^ y i JUlivJ B TN^d^NV U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DIVISION OF BOTANY. CONTRIBUTIONS FKOM THE U. S. NATIONAL HERBARIUM Vol. VI. Issued July 31, 1901. PLANT LIFE OF ALABAMA. AN ACCOUNT OF THE DISTRIBUTION, MODES OF ASSOCIATION, AND ADAPTATIONS OF THE FLORA OF ALABAMA, TOGETHER WITH A SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE OF THE PLANTS GROWING IN THE STATE. Prepared in cooperation with lliu Gwilutfk'al Survey of Alabama By CHARLES MOHR, Ph. D. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1901 . LKTTKR OF TRANSMJTTAL U. S. Department of Agriculture, Division or Botany, ngton, J). 6'., January 1900. Sir: Under date of November S, 1897, a letter was received from Dr. Eugene A. Smith, State Geologist of Alabama, as follows: In connection with the work of the < ieologieal Survey of Alabama, and as a part thereof, Dr. Charles Mohr, of Mobile, lias prepared an elaborate account of the plant life in the State. Deeming thin work a most important and timely contribution to our knowledge of the Southern flora, as it di ecu wee* the character, distribution, and general asj>ects of plant life in Alabama in a broad and philosophical manner, I believe that it would prove of interest to a larger .section of our country than the region to which it is confined by its title. In order to secure, therefore, a more wide- spread distribution, allow me to suggest the propriety of publishing it as one of the contributions from the United States .National Herbarium. I may add that I am induced to offer this valuable manuscript for publication to the National Herbarium because under present financial conditions of the State Survey its publication would orobablv be delaved for an indefinite time, and thus its immediate usefulness would i V 4-' ' be impairs!. Dr. Mohr is now and has been for several years a special agent of the Division of Forestry of this Department, and there being, there- fore, no obstacle in the way of accepting this manuscript, I earnestly recommend compliance with the courteous suggestion of the State geologistof Alabama, Dr. Smith, and 1 desire to take this opportunity of acknowledging the obligations of this Division, both to Dr. Smith and to Dr. Mohr. The report is in part a complete enumeration of the plants of Ala- bama and in part a discussion of the various natural belts and areas of vegetation into which the State is divided, with a full description of the vegetative characteristics of each. I have, therefore, the honor to transmit the manuscript for your final approval, and recommend its publication as Volume VI of our series of Contributions. Respectfully, Frederick V. Coville, Botan int. Hon. .James Wilson, Sec Mart/ <> f Aw > h ^ f H ■ PREFACE. The following description of the plant life of Alabama is the result of nearly forty years of sojourn and wanderings through the State, during which all parts were visited and the collections were made that serve as a basis of this work. The writer has attempted more than has been usual in the descrip- tive works and the various floras of regions or States of this continent. He thought it not sufficient to give inerelv an enumeration of the plants known to be indigenous, together with those which are known as immigrants growing without cultivation in the State, and to supple- ment such enumeration with notes on geographical distribution and habitat, but he has attempted a deeper study, that of the relations of plant life in the field; that is, of its ecological conditions. In this attempt the work of Merriam on the life zones and areas of the North American continent north of Mexico1 and Willkoinm's "Grundzuege der Pflanzenverbreitung auf der iberischen Halbinsel (Leipzig, have served as a general basis in respect to the dis- tribution of plant life over wide geographical areas and limited regions embraced within them. The writer has been especially fortunate in having been able to con- sult, before the completion of his task, the classic work of Warming,2 which may be considered as laying down for the first time, in a sys- tematic manner, the principles of plant ecology. While these prin- ciples had been more or less foreshadowed by other writers, they were enunciated by Warming with such logical precision as to inaugu- rate a new departure in the study of plant life. Since these methods of viewing plant life have not yet become familiar to most students of botanv, it has seemed necessarv to discuss them somewhat in detail in the introductory part of this volume. It is hoped that by describing the plant associations to be found in the different localities, not only the primary object of a floral work as a part of a geological survey will be subserved, but a new interest will be added to the study of botany, both for the botanist and the thought- ful layman, which may enable them to use the volume for practical purposes. 1 See p. 20. a I)r. E. Warming, Lelirlmch der (Vkolojrif-cheii Pflanzengeographie, German edition of I>r. K. Knoblauch, Berlin, lSWi. 5 6 PREFACE In the preparation of this work the writer is indebted for assistance, first of all, to Dr. A. W. Chapman, the veteran Southern botanist; to Prof. Charles S. Sargent for aid rendered in the free use of the library of the Arnold Arboretum and advice in perplexing questions of nomenclature, and to Mr. Charles Faxon, of the Arnold Arboretum, for bibliographical assistance; to Dr. N. L. Britton and Dr. J. K. Small, of the Columbia University; to Dr. William Trelease, of the Missouri Botanical Garden; to Prof. F. Lamson-Scribner, chief of the Division of Agrostology, United States Department of Agriculture; to Mr. F. V. Coville, chief of the Division of Botany, and his assistant Mr. T. II. Kearney, jr.; and to Dr. J. N. Rose and Mr. Charles L. Pollard, assistant curators of the National Herbarium, for facilities afforded; also to Dr. Edward L, Greene, of the Catholic Universitv. for his revision of 7 Mr doubtful and new forms of Compositae; and to Prof. L. H. Bailey for his help in Car ex. Thanks are due, also, to Dr. B. K. Fernow. late chief of the Division of Forestry, for help rendered in the arrangement of the general part of the work for the press, and to Mr. George B. Sudworth, dendrologist of that Division; and lastly to Mr. C. D Beadle, director of the Biltmore Herbarium, and his associate, Mr. F. E. Bovnton, for their assistance while consulting the Biltmore Herbarium and Library. The writer with pleasure takes this occasion to express his gratitude for the friendlv aid extended to him bv manv of his fellow-citizens while engaged in the Held, and to President Milton Smith, of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, to the Hon. T. (i. Bush, president of the Mobile and Birmingham Railway, and to Col. K. L. Russell, presi- dent of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, for courtesies liberally extended to him in his travels through the State. Without the aid received from these sources the appearance of this volume could not have been accomplished. Charles Mohk. C 0 X T H N T S. Fajte. Introduction 11 History of the present botanical exploration of Alabama. 11 Plan of the present work .... 12 Systematic arrangement . 12 Nomenclature .. 13 History of the earlier botanical explorations of Alabama 13 William Bartram . ... 13 Samuel Botsford Buckley , 1(> J Fezekiah Gates 10 Thomas Minott Peters. 17 Beaumont, Xevius, and recent collectors. . 17 General physiographieal features of the State 18 Topography and geology 18 The Coastal Plain . 18 Region of Crystalline Rocks 19 Region of the Coal Measures 20 Region of the Coosa Valley 21 Region of Tennessee Valley 21 River system 22 Tennessee River 22 Alabama River . 23 Tnmbigbee River. 23 Coosa River. 24 Cahaba River and smaller streams 24 Climate 24 Temperature 25 Rainfall 26 Winds 26 Cloudiness 27 General principles of the distribution of plants 28 Plant zones of Humboklt, based on isothermal lines 28 Life zones established by Merriam 29 Boreal region 30 Arctic or Arctic-Alpine zone 30 Hudsonian zone 301 Canadian zone SO- Austral region 31 Transition zone 31 Upper Austral zone . 31 Lower Austral zone - 32 Tropical region 33 Secondary factors influencing plant distribution - 33 Distribution of species as depending upon geological history 34 7 8 CONTENTS General principles of the distribution of plants—Continued. 1'njje. Plant formations and plant associations 35 Hydrophytic plant associations 37 Xerophytic plant associations 37 Halophytic plant associations* . 37 Mesophvtic plant associations 1 37 General character of the flora of Alabama 37 Systematical relation* 3S i ■ Kndemic plants 3S Relationship of the Alabama flora to that of adjoining regions 30 Relationship of the Alabama flora to foreign floras 30 Eastern Asia 30 West Indies, Mexico, South America „ 41 Kurope and the Mediterranean region 43 Biological and ecological relations 44 Forest flora 44 Shrubby plant associations 44 Arboreal plant associations 45 Open land or campestrian flora (xerophile plant associations) 48 Water and swamp flora (hydrophytic plant associations) 4.s Hvdrocharidean class 48 Lithophytic and limnjean classes 49 Pal list rian classes 40 < >rganotopie flora... SO Epiphytic plant associations r>0 Saprophvtic and symbiotic plant associations 51 Parasitic plant associations.. 52 insectivorous plants 52 Introduced plants and their influence upon native plant associations . 53 Naturalized plants . 53 Adventive plants . 54 Fugitive plants 55 Plant distribution in Alabama 5f> Carolinian area or flora . 57 Mountain region 5H Ranges of hills of the Metamorphic and older Paleozoic strata 5S Table-lands of the Warrior and Coosa Basins . (50 Phypiographical features and climate . t>0 Vegetation of the plateaus, mountain shapes, and higher valleys.. 70 Region of the Tennessee River Valley SO Physiographical features and climate ... SO Vegetation of the table-lands and higher ridges 81 Vegetation of the lowlands, coves, and bluffs SU Vegetation of the barrens and river hills ss Cultural plant formations SO Region of the Lower Hill country 80 Gravelly hills of short-leaf pine and hardwood trees iK) Coal Measures of the Caliaba Valley and Warrior Wisin 00 Louisianian area or flora . 04 Region of the Central Pine belt 0(> Central Prairie region 07 Physiograpliical features 07 Xerophile forests OH Mesophile forests 99 r CONTENTS. 9 Plant distribution in Alabama—Continued. Louisianian area or flora—Continued. Central Prairie region—Continued. I'tige. Mesopliile herbaceous plant associations 102 Campestrian plant associations 104 Cultural plant formations 105 Maritime Pine region 106 Upper division of the Coast Pine belt, or region of mixed tree- growth 106 Lower division of the Coast Pine belt, or lower region of long- leaf pine 110 Physiographical features and climate 110 Rolling pine uplands or dry pine barrens 112 Pine-barren flats and hydrophytH' plant associations 116 Region of the Coast plain or low flat pine barrens 11S Littoral belt 129 Cultural plant formations of the Lower Pine region and Coast plain 138 Systematic catalogue of the plants growing without cultivation in the State, including descriptions of new, rare, and little known secies 139 Slime molds 139 Algae 142 Fungi 148 Lichens 203 I liverworts „. 284 Mosses 289 Fernlike plants 310 True flowering and seed-bearing plants 323 The spontaneous flora of Alabama in its relation to agriculture 821 List of the plants cultivated in Alabama 825 Paffe. Plate I. Map of Alabama, showing floral areas and distribution of forest trees Frontispiece. II. Sagittaria Ion 58 VIII. Oldenlandta littoral is Mohr 737 IX. Hiemcinm seribneri Small 752 X. Eupatortumsmithii Greene A Mohr 7(51 XI. Eujmtorium mohrii Greene . 