The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1941-02-14

shrubs or small trees OF the To-
Gust tribe, but with blossoms not
pea-shaped; the pods round like
/ a pencil, but curved, and divided
into partitions like the booths IN
restaurant or drug store, each
with a little exclusive party of
seeds. They bloom in clusters
banked in green leaves. There is
a vine with similar flowers that
banks to the upper stories of the
houses, with myriads of yellow
flowers, amid its green. Largest
of the Towering cassiss is the
Candle-flower, with great gold
spires. Poinsettias do not grow
so broad and spreading here as
in other parts of Florida, posi-
bly, because they are cramped for
room, b, t nowhere else have we
seen them so rich and velvety
crimson. There are pink and
white ones, also, of little inter
est except as curiosities.
| And roses? Tea roses of the
finest sorts grow here like black
berries. Seemingly no one gives
them any attention; they make
dense briery bushes with small
flowers that bud and open and
Ipass unnoticed Apparently the
finest florists roses might be
grown here outdoors if regularly
pruned, cut back to two eyes aft
er each Towering, and fertilized
and watered according to regu-
lar florists methods. Perhaps
they are; we see dooryard signs
offering cut roses for sale.
! Catch that sweet scent? It's
like orange blossoms, isn't it; but
sweeter still. That's the Orange
Jessamine, here called Murillo; a
beautiful thing with tiny leaves,
pinnate, shining, and emerald
green. Almost everyone in town
has a big, dense, upright bush
of it; and those perfect square
walled hedges are made of it too.
The week after the Browns left
it was blooming all over town,
and the moonlight nights were
fragrant with the scent of it
drifting here and there. Another
lovely thing that bloomed with it
was the Brdnfelsia. here called
Donna de Noches, .or Galan de
Noches; the Lady or the Gallant
of the Night. It belongs to the
same family as tobacco and pep
pers; and although shrub, has
a multitude of Iong-tubed flowers
like Nicotiana. and little orange
fruits like peppers. The flowers
are white or soft yellow, and very
fragrant at night.
Those big shrubby sunflowersr
gay with rich yellow stars? Lots
of people have them; seems like
they bloom all the time; all win
ter, at least. They come from
Mexico and Central America and
are called Tithonias: but "Mexi-
can sunflowers" in Florida And
here we come to a dense round
stemmed succulent, with few OF
many leaves, and bright little
redbirds perched all along the
tips of the branches. 1t is Pedil-
anthus; commonly used for 9
Towering hedge. And there are
Tecomas with clusters of yellow
trumpets, and dwarf poincianas
in yellow, orange, and crimson
and any number of other flower
ing shrubs, snowy and brilliant
or dainty and delicate; too mum
erous to mention.
Then there are the trees. The
african Tulips, Spathodea, are
gorgeous with big red wreaths Of
flowers ringed around big chry-
santhenum of brown plush. scat
tered over foliage of hush green
Glirieidias: let's run over tc
Georgia street where are lots oil
young ones blooming close to the
ground. See those locust-like
punches of white pea blossoms
stained pink and red? They COW
er the bare limbs for a yard at q
time; just few budding leaves
at the tip. And look at this jun.
gle covering the vacant lots
Sweet scented moonvines bloom.
ing all over II at night, and
glowing purple butterfly peas big
as pansies in daytime Opoponax
shrubs with tiny feathery leaves
and tiny pompons of yellow silk
with warm tropic fragrance
like honeybees. maybe.
And here we have not said q
ward about the vines. with the
boueainvillaeaS iH great sheets oi
purple or red. the showiest of all
Mexican flame vines arch over
stone fences with daisies red, or.
snge. and yellow Chaliee vines
run 80 the roofs with flowers like
gubIets Of white OF ivory yellow,