River birch is an excellent tree for home landscapes and the peel-
ing bark provides an interesting and unusual landscape feature. Best
landscape use for river birch is for framing, or as a shade or patio
tree. River birch grows well in areas with high water tables; how-
ever, this does not limit its use on other soils if water is provided
during droughts. Insects and diseases are not a problem.

 Bixa orellana. Bixaceae. Annatto or Lipstick Tree. Southern
and Central areas. Deciduous. Tropical America.
 Annatto is a small tree in Florida, seldom attaining a height
greater than 20 feet (Fig. 8). Leaves are simple, broadly ovate, and
up to 7 inches long with long petioles. Rose-colored, peach-like blos-
soms are borne in terminal clusters during November and December.
Fruits are globose, reddish-brown, spiny capsules resembling chestnut
burs and contain an orange-red pulp around seeds.
 In Florida, these trees are grown solely as ornamentals, although
they are best known as the source of a yellow-orange dye which is
extracted from the seeds. Annatto is principally used as a free stand-
ing specimen for its horticultural interest, but may also be included
in shrubbery borders and seaside plantings. Annatto is not reported
to have any serious insect or disease problems.

 Brassaia actinophylla. Araliaceae. Schefflera or Queensland Um-
brella Tree. Southern and Central areas. Evergreen. Australia.
 Mature Schefflera trees have rounded crowns, somewhat umbrella-
like in shape and may reach a height of 40 feet in Florida; however,
20 to 25 feet is more common (Fig. 9). Leaves are large (2 to 3 feet
including petiole) and palmately compound, with 7 to 16 long elliptic
leaflets radiating from an enlarged disk at the petiole apex. Flowers
are small, bright-red and appear in a spectacular, branching inflo-
rescence arising from the stem apices. The inflorescence is made of
narrow, radiating branches of small flower clusters 2 to 4 feet long.
 Schefflera serves well as a framing, patio tree, as a free stand-
ing specimen for tropical effect and as an urn subject for garden,
patio or Florida room. No serious insect or disease problem has been
reported on this tree in Florida.

Fig. 8.-Annatto, Bixa orellana (left) and Fig. 9 schefflera, Brassaia actinophylla.
t- '* .,, 7. -; ,*.JYM .1'