762 XII. Silphium mohrii Small 793 XIII. Silphium gatesii Mohr 793 10 PLANT LIFE OF ALABAMA INTRODUCTION. HISTORY OF THE PRESENT BOTANICAL EXPLORATION OF ALABAMA. In 1879 the botanical collections made by the State geologist of Ala- bama, Dr. Eugene A. Smith, in the northern section of the State, were submitted to the writer for classification, with the request that he bike charge of the investigation of the flora of Alabama in connection with the Geological Survey. Having accepted this duty, the formation of a Normal Herbarium of the State was undertaken. To this end the collections of the writer, made in the Coastal plain, and particularly in the Lower Pine region and Littoral belt, were incorporated with the above collections, and thus the foundation was laid for the Normal Herbarium of the Geological Survey of the State, deposited in the Museum of the University of Alabama, which has served as a basis for this report. Subsequently, and during a long series of years, the writer has worked singly in the Held at such intervals as his official tJ 4j duties would permit. Engaged in the investigation of the forests for the United States Census in 1880 and 1881, and later in making collec- tions for the exhibits of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, at the Exposition in Louisville, and the Cotton Exposition at New Orleans in 1884 and 1885, extensive collections of plants were made and advan- tage was taken of the opportunities for the study of plant life in the field in all the different regions of the State. Further facilities in the same direction were enjoyed from 1890 to 18% while engaged in the study of the forests and in the collection of the material for timber tests under the direction of Dr. Fernow, then chief of the Division of Forestry, Department of Agriculture. During the summer and fall of 189^ several special trips to investi- gate more closely the flora of the State were undertaken for the Geo- £5 *■ logical Survey of the State. These trips included visits to the so-called Canebrake (Central Prairie) region, the basin of the Coosa River, the eastern part of the mountain region, and the Tennessee Valley. In 18% a visit was paid to the Chehawhaw Mountain and the higher val- leys and denuded plains in Clay County, the most elevated district in the State. Very desirable contributions have been received during 11 12 PLANT LIFE OF ALABAMA. recent years from Prof. M. C, Wilson, of the Normal School at Flor- ence. The large collections made in 18VH>, and in the early part of the following season, by the biologists of the Agricultural Experiment Station, under the auspices of the Biological Survey of Alabama, con- nected with the Agricultural and Mechanical College at Auburn, and kindly submitted to the writer for examination, afforded many plants from localities not represented before in the Normal Herbarium, and from a section of the State of peculiar interest to the student of plant distribution, but heretofore almost unknown to botanists. They included a number of forms not previously observed in the State, some of them new to science. PLAN" OF THE PRESENT WORE. In the gene nil part of the work a short sketch of the physiographical features of the State precedes a chapter on the general aspect of the flora of Alabama, and its relation to that of adjoining States, and to the continental and extra-continental floras. In the paragraphs on geological and climatic conditions, the publications of the Geological Survev of the State and of Prof. P. H. Mell, in charge of the meteor- * I1 ological service of the State, have been depended upon. In the general discussion of the geographical distribution of plants, the principles leading Dr. Merriam to the establishment of his life zones on the North American Continent north of Mexico have been adopted, these having already been successfully applied in the investi- gation of the distribution of animal as well as plant life in the part of our country west of the basin of the Mississippi River by Messrs. Merriam and Covillc. The delimitation of the floral divisions of the State introduced by the writer can only be regarded as tentative. The area, as yet. has been but superficially explored, and in many parts the borders of the divisions are but obscurely outlined, and need to be cleared up and rectified, while several gaps remain to be tilled. No effort has been spared to ascertain the distribution of each species and variety known from the State, first, over the globe, then, within the life zones of this continent, and last, within the floral divisions of the State, For this purpose the leading works on systematic botany, particularly North American botany, and all the available State and local floras and catalogues have been consulted. SYSTEMATIC AKRANGKMENT. In the catalogue of the plants growing without cultivation in Ala- bama the natural svstem of Engler and Prantl1 has been followed. * ~ This embodies the results of the latest investigations of the natural relations of plants and their affinities in the light of the development 1 Kii«rlt*r uiitl Prantl, Pit' Xatuerlii'lu'ii HlanziMifaivulii'ii. 1SS7 t<» 1W0. EARLIER BOTANICAL EXPLORATIONS 13 of life from the lowest to the highest forms, the truly natural order, and at the present time generally accepted as such by biologists. The study of plants is now coming to be generally conducted in accordance with these views, and the natural system of the vegetable kingdom, as 7 i- % .. O ■■ enunciated in the classical work cited, has already been adopted in the most important works on descriptive botany in this country which have lately made their appearance, and will without doubt be followed in similar publications during another generation. NOMENCLATURE. In nomenclature the principle of priority, regarded as the funda- mental one, is strictly adhered to in the present work. This was first advocated bv De (Jan do lie at the International Botanical Congress at Paris in L8f>7, and its application was developed by American botanists at the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science at Rochester, in 18U2, and through the rules reported by the committee on nomenclature which were adopted at the next meeting of the botanical club of the association held at Madison, Wis., in August, L8!*3, The applications of plants to the use of man are briefly alluded to under the abbreviated head of Economic, and a list of the cultivated plants of the State is given at the close of the volume. The fuller treatment of the relations of the plant life of Alabama to the necessi- ties or comfort of mankind was at first contemplated as a part of this volume, but. on account of the expansion of the other matter, has had to be deferred, HISTORY OF THE EARLIER BOTANICAL EXPLORATIONS OF ALABAMA. In regard to its vegetable productions Alabama, like the rest of the territory fronting the Gulf of Mexico east of the Mississippi, remained until the last quarter of the eighteenth century a terra incognita. WILLIAM liARTUAM. The first description of these productions is given by William Bar tram,' in his account of his memorable travels through the South- ern States, in the years 1773 to 1778, This intrepid explorer of the botanv of Southeastern North America entered the State to all t' appearance somewhere near the middle of its eastern border, at the old Muscogee town Uche (the site of which can at present not be exactly located), after a journey of three days reaching the Indian settlements at Tallassee on the Tallapoosa River. In his account of his travels from the Tallapoosa Valley to the coast Bart rani depicts most graphically the 1 Travels through North ami South Carolina. r{f<>ru), and for this reason was described by this author as Jfi/t't'ea inodora. Sick with fever, he went in search of a plant of great repute as a remedy against malarial diseases. This he found about 30 miles higher up on the banks of the river, growing under the shelter of Stwirtui virgin- icf/) azaleas, and others of the shrubs noticed lief ore. He recognized it as a species of Collinsonia.1 and named it ( '. tntimttt* on account of the fine scent of the plant, reminding one of sweet anise and lemon. There he also found the blue sage, "with its spikes of flowers of celestial blue, ' the scarlet calamintha (Ch'rtop/tdnnir cocr/H/ ifta). and a plant of peculiar beauty described as (irrtii'dUi lhtnmuos easily rec- ognized by his description as J[tit n graduate of the University of Alabama, was engaged in the practice of law until his death, June 14, 1888. lie served his State us a representa- tive in the legislative assembly and afterwards as a State senator. In 18(i!J he was appointed a judge of the supreme court for a term of six years. In his love for botany he found recreation from his profes- sional duties, and his greatest enjoyment was to wander through the adjaeent mountains in search of plants. The study of lichens and fungi attracted him particularly, and he was one of the few my eulo- gists working in the Southern field along with Curtis and Kavenel. Of his zeal and activity in this line the long list of Southern fungi of his contribution, published by M. A, Curtis and Berkeley, bears ample testimony. He was also a close observer and accurate student of the *-■ plants of higher orders. He first brought to light the delicate and extremely rare fern, Triehohuutc* pcterxii, described by Gray, with others like it hidden in the dark recesses of rockv defiles and the so- called " rock houses."1 He gave close attention to the species of Carex, furnishing the investigators of this diilicult genus with material from a region unknown to botanists. In acknowledgment of the services rendered him, Boott, of London, one of the first authors on these plants, presented him with a copy of his magnificent work, Illustrations of the Genus Carex. These classical and valuable volumes Judge Peters bequeathed to the University of Alabama, his alma mater, together with his mycological herbarium and collection of Carices, all mounted and labeled. In 1NN0 the writer had the privilege of enjoying the company of this venerable botanist during his investigations of the forests in Lawrence and Winston counties, and also received from him much valuable information on the mountain flora of the State, made use of in the present work. BEAUMONT, NEVIUS, AND RECENT COLLECTORS. John F. Beaumont, of German extraction, was born in Pennsylva- nia in 1S25. Judge Peters speaks of Beaumont as a man of a fair clas- sical education, an enthusiastic student of botanv, and a contributor to * * our knowledge of Alabama plants who, following his own example, became the active correspondent of Tuckerman and the other botanists already named. After some years spent as a missionary in Africa, he returned to Alabama, where he taught school. He died at Troy about the close of the civil war. He discovered that interesting grass, Lvzioht ahib(niien!, and also bv those made the fol- lowing spring and summer by Professors Earle and Carl F. Baker. GENERAL PHYSIOGRAPHICAL FEATURES OF THE STATE. TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY.1 Alabama, extending from the shores of the Gulf of Mexico in lati- tude 30° 31' to the rim of the highlands of Tennessee under the thirty-fifth parallel of latitude, presents two well-marked divisions which nearly coincide with the northern and southern halves of the State, and which are readily distinguished by climatic differences, topographical features, and geological structure, and by the aspect of the vegetation corresponding with these conditions. The upper or northern division embraces the mountainous region of the State, which offers great complexity in its geological formation, almost every stratum of the various geological epochs being here represented. This gives rise to greater diversity of topography and soil than exists in any other of the Gulf States, thus producing that variety of resources which gives Alabama such a prominent position among her sister States. The lower division, which occupies the southern half of the State, can be considered as a vast plain of great uniformity in its general features; gently undulating where the loose sedimentary strata of the Post-Tertiary formations prevail, and broken where the cherty ridges of the Tertiary and Cretaceous rocks offered greater resistance to *■ o erosion by water. THE COASTAL PLAIN. The sedimentary strata forming the Coastal plain cover three-fifths of the area of the State. In the lower part, in Mobile and Baldwin counties, this plain rises in gentle swells to 300 feet above the tide- water region, reaching at its northern limit an average elevation of about 500 feet above the sea. For a distance of from 80 to 100 miles from the seashore this plain is almost entirely covered with the man- tle of sands and gravels of the Lafayette formation, the oldest of the Post-Tertiary strata, which give rise to soils varying from almost pure sand to loamy sand and generous sandy loams, and support a rather uniform but magnificent vegetation of coniferous trees. To the north of these terrains appear the limestones and marls of the 'Drawn chiefly from thi' Reports of the Geological Purvey of Alabama, 1S7~) to 189U, by E. A. Smith, State Geologist. COASTAL PLAIN AND REGION OF CRYSTALLINE ROCKS. 