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in its path. Perhaps its only close rival as a menace to other plants is the strangler fig, of the
dense tropical jungles in the Everglades, which tightens a thick trunk around the tree until it is
dead. When the victim has rotted away, the vine remains a hollow tube.

In parts of west Florida, the small, crooked-trunked, branching titi forms dense growth.
The bushy mangrove is found in deep thickets along the coasts.

The Pines: Commercialized pine, growing in open forests in nearly all regions, is the
State's commonest evergreen, and the basis of lumbering, turpentine, and resin industries. In
northwest Florida is the tall, smooth-barked spruce pine. Slash and longleaf pine grow over the
entire peninsula, and in north and east Florida, keep company with shortleaf and loblolly pine. In
south Florida there is a variety of slash pine, commonly called Caribbean or Cuban pine. Sand
pine seeks the dunes of the coast and sand of the interior, and the pond or black pine, is found in
swamps and on poor soils.

Most of these varieties can be easily identified-the spruce pine by its large trunk and
great height; slash pine by the small branches at its round-topped head, and its glossy, prickly
cones; longleaf by the lustrous, 10-inch needles. The loblolly pine, which is not very common, is
characterized by its deeply furrowed barks. Shortleaf pine is readily distinguished by its short
needles and small cones. Sand pine has a crooked trunk and scrubby appearance while black pine
has darker bark and bears globular cones.