TREES

I often wish I could recognize trees. Many people can. I guess that's one of the things I missed not being a boy scout. While on vacation, I did a little reading on the trees of Florida. Here are a few that I may never be able to recognize but its so fulfilling to know they exist.

The devil's walking stick is a tree in the ginseng family. It has numerous sharp prickles that protrude from the trunk.

The toothache tree is also known as a prickly ash. Either way its a problem.

I bet you didn't know that a sparkleberry, a farkleberry and a huckleberry are all the same tree. I didn't.

It seems the fishfuddle tree was used by early inhabitants to catch fish. It's bark would paralyze the fish and make them easy pickings. Later, these narcotic properties were used to make anesthetic for surgery.

The popcorn tree sounds like something to eat but the milky sap is actually poisonous. Don't try it.

There is also a small shrub known as the maiden's bush. I have no idea where they got the name.