19 Tertiary formation, slightly dipping south and southeast. The warm, fertile, calcareous soils resulting from admixtures of these strata with the Lafayette loams support an arboreal vegetation of varied char- acter. The lower members of this formation, Buhrstone strata, con- sisting of hard, flinty limestones, render the surface of the plain broken by chertv hills which rise above the underlying lignite marls. Further north these hills merge into the cretaceous plain, or u Black Belt," so tallied on account of the black lime soil, the great agricul- tural region of the State. This Black Belt is followed by a belt of gravels and sand, partly of the lowermost Cretaceous (Tuscaloosa) for- mation, partly of the Lafayette formation, in which sandy loams pre- vail, and which is from 5 to 30 miles in width, widening at its western border, where it .suddenly takes a northern direction and forms the geological feature of that section of the State to the Tennessee River. This central belt of sands and pebbles forms the northern border of the great Coastal plain, separating the Paleozoic from the Mesozoic formations. Through its souther n portion runs the borderline between the two principal biological divisions of the State, the Austroripariau or Louisianian life area and the Carolinian life area (Merriam). North of this Coastal plain rise the highlands of Alabama with their mineral wealth, which cover about two-fifths of the area of the State. The first terrace of this mountainous region forms the so-called Fall line." Here the head of river navigation is reached, the tributaries of the Tombigbee and Alabama in this region making their way over rocky obstructions, over shoals and through rapids, to the main chan- nels of the extensive drainage area south of the Tennessee River. REGION OF CRYSTALLINE KOCKS. Ascending this terrace at the falls of the Tallapoosa River, the most easterly of the tributaries of the Alabama, the region of crystalline or metamorphic rocks is reached. This extreme southern extension of the eastern Appalachian ranges consists of a congeries of crystal- line rocks, to a small extent granitic, mostly of stratified gneiss, micaceous schists, argillaceous shales, and quartzites, wrinkled by many folds and deeply furrowed by the effects of erosion. The different degrees of resistance to this agency offered by these various rocks give rise to an ever-changing configuration of the surface, and to wide variations in the mechanical and chemical conditions of the soil. The folds of the highly siliceous slates and quartzites form sharp crested ridges of an elevation not reached in any other part of the State, while the stratified gncissic rocks and clayey slates most prone to decay under atmospheric influences form the undulating uplands. The sandy soils derived from the first men- tioned siliceous rocks, often intermixed with the angular fragments of quartz and hard slates, render the surface obdurately sterile: while 20 PLANT LIFE OF ALABAMA. the latter rocks, decomposed and converted in xitn into stratified clays, form the. deep, warm soil of a region noted for its fertility. The metamorphic region extends without any interruption from the central belt of sands and gravels along the eastern border of the State nearlv to its northern botindarv. t- ft. liKClON OF THK COAL MKASITKKN. 4 The largest portion of the northern part of the State is occupied by the Coal Measures. There are three coal fields recognized, more or less separatee! bv other formations which will be presently referred to. The most southern of these fields is the Cahaba coal field, beginning above the shoals of the Cahaba River. This field is separated from the Warrior field bv the Birmingham or Jones Vallev toward the * O h. northwest, and from the Coosa coal field bv the Cahaba Vallev toward * * -ft the southeast. The southern outlines of this region are extreme!v broken: the strata of the steep rugged hills disturbed by many folds and faults are deeply furrowed by erosion. The principal part of this region is formed by the Warrior coal field, a triangular area, with the .southern corner at the shoals of the Warrior near Tuscaloosa. The topographical features of the western field are of much greater uni- formity than those of the. Cahaba field. In the lower part of the basin proper, where soft shales overlie the lower conglomerate of the Coal Measures, the surface is undulating, the highest swells rising most frequently to low hills. Toward the north the hills pass gradu- ally into the table-lands formed bv the heavv bedded sandstones of the upper conglomerate, which exhibit an almost horizontal stratifica- tion. These table-lands are the flattened summits of the several con- verging spurs of the Appalachian chain, know n north of the Tennessee River as the Cumberland Mountains and south of the river as the Sand Mountains: the latter with escarpments fronting the Tennessee Vallev toward the north, and toward the southeast, Blounts Vallev, which is formed by the southern extension of the Sequatehee fold. The table-land lying between Mounts Valley and Big Wills Valley in the southeast is known as the Raccoon Mountain. The table-land of the range forming the eastern border of Big Wills Valley is known as Lookout Mountain, the steep escarpment of which fronts the Coosa Vallev. n~- This highland area of the Coal Measures presents in its general aspect a somewhat rolling plateau. It rises to an elevation of from 1,000 to a little over 2,000 feet above the adjacent valleys. It slopes gently away from the greatest elevations in the north to the north- western limits of the region, where the Coal Measures disappear under the deposits of more recent formations; and to the south, where it passes gradually into the lower hills in the Warrior coal basin proper. COOS A AND TENNESSEE VALLEYS 21 HEGION OF THE COOSA VALLEY. Between the region of crystalline rocks and the region of the Coal Measures a narrow area inserts itself, extending in a southwesterly direction along the course of the Coosa River for a distance of about 50 miles, located upon the line of the greatest disturbance caused by the Appalachian upheaval. Consisting of an anticlinal valley, the river valley proper, and a succession of vertically uplifted strata of Cam- brian and Silurian rocks with successive faults, the surface of this region is extremely broken and presents a mountainous aspect. To the southeast of the anticlinal, through which the river winds its way, the hard Lower Cambrian sandstone, offering the greatest resistance to the action of water, forms the most prominent ridges in the Alpine, Coldwater, and Ladiga mountains, reaching a height of from 1,800 to '2,000 feet above the sea. The upper aluminous strata of the Cam- brian shales cover the floors of the vallevs, where from want of drain- V f age they give rise to the stiff impervious clay soils of the 4v flat woods." Areas of these Hat woods are found in the anticlinal valley itself, which is for considerable distances covered bv drifted sands and gravels. Where the cherty beds of the Silurian dolomite prevail, the surface in the vallevs is more or less broken and the soil thin. The surface * soil of the Coosa Valley along the banks of the river (i. e., in St. Clair County) is underlaid by the Subcarboniferous shales. Running mainly parallel with the Coosa Valley and similarly inter- secting the Coal Measures there are several smaller valleys similar to the Coosa Valley proper in their geological and topographical conditions. REGION OF TIIE TENNESSEE VALLEY, The remainder of the northern part of the State north and west of the Coal Measures is covered by the strata of the Subcarboniferous formation, which form the region drained by the Tennessee liiver. The river basin is about 45 miles wide, and toward its northern and southern limit is hilly, and often even mountainous. The plain through which the Tennessee River winds its tortuous way is from 12 to 15 miles wide. On the western frontier of the State the river level is about 480 feet above tide water, while near Iluntsville it reaches an elevation of (>12 feet. West of the table-land of the Cumberland Mountains, already spoken of in connection with the Coal Measures, this plain or valley proper is bounded by the Highlands of Tennessee, described as a plateau of from 700 to 800 feet above the sea, through which numer- ous streams have cut their deep and narrow channels, rendering the surface very broken and hilly. South of the river the escarpment of the Sand Mountain forms the southern boundary of the valley. From the eastern part of Morgan County in a northwesterly direction the 22 PLANT LIFE OF ALABAMA. valley is traversed by the Little Mountain range, which owes its exist- ence to the Subcarbonif evous sandstones which have resisted erosion. The depression between the main range (Sand Mountain) and Little Mountain widens by their divergence into a broad valley of the same character as the main valley. Where the uppermost cherty strata of the Subcarboniferous lime- stone form the surface rock the surface soil is lijjht and more or less siliceous. This kind of soil prevails chiefly toward the northern limit of the valley. The soil of the river plain proper, resting upon the lower and more purely calcareous strata, is of great fertility. RIVER SYSTEM. Its extensive river system forms a most prominent feature in the physical geography of the State. Many of the larger tributaries of the main channels of drainage are navigable, and their innumerable feeders, the creeks and streams, traverse highlands and plains in all directions, affording an abundant water supply in every part of the State. TENNESSEE RIVER. Among the principal rivers is the Tennessee, most remarkable for its anomalous course. It rises in the mountains a short distance beyond the border of southwestern Virginia, and following mainly a southwestern course it becomes navigable at Knoxville. A short distance south of Chattanooga it cuts its channel through a southwest- ern range of the Cumberland Mountains, and enters Alabama at the northeastern corner at Bridgeport. From this point it flows in a nearly uniform southwestern course about 75 miles, when it reaches Guntersville. Here it turns abruptly to the northwest, reaching the Mussel Shoals, 10 miles below Decatur. These shoals are formed of hard, flinty rocks, over which the water rushes in a series of shallow cascades for a distance of about 38 miles, forming an insurmountable obstacle to navigation as far as Florence. From Florence the river is again navigable. It takes a northerly turn at Waterloo, and leaving the State near its northwest corner, continues in this direction, and after a course of 296 miles empties into the Ohio River at Padueah, Ky., making the distance from its source 1,037 miles. The vast area south of the Tennessee River is in the main drained by the Tombigbee River and its tributaries, the larger being the Sip- sey and Black Warrior; and the Alabama River with its tributaries, of which the chief are the Coosa and the Tallapoosa. These main channels of drainage Hnd their outlet into the bay of Mobile through the Mobile River, which is formed by their confluence about 50 miles above the river delta. ALABAMA AND TOMBIGBKK RIVERS. 