is pumped a
month for the last seven years.
The State Board of Health has
pronounced the well as uncon-
taminated even after its great
output. It was drilled to Is feet,
II feet below sea level and cost
the magnificent sum of $50,
Miss Parker said, denying recent
reports that Key West has a wa
ter shortage. Other plentiful
wells are located on White, Gen.
ter and Fleming streets, she said.
Six years ago there was not a
cultivated tree on the plot of
ground Some have been trans
planted. others grown from
sprouts and seeds. The result is
amazing.
A recent photograph in Nation
al Geographic Magazine showed
a cactus "a feet tall, and stated
that it was one of the taIlest In
the world Miss Parker's is 23is
feet tall and still growing. The
highest section, four feet. has
grown since last July. when if put
out 1l6 buds The cactus is a
night blooming cereus uniformed.
Thorned cereus are also growing
in the beautiful garden.
The limburger tree. known as
the Indian mulberry tree. bears a
greenish, dotted fruit which.
when ripe. splits open and gives
forth the peculiar odor of the
very remarkable cheese. 1t also
tastes exactly like that cheese and
has the same acid tinge.
A bearing b-esdfruit tree is at
500 Francis street, Miss Parker
said She has a number of small
specimens which she thinks viii
be the nucleus of huge groves
grown on the upper Keys in the
near future when someone cap
italics on the remarkable fruit.
The bresdfruif viii not grow
where the temperature falls be-
low 40 degrees. the test of trop-
ical climate being that in which
these trees grow DR.. F. Cook.
principal botsnist with the Plant
Induction Board in Washington.
has told Miss Parker that the
bresdfruit has a number Of uses.
bread being made from il. and
that in Tahiti the natives put IL
under ground. allow il to ferment.
and produce cheese. II is thus the
wheat and milk of the tropics.
This tree is called the queen Of
tropical trees.
The palm tree Miss Parker has.
which is unnamed as yet. Is
beautiful lacy creation II IS one
Of seven varieties. three being Of
the silver palm group and the
other four Of the rougher lesved
type. The silver thstch. the COCO
thrynsx argcnfia. a most elegant
palm. and the thrynax keyensis
are the silver pains. The keyenSis
IS probably not found anywhere
else than in Key West. Miss
Parker stated. Other palms are
the FIoridisnz. sable palmetto.
which IS native 70 the KEYS. and
the James palmetto. with long
stringy trsilerx
The star apple tree has never
been grown n any other place
than KEY West IN tins country. i
IS said TIE tree IN question IS
coming along spiendidly. Mss
Parker stated. ard Is mast cer-
tsinIy going % boon
Tie rare $50 cactus cumes
from . spare q the uphorbia