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smooth-trunked species contains camphor, useful as an antiseptic, and is grown for this purpose
in China. Another native of China, the low china-berry tree is a common shade tree in rural areas.
It bears lilac-colored flowers and yellow berries in April.

China also has given Florida a tree of growing commercial importance, the tung oil tree.
This small, pink-blossoming species produces the tung nut. The oil from its seeds is used in the
manufacture of varnishes, paints, oilcloth, linoleum, and a great variety of waterproofing
materials. Introduced and developed in Florida by the State Agricultural Experiment Station, the
tree is planted in large groves in the vicinity of Gainesville. In 1938 the State's total output of
tung oil was estimated at approximately 1,000,000 pounds.

None is more decorative than the graceful Paradise tree, found in lower Florida. During
the spring the low, rounded head of this tropical species is overspread with clusters of small,
yellow flowers. West Florida has among others, the dainty redbud, with red-brown bark and
pink flowers. The Australian pine, forming an excellent windbreak, and the silk oak are popular
highway ornamentals in south Florida.

Palms. The palms of south Florida comprise a natural symbol of our nearness to the
tropics. The most beautiful is the tall royal palm, with its light-gray trunk tapering upward from
an enlarged base to an upper shaft of bright green. The leaves of the large, arching crown are
deep green, and sometimes 12 feet in length.

The crooked-trunk coconut palm is highly favored both for it nuts