23 ALABAMA RIVER. This is the largest and most important of the waterways of Alabama. It is formed by the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers, a little southeast of the center of the State. It cuts its way through the rotten limestone and underlying sands of the Cretaceous formation, and farther south through the limestones and marls of the Tertiary forma- tion, flowing not infrequently between the vertical walls of high bluffs formed by the horizontal strata, at other times winding through wide low bottom lands of great fertility. In its lower course toward its confluence with the Tombigbee River it passes through beds of sand and pebbles of more recent formation, and pine-clad hills front its banks, with wide cypress swamps where the banks are almost perpet- ually submerged, or extensive hardwood forests where less subject to overflow. From the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa to the confluence of the Tombigbee with the Alabama, the length of the latter is variously estimated at from 31^ to 400 miles. The average depth from Mobile to Clai borne is from to 7 feet, and from Clai borne to Montgomery it varies from 3 to 5 feet. The Alabama River passes through the richest agricultural region of the State, and through the Maritime Pine belt, its great timber region. TOMMUHEE RIVER. This river is formed by the confluence of the Little Tombigbee or Upper Tombigbee and the Warrior River in Marcngo County, a short distance above Demopolis, and unites with the Alabama River 243 miles south of that place. The course of the river is almost due south, trav- ersing a country rich in agricultural products, its banks often spread- ing out in heavily timbered bottoms. The character of the country traversed is the same as of that crossed by the Alabama River. The Tombigbee River is throughout its course in the State navigable by steamers for nearly the whole year. The numerous feeders of the Little Tombigbee River take their rise on the southwestern rim of the Warrior highlands and among the gravelly hills in the southwestern extension of the watershed of the Tennessee basin. The most impor- tant tributary of the Tombigbee is the Black Warrior River with its two forks, the Locust and the Mulberry, both of which take their rise in the wild ravines of the Warrior table-lands. These forks unite on the dividing line between Walker and Jefferson counties, the river continuing its southwestern course for about 50 miles farther. On reaching Tuscaloosa the Warrior takes a more southerly direction and unites with the Little Tombigbee about 170 miles below Tusca- loosa. According to the late Professor Tuomey the fall of the War- rior River between its source and Tuscaloosa is nearly 1,000 feet, V r or f> feet to the mile, and between the latter place and Mobile the 24 PLANT LIFE OV ALABAMA. waters which unite with the Warrior River have a fall of only 1<>1 feet, or 5 inches in a mile. It is for this reason that the Warrior River rises during freshets to the height of 50 feet at Tuscaloosa, the water being suddenly cheeked by the diminished fall and therefore accumu- lating at that point. Above Tuscaloosa the Warrior or Black Warrior River is not navigable. COOS A RIVER. This is the largest of the tributaries of the Alabama and is formed by the junction of the Oostenaula and Ktowah rivers at Rome, in northern Georgia. After a southerly course of 100 miles, the river enters Alabama in Cherokee County, where, continuing its southerly trend, it joins the Tallapoosa River at a distance of 334 miles from Rome. The river is navigable from Rome to Greensport, a distance of 180 miles. From the latter point to Wetumpka, a distance of 137 miles, navigation is interrupted by a series of shoals and reefs of ragged rocks, but from the latter point it is navigable again to its confluence with the Tallapoosa River. The chief tributaries of the Coosa River take their rise in the Blue Ridge and the Alleghenies of Georgia. The banks of this river are mostly high. It passes through a country rich in its mineral, agricultural, and forest wealth. CAUAKA RIVER AM) SMALLER STREAMS. The Cahaba is one of the smaller tributaries of the Alabama, into which it empties 28tJ miles above Mobile. It takes its rise in the lower hill country in or near St. Glair County, draining a mineral region containing the coal tie Id of the same name, and passing through the rich agricultural counties of Perry and Dallas. In former years steamers ascended from its mouth to Centerville, in Bibb Countv, a distance of 80 miles. Smaller streams affecting the drainage of the Coastal plain east of the basin of the Alabama River are the Kscambia River and the Choc- tawhatehee River, the former emptying into IVnsacoIa Bay, The Chattahoochee River, with an almost directlv southern Mow, forms the a ? boundarv between Alabama and southwestern Georgia, forming bvits * * ' ft i confluence with the Flint River of the latter State the Apalachicola River, a deep stream, to its mouth inclosed mostly between extensive forest-clad swamps and cypress brakes, and emptying into Apalachi- cola Bav. The Chattahoochee River is navigable throughout the vear between Bainbridge and Columbus, Ga. Its banks are lined with steep bluH's of the later Tertiary strata. CLIMATE. Owing to its geographical position, extending from its northern confines to the Gulf shore, over five degrees of latitude, and further to TEMPERATURE CONDITIONS. 25 the difference in elevation between its- northern and southern sections, the State of Alabama is favored by a varied, but in its extremes not excessive climate. The climatic conditions give rise in the upper part of the State to a vegetation closely related in character to that prevailing in the cooler temperate zone, and in the lower division stamp upon it the features of subtropical regions. Such conditions admit the successful cultivation within its borders of almost all the chief crops and many other useful and ornamental plants raised in higher latitudes, and also the cultivation of the great industrial staple crops and others serving for the sustenance of man and domestic ani- mals, originally derived from warmer zones. TEMPEKATURK. Kqually open to the influences of the warm and vapor-laden breezes from the Mexican Gulf and the intertropical Atlantic Ocean and the cool and drier aerial currents from the north unimpeded by mountain ranges or table-lands of very great elevation, the climate is mild and equable. The following table, transcribed from the diagram com- piled by Prof. i\ II. Mell1 from the records of the Alabama State weather service, .showing for the entire State the monthly mean maximum and mean minimum temperatures and their average, exhibits the run of temperature during the course of the year. The regularity with which it proceeds within comparatively narrow limits from mouth to month, in the line of the mean maximum as well as the mean mini- mum temperature, both series keeping close to the line of the aver- age temperature, makes the mildness and uniformity of the climate at once apparent. ]htta nf tt'mjHTtfhtrt' h*/ l*\) > ! Ja.li. Iu-tj+ Mur, Mvjui maximum Mean . Menu miiriliium Ai>r, May. 1 June. Julyr Ailtf. Sepl. Oclt Shy. 1 li4. I ■i-i. * I'J ;'A ;"> :W. 7 ■» i ■Ut 71! 7"> li->. "1 i'-\ -rtV S (m. S 7 s:i "j H\\. 7 M i* ■ * n; 7N 7X. * 73 lit} 72 i;i ih 5t; \i.> is 12 The following jrives similar information for the seasons and the average temperature of the year: IhUo uf htf wr/sotm 0 U) Whole I > I . SO i yi ;;s 2i> (Wi i 71 , n ' ♦'x.i lV. II. Mell, Climatology of Alabama, Bulletin 18, Agricultural Experiment Sta- tion, new aeries, August, 1S90, p. 'M* 20 PLANT LIFK OF ALABAMA The range between the lowest and highest mean temperatures for a period of twenty-three years covers 52i;, with 35 in January and STJ in July for extremes. The widest range in the extremes of tempera- ture observed once in that period covers 104c between the absolute minimum of 2iJ in January' and the absolute maximum of 106 in July. 4 In the southern division of the State, which is mainly embraced within the isothermal lines of and F., the lines of mean annual temperature follow with but slight deviation the parallels of latitude. Between the isothermal line of #4 and that of 60° extends a central belt closely following the terrace that divides the northern and south- ern divisions of the State. The lines of mean annual temperature of (50° and (!2° include its northern division. RAINFALL. The meteorological region including Alabama receives the supply of moisture for its precipitation principally from the Gulf of Mexico. In the distribution over time and space the rainfall is of great uni- formity. According to the records of the State weather service/ consisting of observations made at the 4K different stations through periods of from two to over thirty years, the annual rainfall for the entire State is about 52 inches. Of this amount 14.52 inches falls during the winter months, December, January, and February; 14.IS3 inches in the spring; 13.21 inches in the summer, and not quite 10 inches (9.55) in the autumn. The greatest annual rainfall does not exceed 65 inches at any place and the least falls not below 41.75 inches. The number of rainy days in a year observed during a period of six successive years fluctuates between 74 and 117, according to the records kept at Montgomery; no periods of wet weather extend over five days/ Snow falls occasionally in the northern part of the State; usually one considerable snow fall occurs during midwinter. In the lower part it snows very rarely. Such a plentiful and evenly distributed, but not excessive, supply of atmospheric moisture, in connection with a mild and equable tem- perature, is productive of a highly luxuriant vegetation, which is most strikingly exhibited in its arboreal growth. WINDS. In its correlation with temperature, precipitation, and cloudiness, wind exercises a potent influence upon the climate. The prevailing 'On February 1 •>, 1S99 (not included in the above period), the temperature fell at Tusealoosa to ti° or 7° lielow zero F. and at Mobile to below. a P. H. Mel I, (Himatulopy of Alabama. Mp.rit., pp. 29, 59. 8E. A. Smith, Agricultural Features of Alabama. Report of Geological Survey of Alabama for 1HS0 and 1881. PRINCIPLES OF PLANT DISTRIBUTION 27 winds in Alabama come from the south, southeast, and southwest. According to the meteorological summary of the observations collated by the State service, covering a period of six successive years, the winds from these directions prevailed in forty-one out of the seventy- two months, and thev are most likelv to be followed bv rain, most ^ f frequently by a heavy precipitation, when coming from the east, south, or southeast. The cool and dry winds from the north and northwest are least likelv to be followed bv rain. The western and northwest- * & crn currents prevailed during the period stated in twenty-three months, the north and northeasterly only in eight months. From the wind chart showing the average direction of the wind in Alabama from 1884 to 188!