FLORIDA TORREYA (_Tumion taxifolium_) is often called Chattahoochee pine
in the region where it grows. That name is generally given to the tree
when planted for ornament in yards, parks, and along streets of towns in
northwestern Florida. It is known also as stinking cedar, stinking
savin, and fetid yew. These names are generally applied to the
forest-grown tree, particularly by those who cut it for fence posts,
which is its principal use. Its range is local, being confined largely,
if not wholly, to Gadsden county, Florida, where it grows on limestone
soil. It can never have much importance as a commercial timber, because
it is too scarce. In fact, it is in danger of extermination. Post
cutters never spare it, and its range being so limited, there is not
much hope for it. The interesting and beautiful tree is making a game
fight for life. Many seedlings appear in the vicinity of old trees,
while stumps, and even prostrate trunks, send up sprouts which, if let
alone, grow to tree size. Sprouts on logs and stumps send roots to the
ground as the seedling yellow birch does in damp northern woods. The
yew-like leaves of Florida torreya are one and a half inch or less in
length. The tree blooms in March and April, and the drupe-like fruit, an
inch or more in length, is ripe by midsummer. The tree is from forty to
sixty feet in height, and one to two feet in diameter. It is clothed in
whorls of limbs, beginning near the ground, and tapering to the top. The
wood is clear, bright yellow, the thin sapwood of lighter color; soft,
easily worked, and susceptible of fine polish. It is very durable in
contact with the soil. The green wood, and the bruised leaves and
branches give off an odor suggesting the tomato vine. The texture and
color of the wood indicate that it is well suited for fine cabinet work,
but it is not a figured wood.
[Illustration]
WHITE OAK
[Illustration: WHITE OAK]
WHITE OAK
(_Quercus Alba_)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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