>, it appears that southeastern winds prevailed almost exclusively during the winter and earlier part of the spring, but with some northwestern winds; that winds from the northwest and north- east predominated in spring and in summer, and that in autumn the winds were from the south, southeast, or southwest, and more rarely from a northern direction. The differences in mean annual directions of the wind are but slight. In their rush toward centers of depres- sion, the warm winds from the south, charged with moisture, imping- ing upon the cold currents from the north, produce a whirlpool, resulting in electrical storms, generally with a heavy rainfall, often assuming the force of a tornado. These tornadoes, moving generally in a northeasterly direction, are most frequent in the north-central part of the State, and happen most often in the latter part of the winter or in the spring. CLOUDIN KSS. South and southwestern winds are generally followed by a sunny sky, those coming from the east and northeast by a veil of clouds which strong blasts from the north are apt to rend and disperse. According to the meteorological summary quoted,1 in a succession of six years the number of clear days per year averaged 120, of fair days 119, and of cloudy K MERKIAM 29 Recognizing heat as the prime factor in the distribution of plants, this great investigator of nature established the boundaries of plant zones by connecting the points having the same mean annual tempera- ture. The resulting isothermal lines denote broadly the limits within which certain plants find their demands upon this factor satisfied. He established for plant as well as for animal life, the. following lift* zones: The Boreal, or Northern; the Austral, or Southern, and the Tropical Zone. The borders of these zones rarely conform with the parallels of latitude, but frequently diverge widely from them, according to the elevation of the land, moving northward when they pass over lowlands, moving southward when running overt-he mountains, and also affected by the prevailing aerial currents and proximity to the sea. Since, how- ever, two points of the same mean annual temperature may present wide differences in the extremes of annual, monthly, or daily tempera- ture, and since the physiological functions and the development process must be correlated with these conditions, the zonal divisions established upon these isothermal lines are in a high degree faulty. LIFE ZONES ESTABLISHED BY HERRI AM. The amount of heat required to accomplish the cycle from germina- tion or the first movement in the unfolding bud to the maturity of the seed has been called the physiological constant of the species, which for a given species has been ascertained to remain the same wherever it may grow. To determine this constant the temperature of 4X K. (6° C.) has been assumed by physiologists in general as the lowest point at which germination and bud movement takes place. As to the method of establishing this physiological constant opinions differ widely, some investigators believing that the desired coefficient is obtained by multiplying the mean temperature of a certain period by the number of days, while others find it in the sum of the maxima shown by the thermometer exposed to the sun (maxima of insolation). Merriarn recognizes it as a law that the physiological constant rests upon the sum of the mean daily temperatures during the cycle of vegetation.1 By adding the mean daily temperatures above the assumed zero point of vegetation at numerous stations of observa- tion from spring until such time in the fall as the temperature again falls to the zero point, and connecting stations of the same sum of these effective temperatures, lines are established which are regarded by Merriant as determining the northern limit of the species. In its southward distribution he finds a barrier in the l0. Hart Merrium, (L Laws of temperature runtrol ot 1 be ^eograph it* distribution of terrestrial animals and plants/' Xat'l (ieo^r. Majj., vol. (iT pp. to L^W? roh map#, 1HH4; The K^K^aphir distribution of animals and plants in North America, Yearbook Dept. Afrr. for lSi+7, pp. !?()•? to2M; Life xonesand (Top zones of the L nitcd States, Bull* No. 10, Diw Biol. Surw. l\ S, Dept. Ajrr, 30 PLANT LIKE OK ALABAMA. mean temperature during a brief period covering the hottest part of the year. These boundaries were found to conform with the limits of dis- tribution of species as arrived at by Held observations. Differences in moisture, the factor next in importance to heat in the distribution of life—on this continent most potent in its influence from east to west—determine the distribution of animals and plants within dis- tinct areas of these life zones. Based on these principles I>r. Merriam recognizes in the North American continent three primary divisions or regions Boreal, Aus- tral, and Tropical—and seven transcontinental zones. His classifica- tion is as follows: I Arctic or Arctic-A!Zttttr. Hudxonioii '/<»«■. Canadian Zone. IAllpgheman Area. Arid Transition Area. Pacific Coast Transition Area. Ai stkal Rkuion ( Upper Amtral Zone \ Carolinian Area. 11 I upper Sonoran Area. Wr Amlrtd Z ZONK. The Lower Austral zone, like the Upper Austral, is divided into a humid eastern and an arid western area. Attxtroeijxii'Kih At'ftt or Loninianiint Flora.—This consists of the eastern or humid division of the Lower Austral zone, and embraces in its southern reach the subtropical belt, of North America. Begin- ning with a narrow strip of the Atlantic coast near the southern shores of Chesapeake Hay, this area covers the coastal plain of the Southern Atlantic States nearly to the southern extremity of Florida and the Gulf States to the center of Texas and the southern section of Indian Territory, finding its western limit between longitude and 95". It follows the lowlands of the Mississippi Iiiver toward its junction with the Ohio. This Louisianian flora has been designated as the realm of the magnolia, southern pine, and dwarf palmetto. The greatest part of the arable land is devoted to the cultivation of cotton. Rice and sugar cane, particularly in the lower part of this division, contribute to home demands and furnish staple products for export. The subtropical cow pea takes the place of clover for forage and as an ameliorating crop. The sweet potato is the chief root crop, and corn is the only grain crop cultivated for breadstuff. Peaches and grapes are successfully grown, and in the lower belt the lotpiat or Japanese medlar, while in proximity to the Gulf the orange ripens its fruit. Lower Sonoran Arm.—This flora, consisting of the western and arid extension of the Lower Austral zone, extends from the plains of western Texas to the Pacific Ocean. It is generally recognized as the cactus region, or the Moxieo-Californian region. OTHKR Jj'ACTOBS INFLUENCING DH3TBIBUTION. 33 TROPICAL REGION. This zone embraces in eastern North America a narrow belt along the coasts of the. southern extremity of peninsular Florida and the surrounding keys, and contains part of the West Indian or Antillean flora. SECONDARY FACTORS INFLUENCING PLANT DISTRIBUTION. Besides the primary factors, heat, light, and atmospheric moisture, which regulate the distribution of life within the wide areas recog- nized as life zones, there are others which exercise a potent influence upon the distribution of plants in con lining them to narrower bounda- ries. The former are due to geographical position, latitude and longi- tude, extent of land area, presence and position of mountain chains, and prevailing winds and oceanic currents, while the latter are dependent on minor local conditions, such as altitude, topography, proximity to large bodies of water, all of which influence the lesser fluctuations of temperature, precipitation, occurrence of frosts or other extremes, secondary currents of the air, and exposure to sunlight. In addition to these and of equal importance are the stratigraphical relations deter- mining the chemical and physical character of the soil and subsoil, as well as the drainage of the surface and the soil beneath, which in itself must be considered as one of the most important of the secondary factors influencing distribution. To this class of factors belong also the facilities possessed bv different species for dissemination. These consist chiefly of biological agencies, special adaptations with which the fruits and seeds of many species are provided, to secure their dispersion. This is effected in various ways, particularly through the agency of animals. One means consists of fleshy, sweetish fruits tempting animals to feed upon them. In most instances the seeds are discharged with their vital power unim- paired and thus are transferred to distant localities, particularly when the fruit has served as food for birds. A second means consists of the prickles, hooks, or stiff, hooked hairs covering the surface of the hard fruits, by which they attach themselves to wandering animals. Distribution of seeds is also effected by atmospheric agency, the fruits or seeds being very minute or provided with broad, wing-like, or plumose attachments, which enable them to be wafted through the air. In some cases the sudden tearing asunder of the parts of the fully-matured hard fruit when touched causes the scattering of the seeds. Finally, some seeds are disseminated through their ability to float about in fresh or saline water without losing the power of germination/ '(). Drude, Ilandbuctj tlrr J'fUuizi'iifieographir, Jifi (1890). 15SU4 3 34 PLANT LIFE OF ALABAMA. The opportunities for the dispersion of species by the.se means are more or less diminished by intervening- extensive water and desert areas or high mountain ranges. These primary and secondary factors, in their ever-varying combi- nations, arc the conditions by which the various associations of species and their restriction within specific areas of greater or less extent are determined. Such areas constitute the floral regions; and the system- atic relationship of the different species, their numerical proportions, and their various assemblages impart to each region its floral character. Suitable environment, that is, a proper combination of conditions of moisture, sufficient room and light, proper exposure, etc., determines the place in which a plant tinds all the requirements for its existence met, that is, its habitat. The conditions which outline its habitat, in combination with the greater factors of latitude, altitude, rainfall, etc-., determine the distri- bution of plants over wider areas, in which the particular plant (species) may find few or many suitable localities, which areas constitute its range. Within this range the plant may be found in few or many places, isolated or gregarious, but outside of this range it does not occur. DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES AS DEPENDING UPON GEOLOGICAL HISTORY. The distribution of plants can not always be explained on the ground of their dependence upon the atmospheric and terrestrial factors. The differences in climatic conditions become too insignificant to explain the confinement of many species within extremely narrow limits, and at the same time topographic and other conditions of environment offer no satisfactory account. Premising the theory that the existing plants arc the descendants of similar types which flourished in past periods of the history of our globe, inmost instances an explanation is easily found on geological grounds. Viewed in this light, the occurrence of the hemlock (Txmja cauadenain), for example, with its northern companion, the sweet birch, on the extreme southern extension of the Allegheny Mountains, in Winston County, Ala., in a completely isolated spot hundreds of miles distant from the range of its distribution, can be accounted for when they are regarded as > 4 IJ the sole remnants of the northern arboreal flora which during the glacial period was pushed to lower latitudes and which oil its recession to cooler zones left these trees behind in the narrow valley of the 4. Sipsey River, where at. present the former shades the cliff-bound banks. The Torreya (Tumto/i tmfjfoiium) and the Florida yew {Ta.n/x floridana) of the valley of the Apalachicola River in western Florida, the American smoketree or chittaniwood {('otimtx in its isolated localities in north Alabama and southwestern Missouri, and ECOLOGICAL GROUPING OF PLANTS. 35 the Leitneria (L. jforidtina) in the latter locality and the swamps of the estuary of the Apalachicola River present similar striking instances of a strange, localization, in some eases within an extremely limited range. The relation of these woody plants to the flora of a preceding geological period, of which the present is the progeny, is clearly proved by the remains of almost identical types found buried in the strata of the Middle Tertiary formation of southern Europe and the Rocky Mountains. If we regard theso plants as the slightly modi tied descendants of types belonging to an ancient flora, which have sur- vived the changes our globe has undergone and have found a refuge in their present localities, the mystery of their strange isolation finds a satisfactory solution. The confinement to a single spot 011 the Warrior of Neimma alahmiumxlx^ with its nearest relation in Japan, and of Crotou alahatnmm# to a secluded valley of Little Cahaba River, can be accounted for on the same ground. PLANT FORMATIONS AND PLANT ASSOCIATIONS. The same causes to which the restriction of a plant within a floral region is due, give rise to the grouping of species widely differing in their natural affinities but equally adapted to accommodate themselves to the same conditions. Such assemblages, forming groups of a definite character, are by the later writers on plant geography recognized as plant formations ((irisebach, Drtide); or, with respect to their condi- tions of life, their ecological relations as plant associations by Warm- ing.1 The former authors define a plant formation as a group of plants of a definite physiognomic character, such as a forest, a grassy swamp, the vegetation of a dune of the seashore. The group may be composed cither of only one species, as the forests of long-leaf pine or the South- ern canebrakes, or characterized by the predominance of species of the same family or allied families, as most coniferous forests and our forests of oaks and hickories, or composed of an aggregate of species of various affinities with some of their features in common, as is the case with most forests and prairies. These plant formations impress upon a flora its physiognomy, as was long ago noticed by Humboldt. The following plant formations, recognized by Engler and Drude,3 will be referred to in considering the distribution of plant life in Alabama: 1. Open plant formations, more or less interrupted, inhabiting— a. The strand or beach. h. The sands of seashore, hill, and plain. Rocks and pebbles. 'Wanning, Oekologisolu1 l'flanzenge*graphic, 1896. Mangier mul l>rink*, Die Vegetation er- ischen Halbinsel, M. Willkonim, p. VII. 189t>. 36 PLANT LIFE OF ALABAMA. 2. Compact or continuous plant formations of a uniform typo, consist- ing— d. Of mosses or lichens. r. Of cespitose grasses (meadows, grassy swales). f. Of various herbs (prairies, pastures). , Rosaceae, including the plum and the apple tribe, with 54. Of the families less prominent in num- ber of species the Apiaceae have 46 species; Ranunculaceae, 43; Ruphorbiaceae, 41; Orchidaceae, 40; Polygonaceae, 38; Liliaceae,:i 36; Alsinaceae, 33; Polypodiaceae, 43; Malvaceae, 26; Onagraceae, 25; Fagaceae (chestnuts, oaks), *>6; and Ericaceae,3 2L species. Among the genera excelling in number of species, Panicum stands first, with 71, Carex has fully 60, Aster 38, Cyperus 35, Rynchospora 31, Soli dago 25, Kupatorium 25, Quercus 23, Paspalum 20, and Hypericum 20 species and varieties. ENDEMIC PLANTS. The number of plants endemic to Alabama is small, but suggestive. Only the following types are exclusively found within the limits of 1 (Jar^lua^cau ami Curlioriareai*. ~ Mimotaiceae, Cacsalpiiiacrae, Yiriareae, 3 Her^ uaed in the brmulur Bciiwe. RELATIONSHIPS OF ALABAMA FLORA. 39 the State: alaba///c;w.vz"w, Crofo/t (dabamenxix, and Trichomanes peter*!V. Tliis poverty in endemic forms is easily explained, by the absence of any serious obstacles to plant migration from and to all parts of the eastern section of this continent. The gradual descent of the Allegheny Mountains to the Coastal plain rendered the influx of plants from the north and east easy. The oldest types flourishing on the most ancient strata succumbed gradually to the vicissitudes of eons of time and gave way to later invaders. Completely open on the east and the west, the denizens of the plant world from these directions found no hindrance in peopling the new soils of the secondary (Mesozoic and Cenozoie) formations, after their rise above the water. RELATIONSHIP OF THE ALABAMA FLORA TO THAT OF ADJOINING REGIONS. It results from these conditions that the plant-covering of the State coincides closely with the flora of the adjoining regions. In its south- ern portion it is very intimately related to the flora of western Florida, Mississippi, and eastern Louisiana, equally so to that of the maritime plain of North and South Carolina and Georgia, and in a less degree to that of western Louisiana and eastern Texas. In its central parts the same close connection exists with the flora of the middle region (Piedmont region) of these States and with that of southern Arkansas. The flora of the northern part, of the State, with its mountains and the Tennessee Valley, presents a similar relationship with the flora of the Allegheny ranges south of the Potomac River, below an elevation of 2,000 or 2,500 feet above sea level, and with that of the southern extension of the Cumberland Mountains and the rim of the Highlands of Tennessee. RELATIONSHIP OF THE ALABAMA FLORA TO FORE ION FLORAS.1 KASTERN ASIA. Asa Gray first directed attention to the intimate relationship exist- ing between the flora of eastern North America and that of eastern Asia, particularly that of Japan." The eastern Asiatic element is in this part of our continent most pronounced southward. It is here most strikingly manifest in the arboreal and shrubby vegetation of the numerous genera of the catkin-bearing families, such as walnut, chest- nut, oak, beech, haxlenut, iron wood, hornbeam (Ostrya), willow, wax myrtle; and of the coniferous family, such as pine, hemlock, cypress (Chamaecyparis), savin (Juniperus); to which are added elm, mul- berry, linden, pear, plum, service trees (Amelanchier), maple, witch 1 In this discussion the introduced and immigrated plant* occurring in Alabama and the genera ivjindented only by cosmopolitan species inhabiting the temperate and warmer regions all over the globe are disregarded. 2 Asa Gray, Memoirs X. Y. A cad., vol. <>, part 1. 1S59. 40 PLANT LIFE OF ALABAMA. hazel, sumac (Rhus), and ash, all of which are widely diffused through out the temperate zones of eastern North America and in eastern Asia, a .small number extending westward to the Altai Mountains and Hima- layan India. The number of arboreal and frutescent genera is still further increased by those chiefly confined to the southeastern section of our continent, such as Magnolia and Illicium of the magnolia family: Persea and Henzoin of the laurel family; roses, honey locust, & *■ t 7 storax bushes, catalpa trees, and devil wood or American olive, of different families. On closer comparison of the flora of Alabama with that of eastern Asia and principally of Japan, it is found that about .1(10 genem or nearly per cent of the genera indigenous in Alabama, belonging to 60 families, have their representatives in eastern Asia. Besides the above common genera there occur others in those parts which in their essential characters differ but slightly from the nearest allies found in Alabama, forming with them such pairs as Glaucidium and Ilvdrastis, Sphaerostemon and Schizandra, Stephanandra and Neviusia, Cory- lopsis and Fothergilla, Paris and Modiola, Scilla and Quamasia, Rox- burgh! a and (Jroomia, and some others. The number of types indigenous to Alabama which are identical with species found in eastern Asia is small, amounting scarcely to forty. Though this number by itself considered is insignificant, it must he viewed together with the fact that every one of the genera common to Alabama and eastern Asia is represented in the latter region by one or several species closely allied to the forms found in Alabama, so closely in not a few cases as to be difficult to separate. The relation of these two floras is expressed in the following table: f inn'fa rfttnmim to thr fiowt *>f t'twfmt . ttttti that uf Alttbturttt. * * ■/ (hissi liriLli* ii t. Pteridophyta; Fillers i OphlOKlUSSlU'VlU' Lycopodiat'ifui'. Total. G y uniosj HTiimo: PiiKiitieac... Cupressineat' Total M on 0( :ot y 1 cd onou ; Liliaroae^ Urehidaveac,.. Cypunuvtit1 Aruceae Poftceao Najadaceao AlismacHjiUL Dioscoroat'cue.. SnNlaceae. Iridatruae Total Number nf ti 1 I 8 1U (3 4 a 2 1 t 1 1 1 m ! Dirotylodon^iu1: A rch it1 h la m ydeae— Lt'guminnsjie- RanuTK'ulamic .. Uosaraio- Apiacvau Betulncfai1 FiiKattoati Urtimcoac Euphorlriarnu'... Vitaruau ... . Nyiuphaearoue.., Arisiolorhiacuae . L'lmureau Moruuetie M&KiioliHfcat! BorlMTklaivae Fumariai-em! Rhamuacrar Launurao. Juglaiid&t'wu? Salilv£tmaifiolyhid(HU,a(i ! Number i of genera. 4 :s 118 WEST INDJKS, MEXICO, KOCTIT AMKKU'A. Not loss than 200 genera containing nearly 40 per cent of the plants indigenous to the Alabama flora are represented in the West Indian Islands, Mexico, Central America, and more rarely in South America as far south as Argentina. On the western coast of the continent but a few genera occur which have also their home with us. The num- ber stated above is comprised within 2*2 families. About 140 species are common to Central America, Mexico, and the West Indian Islands. This relationship is most evident between the flora of that part of the State embraced within the Austroriparian area and the flora of the more elevated regions of tropical America with climatic conditions some- what similar to those prevailing in southeastern North America. The flora of the subtropical regions of Alabama exhibits faintly the fea- tures of the vegetation of the neighboring tropics by the presence of a few genera of the epiphytal plant formation (Tillandsia, Epidendron, PoWpodium), which in the abundance and variety of its forms consti- tutes one of the most striking characteristics of the tropical vegetable world. A scarcely stronger suggestion of tropical character in our flora is afforded in its arboreal vegetation by the presence of our dwarf palmettos (Sabal, Serenoa) with their short or prostrate trunks. Our deciduous-leaved trees are represented by 10 genera common to both regions, *2 species of oak (Querm# vhyiniana, Q. brev/'foba) and 2 of hickory (TTicoria pecan, II. myristicaeform.w) being common to Alabama and the plains of northern Mexico near the Texan frontier. Our wax myrtle, hop hornbeam, mulberry, elm, box elder, haw, and sweet gum occur in the elevated regions of the eastern declivity of the Mexican Andes. Our evergreen magnolia is in the same region 42 VLANT LIFE OF ALABAMA. represented by the closely related genus Talauma. Of coniferous trees pines are abundant in the higher mountains of Mexico and Central America. Our slash pine, or Cuban pine, extends from the West Indian Islands to Honduras; Taxodium inhabits Mexico, and savin {Juniperux barhidetixbi) the West indies, with other species of Juniper us in Mexico. The common elements in these floras are exhibited in the following1 table: (ft'iti'ru and apefuvx common ft* Ahduimn and trop'md Aitwrira. Classification. I'teridophyta : Filices1 - Ophiaglossaceae LyeopiKliaeoar . Bela^inellaeeae. Kuuisetaeeae-.. ii ist Total .... GynnioHpermae Monocotyledoneau: j'oaeeae^ Cyperaceae4 IjlllHCWIC" Orehidaeeae,. Amaryllidaeeae«... Alisimieeae Erioeanlaceae Commclinaceae Pontederiaceae Najadaeeae Juneatfinaceae Arucaceae Mayacaeeae Xyridaceae (Xyrisi. Total Dieotyledoneae: Archichlamydeae— lA^mniiio^ae ('henopodiaeene. liami[H:ula('eae + l Kosaeeae 0 Euphorbinceae., Apiaceae Ona^raeeae +j ythraceae Number of tfenera. 12 ♦> Number c >f Classification. 1 Number Number ol of I ^enem. speeiew. Mai vaeeae rrtieaeeae Ju^landaceae. HniWcaceae Nvmphaeaueae ... Akiiuiceae . ♦ Rhamnaoeac Vitaecae Hypericaceae Myricaeeae Salicaceae Betutaceae Kagaeeae Moraceae is % 10 H .S 1 2 2 2 2 T 1 1 1 1 r;t 23 tJ I) !. l; ii Ti r> 1 3 2 > ^ i ■> I 2 •t 2 T | i 1 i i i D 2 <> 11 3 l>7 ■ j i 11 L I O \ *> I <■> 101 11 i »> - i 2 2 '} i-i > Total Composi tae. 1 I lJicotyledoneae—Continued Arehiehlamydeae—Con- j tinued, 1 Batidareae ■ Aristoloehiaceae ' ]/)ratithaeeae : Folytronaeeae Aiinciirdiaeuie Ilk'uceac Cifctaeeae Passi flora ecae , CactatTai* , Llalorngidareiir .... Cornaeeae Total Sympetalae; Card ua cent1— Vernonleao and Ku- patorieae Heliantheiie Astereae Seneeioncae Inuleac Cynareae Cichoriaeeae Brrnphnlftriaeeae ■ Nepetaceae ' Ericaceue, Yaccimaeeue .... Hydrophyllaeeue ,.... Solanaeeae Aselepiadacear Convolvulaeeao Orobanrhaeeae Lognniaeeae Bora#inaceae Verbtmaeeae Ptn^uieulartNii1 Monotropaeeae . Primulaeeae ftapotaeeat:........... Cuseutaeeae ............ Polemoiiiaeeae7 Bi^tumiaceae Acanthaeeae Total SyTijjMialar*.., Total I)ieot\ ledonae 100 1 n K 4 2 T ] 34 14 6 4 4 4 :l :i » 'j 2 2 i i i i i i i \rt 191 1 i i ! 1 1 i i 4 (» 14 8 8 0 2 1 3 1 2 1 1 1 'M 94 1 Including Fnlypodiact at\ llyiiu*ilut>hylla( tia<\ and osniundatvai1. * Eijuiurf lu/t robustitm. ^Chiefly Pauimie (Faineiuu, Paspalutn) and Andropotftmeuv ; nil widely dilfused from the West Indies to Argentina. * Mostly of (hi (fotiera ('vihtiis, FHeora, III spcrit-s: of the last 2 genera bein^- mit met with* outsf IIen; liscil in the broader sense. Tile species belong lo Yntira and i>lher genem, mostly MHan- tKioideae. 0 Here used m tbv broader seiisi1, ? Phlox. ALABAMA FLORA AND EUROPEAN FLORA 48 KI'lioi'B AND TilK MRIJITKRRANKAN KEOIOX. The relationship between the flora of Alabama and that of Europe and the parts of Asia and Africa bordering upon the Mediterranean Sea is indicated by their having in common about 100 families with about 230 genera, this being nearly 35 per cent of the genera indig- enous to Alabama, with 55 species which occur in Alabama and also in western Europe and in the Mediterranean region, chiefly the former. Of the arboreal plant formation nearly all of our deciduous catkin- bearing trees and most of the shrubs are represented by closely allied species in those regions. Some of these genera are represented far to the north in the European-Asiatic forest belt, such as willow, cotton- wood (Populus), birch and alder, and pine, while walnut, beech, oak, hornbeam, hazelnut, ash, maple, plum and cherry, pear and apple, and the savin are widely diffused over the more temperate regions of Europe. In the Mediterranean region our white cedar (Chamaecy- paris) finds itself represented in the cypress (Cupressus), from which it differs by a mere technical character, and Celtis (hackberry), Cereis, and Storax are represented in the same region. It is a remarkable fact that in no one of these genera is the European species identical with that found in Alabama. The ferns and allied families are represented by 4 families with lk2 genera; of these 7 belong to the ferns proper with 5 identical species, *2 to the Ophioglossaceae, 1 to the Lycopodiaccae, 1 to the Selaginellaceae, and 1 to the Equisetaceae. The following table exhibits the relation of these two floras: Getu'ra and apvch's rummou to Alabama ami Ehvu}h\ with Nt'ditemmean . mid Africa* (Thoftiticat uui Number Xumlwr I if . of , spoeies, : f-liLssifiriitimi, Number : genera. Pteridnphyta: Filfaoa1.. OphiotflnssareHe. ♦ LycofMwliiuji'iu* .. - Sela^inellareae. .. KquisetaOeae i 1 1 & Total Vl i M onoc ot y led o 11 ea e: Poaeeae Orehidamie ('yperaeeuo Najadaceae2 Lihaeeatv1 . ♦ Alismaooac Leimmeeae J uncaeeue Typhaceae Sparjtatiiiiceiu?..„. \aUisncriaceac... So hi; u v h / eri aeea e Araceao lridox?t»ao. Eriocimlaoeae Total '.Hi r> ■t 4 2 o 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 i 1 3 3 2 1 i i M ]>ieotylodoneae: Archicrliluiiiyricac— Kanuneulaceae Kosaceae3 Apinccac Brassicaueae .— Lei; um in osuio Retulaceati Alaiuai'cac Cbenopodiaceuu— Fa^aoeae Crticacvae Otiagraceae Salictufeae . Aristolochiamie . Polygoimccae Nymphauaccuu Crnssulaceae4 Saxifragaeeae ...... Juglanoacttii? Myricacoae.. ♦ Moraeene Ceratophyllttcoiu1... Fuimiriamu?... Droseraerau & Platanaoeae Oxalirfari?ac. ** Linaceac Vi U 9 8 ti 5 5 4 3 3 5 2 2 2 ]2 0 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Number of aperies. 1 2 3 i l l i 1 Including Polvpodiueeae, IlyuiurmphylLtrrae, and z Including' Potamogelon, 1 species. a tlert1 used in lUr broader sense. 4 Tillae,,. 6 Drosera. 44 PLANT LIFE OF ALABAMA. Genera and speciex common to Alafxxmii and Europe, etc.—Continued. ChissLfieatimi. ; Number i of genera. Pientyledoneae—Continued. Archichlamydeae—Con- tinned. Geraniacene Polygalamie KuphorbmeeHe CalUtriehaeeae Anacardiaeeae1 llieaoeae Staphyleaeeae Aeeraceae Rhamrmmie Vitaeeae Tiliaeeae Malvaeene^ Ciytamuv1 Violiieene Lythraeeae Ilaloragidueeae Araliaeeae Cornaeeae Tol,U Sympotalae: Conipositae Xejietaeeae I 1 I 1 I t m Number of SptH^iCS. VI 7 ... - i Cot in us in the Mediterranean region, * Hibiscus tif the Meditermnean region. :iSouthern and western Europe. *Storax of tbe Mediterranean region. V.) Classification Number of genem. Dieotvl ed< >n < ?ae—('on t in u ed. Sy mpe t u lac—Continued. iWaginaceue Scropliularlaceae Solanacoae Primtilaceae Capri foliaeeae Ericaceae Monotropareae Plumbuginaeeae Styracaeeae * Oleaeeae* , Afmcynaceae Aselepiadaceae (itiiitianaoeac Polemoniaeeae Convolvtilaeeae Cuseutamie Verbcnaeeae Plantaginaeeae. Grobanchaeeae* Rubiaceae 7 Valerianaoeae Total Total Diootvledones A 4 r>; Number art; found in (he more northern forests; of the 8 Magnoliaeeae, 5; of the 8 plums and cherries, 4; of the siO or more species belonging to the apple tribe, mostly haws, 7; of the 5 maples, 4; of the 4 elms, 3, and all of the 6 species of ash. In the mesophile forests, covering the valleys and terraces of a rich, moderately humid soil, oaks predominate, but many other genera are present. The following list exhibits the characteristic trees, all of which, except Magnolia acuminata wrdata^ extend north of the Ohio River: Qiicrcm allut (white oak). terms minor (post oak). Qiicrcusdlgifata (Q.falruUt) (Spanishoak). TTienria orctta (hickory). Hkoria minima (bitternut). Jn giants rdyra (black walnut). T/iriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree). Fagrn amerkana (beech). CarjyimiH caroUnkuta (hornbeam). Vrax'nmti anierii iDin (white ash). Magnolia acuminata and variety cor data (<*n< 'in liber tree). Acrr wtrehnriiMitt M. ihutjfcftrjntm). rruv&jtorh/n (dojrwood). I I mux a mcnct i )/< i, I. ulota, (] m Irtwntx (elm). ('cttix mimxxippiaisia (Southern hack- berry) . S'axxafrax xawafras (sassafras). IJiospyroivirtfinivn (persimmon). Aescitlns ortandra (Uhio 1 niekeve). Qtwrcua ntichau.rii (cow oak). Liquidamf/ar xbjrwijhm (sweet gum). (ih'ditsia iriwanthait (honey locust). Fruj imtx lauccnhftd (green asli), The sweet gum here attains its largest dimensions. The last T> pre- fer the lower bottoms subject to occasional overflow. In the paludial forest, particularly of the alluvial region, with the soil submerged or constantly water-soaked, the cypress (Tmvodium. dwtichuiit) forms in the so-called cypress brakes the most imposing feature This tree is found throughout the State, and in that portion belonging to the Louisianian area, it is associated with the tupeloguni {JVywa aquitiivu) and the Carolina ash (7ircr;rinti$ caroliniann). Toe overcup oak {Qn<>rci(s tyrata) prefers the shallow lagoons of the allu- vial lands in the center of the State. Planer tree {Phnn-m aqiuitim)^ water hickory (f/icona aquatiea), Carolina black gum (Xy^a hijfora), apple haw (Orataegu* and green ash {Fraxinm hm-ceolata) arc DECIDUOUS AND EVERGREEN FORESTS 47 frequent inhabitants of the forest-clad swamps of the alluvial district in its lower part. Deciduous forests of xcrophile trees and shrubs prevail on the dry mountain spurs, the table-lands, and the lower hills, the following forming the bulk of the arboreal vegetation: Qucrew prinm (mountain oak). Wcorin rillowt (palc-li-af hickory"). (Jnwitx reh'finu (black oak). Caxtaui w denlaUt (chestnut). Qiwrnix mnrUandirn (blackjack). I'htnis (tuslrn/is (Southern rock elm). (JitrrriiH (VfThten (scarlet oak). Am'kvcofln-mf (wliite-bark maple). Flicoria (jbihru (pignut). Igticchitnuit and variety harhatww Hk'oria (mockurnut). (hard maple)- , Hicorin rnrolintir-s(j)lt'}itrioit(ilin (Southern Arerjloriflonnm (Klnrida rnuplo). shell bark hickory). Oxf/dai'lnim arlxiinuH (sourwoortj All of these, except Aw lROCH \ III I1KA N CLASS. Of hydrophytes floating free in water, species arc known in the State. They are kept afloat by their thallns or thallus-likc stems, as in Azolla and duckweeds (Lemixi mhnn\ L. trimdaita^ Spirodelti), or * WATER AND SWAMP FLORA. 49 by the rosettes of their floating leaves, as in sundew {Drosera inter- media), water feather {Ilotion la Infiata). bladder wort (TTtrieidaria inflata), or by leaf-covered steins, as in horn wort ((JerxUophyllum). l.lTHOf'HYTIC ANI> LIMN.'KAX CLASSES. Of submerged hydrophobes rooting on the solid rocky bed of swiftly running brooks two species of Podostemon occur in the mountainous regions. They are moss-like plants, their roots provided with peculiar organs by the aid of which they fasten themselves closely to the rocks. More numerous species of different families constitute that association of submersed hydrophytes which take root in the soft soil (Limmean associations). These are in some cases provided, in addition to the immersed foliage, with peculiarly constructed shield-like leaves floating on the surface, only their flowers being lifted above the water, of which the following are examples: CmUtl'ta (water 1ilv). Sf.tgilixirin inttum (arrow leaf). Xehtmbo (water chiiKjuapin). Poiamrxjeion spp. (ijondweeds). Xtjmpham (spatter-'lock). Caffitrirhe heteropkylla (water star). Limwrnthanam lanmomiu (floating heart |. Others have the foliage entirelv submersed and of one form, as O f water crowfoot {Batricattm puhjpodio/dm (J\ huumutn Sw.) and J*oh/podi tint -ruhjare are frequent inhabitants of trees. They are, however, found to grow also upon shaded rooks and prostrate trunks. NAI'ROI'JIYTIC AND SYMBIOTIC ['LANT ASSOCIATIONS. Saprophytes are colorless plants which, as fur as those belonging to the phanerogams are concerned, live upon the debris of the vegetable world, deriving their nourishment from the organic matter resulting from its decay. The largest number of saprophytes belong to the fleshy fungi and some of these live upon decaying animal matter. Being destitute of chlorophyll, their vascular system less developed, without breathing pores, their leaves reduced to mere scales, these plants are unable to elaborate the constituents needed for nutri- tion or to change carbonic acid from the air into assimilated food mate- rial. The number of seed-bearing saprophytes occurring in Alabama is small, and widely dispersed through the deep, shady forest, as Apteria Corallorhiza, and Ilexalectris of the orchid family, and in grassy, damp swales Burmannias. Hemisaprophytes are green per- ennial herbs of the ordinarv structure and habits, which for their nutrition are only partially and to varying degrees dependent upon organic matter. Some live in humid, peaty soils, mostly in the open, for example, some of our club mosses (Lycopodhtm carolwum-tnit ^ Z. cemmtni) and a number of orchids (Limodorum, Pogonia, llttlxnarki spp.), while others can exist only in a humid soil, rich in vegetable matter, under cover of the forest. Symbiots are pale, almost colorless, plants, of waxy appearance, in their organization similar to the saprophytes, and have been until recently regarded as truly parasitic in their mode of living. It has, however, been found that they do not .subsist on decomposed vegetable matter, nor are tinny root parasites. They are true symbiots, being in their existence closely bound up with that of another plant which contributes to their necessities, but is equally1 benefited by this con- nection; Monotropa and Ilypopitys, of the Indian pipe family, belong to this group. Immediately after their germination the rootlets of these plants are infested by the vegetative threads or spawn (mycelium) of a fungus which, as the plant develops, fastens itself upon every root, finally enveloping the rootstock with a thick iilm, the higher plant drawing its nourishment solely from the elaborated food of the fungus. 52 PLANT LIFE OF ALABAMA. r.VKAsmr plant associations True, parasites are also destitute of chlorophyll, and leafless, but thev take their nourishment from the living tissues of their host, sub- sisting entirely on its elaborated food materials. Three species of this class of parasites which foist themselves upon the roots of their hosts (root parasites) occur in the Carolinian zone of Alabama, and are also frequently found in other parts of temperate North America, all belonging to the family of broom rapes (Orobanchaeeae), namely: CoHopfadix fimrriranfL Thofe&ia nmjhra. L&ptmnuhtUi ( Kpiphcfpt#) rlrfftttiatttnn. Of the parasites which fasten themselves upon the stems of their host, (1 are found in Alabama, all belonging to the dodders or love vines (Cuscuta). These plants at the start, root in the ground, but upon springing up, when they meet a plant suitable for a host they wind themselves around its stem and at places of close contact send haus- toria through its bark to the wood, and, the cells of the two uniting, the parasite draws its food from the plant attacked. Thus firmly established, the part of the stem of the parasite connecting it with the ground dies, and it depends henceforth entirely for its nourishment on its host. The chlorophyll-bearing shrubby parasites of trees are represented by a single species, the American mistletoe {Phoradcndrou fljt/v-.vr w/.y). The so-called hemiparasites—green herbs which fasten themselves by-their lateral rootlets upon the roots of their host—are only partly dependent upon assimilated food material. These half-parasites belong mostly to the figwort family, examples being Canadian louse wort (l\>di<'ularls painted cup {(Jmtilh'ja efumdensLy), and sev- eral Gerardias. The number of plants subsisting in this way has not been ascertained, but outside of the Serophulariaceae, Comandra and Darby a are also supposed to be, hemiparasites. IXS K< T1 VOROt'S 1'L A N'TS. A class of these plants inhabit the bogs of peat mosses and the damp flat open pine barrens of the Coast plain, consisting of sarracenias (Sarracenia), sundews (I)roseni), butterworts (Pinguicula); and others, viz, the bladderworts (Utricularia), inhabit stagnant or still-flowing waters of shallow pools, ponds, lakes, and streams, floating upon the surface of the water or immersed. It is evident that bv the facultv of appropriating animal substances for their nourishment, nature has provided these plants with an additional supply of nitrogenous food which the sterile soil, extremely deficient in the elements required for plant nutrition, does not contain. In order that they may get hold of the animals serving them for food they are endowed with peculiar appliances of a highly specialized character, as, for example, the CLASSES OF INTRODUCED PLANTS. 53 trumpet-shaped or urn-shaped loaves of the Sarracenias. In these the peculiar arrangement and structure of the hairy covering on their inside pennits the easy access of the insects to the sweet secretions hidden within and at the same time prevents their escape. Jn the sun- dews sensitive contractile viscid hairs cover the upper side of the leaves and entrap the insect upon its approach: in the bladdcrworts the hyaline bladders of the immersed leaves and stems serve as traps for the minute organisms swarming around them. Twenty-one spe- cies of insectivorous plants have been noted in Alabama, viz, 0 Sarra- cenias, 4 Droseras. 3 Pinguiculas. and X Utricularias. INTRODUCED PLANTS AND THEIR INF1AIl\N( K V l*ON NATIVE PLANT ASSOCIATIONS. Fully one-sixth of the, plants enumerated in the catalogue of the Alabama flora as growing without cultivation are immigrants from other regions, and but few of these are native in the more distant parts of this continent north of Mexico, They are mostly from the warmer temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions of the Old World. Those of widest distribution and which have gained the firmest foothold are wanderers following civilized man in his conquest of the wilderness. Originally children of the open plain, exposed to the extremes of heat, cold, drought, and excessive rain, these plants necessarily acquire the widest elasticity in adapting themselves to new surroundings and possess the greatest power of resisting adverse conditions. Considering the way these foreign plants have established and are maintaining themselves in their new home, they may be regarded as mtti.wdizrt! when they have taken a permanent place among indigenous plants; graxw), Ctipriohx ihuitjhm (Bermuda Pawptihim wwrpnwmm (rarpet ^ruw). Thtcltjlorteniitui aMjyptinmm (Kgvptian rrowfoot). PaxfHthntt (iihtaftu/i (hairy-Hovwiv-d ptm- palum). PLANT DISTRIBUTION IN ALABAMA. In several instances, the boundaries of the life zones and areas, based upon the distribution of heat and moisture on this continent, as established by Merriam, can not at present be distinctly drawn in Alabama. The investigation of the plant covering of the State, the location of species, and the study of their relation to the factors controlling their distribution within its limits is as yet not sufficiently r CAROLINIAN AREA IN ALABAMA. 57 advanced to furnish the data required for this purpose. The frequent yet only indistinctly perceived overtopping of these zones adds to the difficulty of placing satisfactorily the linos by which they are separated. The efforts here, made to lav down the lines of life zones and their subdivisions can only be regarded as tentative. The following .subdivisions of the life zones of Alabama have been recognized as floral regions; that is, as endowed with a flora of characteristic and distinct features, due to the presence of types which, if not confined exclusively to their limits, predominate within them and impart a peculiar character to their several associations. The prevalence of one or another of these associations or plant forma- tions in the different sections of the same region determines the character of its subordinate floral divisions. CAROLINIAN AREA OK FLORA. A line drawn from the northwestern corner of the State to the lower part of Lee County, crossing the Coosa Valley near Childersburg, makes the limit of the highlands having an average elevation of SOU feet above sea level (K, A. Smith). This line coincides approximately with the isothermal line of (to F., and mavbe regarded as the boundary in Ala- *- O * bama of the Upper and Lower Austral zones, therefore of the Carolin- ian and Au.st.rori parian or Louisianian areas. It winds its way from northwest to southeast and southward to the "fall line." Accepting this zonal line, a botanical limit is gained, northward of which is found a flora different in character from that to the southward, generally O %■ described as the flora of the great Central Mississippi Valley, and dis- tinguished by the feeble representation, if not total absence, of the subtropical element and the exclusive prevalence of deciduous forests. Various shrubs and trees coincide in their limits of northern and south- ern distribution closely with this boundary line, and serve as unerring guides in pointing out its course. Such truly zonal plants are: I'hntx rirtjittiitfiit (tftTub pint1). Pnunm anttTtcuvu (American plum). (ftwrnat annttltiata (yi*lln\v-hark Aznha itrhttrtwa# (swect-scrnlcd azalea). nut oak). Sbmcliu jivhUtfjtjwt (fringed sluurtiu). (£iu>rntx pihittti (mountain oak). ft'rfifix (niounlain spitvivntid nr Qftvrrua rorrhwa (sraclcl oak). smooth calvcunthus). nthrtt {veil '>ak). lift/*# ran>matic siiniar). Aw? twiroflmttf* (\vhit**-bavk su^ar maple). [southern privet). These all find in Alabama their southern limit, on this line. Although n the vegetation of the Carolinian area presents in its broad features great uniformity, particularly in its tree growth, there exist in its range of nine degrees of latitude differences in the latitudinal distribution of heat, which necessarily affect, the distribution of plants within its lim- its and present insurmountable obstacles to the extension of a number of species northward. Due to this temperature element, there is a most pronounced limit beyond which the successful cultivation of the cotton 58 PLANT LIFK OF ALABAMA. crop <*nn not. be pushed, and which also presents a harrier to several trees and a number of other plants of Southern distribution that are only rarely met farther north, as, for example, the willow oak {Qin-rcm phdlox), loblolly pine (P/nus t'U(hf)* long-leaf pine {Phm* j>[(' ST 1!ATA. f*hyxiinjt'0 feet) coincides nearly with the center of this subdivision. The records of daily meteorological * n observations made at this town for onlv two successive years are at -t * hand, which are embodied in the following table: Iht/a of h'tufu ntftftY {tli'tjws I*\) pwiftifttilott (Inches) (if TuUn*\i(jn Jnr ttni warn. MniTi h'tlllMTHtlllV. , Absolute maximum Absolute minimum. Mohii iuti. (5:1, 7 1(H) K> 1'.* Winlrr. ■1:1.7 i siirmtf. Summer. ~" i r. i! so Tall. (!4,1 11. W IS ii.ii ii» 1 This mean annual precipitation can tut considered as representing that of the whole subdivision. with the exception of Lee County, oil its southern border, where it. rises to .~>4.4 inches. r XEKOPHILE FORESTS OF METAMOBPHIC HILLS. 59 Xerophile forcnU.—The most prominent and characteristic feature in the vegetation of this subdivision of the mountain region is the xerophile forests of long-leaf pine which cover the arid rocky ridges to an elevation of 2,0<)0 feet, as observed on the Chehawhaw Moun- tain, the highest in the State. These pine forests are open, almost entirely bare of undergrowth; only in the depressions on the flanks of the mountains a stunted growth of black-jack makes its appearance. At its vertical limit of distribution the pine is suddenly replaced by mountain oak, chestnut, and pignut hickory. Whenever on the summits of the pine-clad ridges at lower levels soil conditions more favorable to deciduous tree growth prevail the pine is obliged to give way to the hardwood trees. The pine timber on these, mountains is somewhat stunted; the bodv of the trees is short and more or less knotty, and the old trees are frequently affected by dry rot, caused by the mycelium of polyporous fungi. It is little esteemed for lum- ber, but largely consumed for charcoal. There are, however, found exceptional tracts, with a timber growth unrivaled in density and per- fection. Such heavily timbered forests of long-leaf pine have been observed, for instance, at Hollins, in Clay County. They extend for miles over a narrow valley and along the rounded foothills of the higher ridges which rise abruptly above them on either side. These particular tracts of forest are not surpassed in yield and quality of timber by the best pine timber lands elsewhere east or west of the Mississippi River, the trees showing most vigorous growth and remarkable uniformity in size and averaging from 20 to 24 inches in diameter breast hi"h, Bv actual measurement thev were found to be n 1 t of a total height of from 110 to 120 feet, the greatest height growth of the species on record. Of the large number of felled trees exam- ined in the logging camp not one was found defective. Of several taken at random measurements were made and the annual rings counted, with the following result: 1 1 Dinmeter j Length uf Total ' Annual rings breast Mtfh iiii'rehuiitable , height of trot? on slump (inches). ~2\ timber OVft). (Li (feel). 110 1+J0 lUi :t feet hi^h. IttJ 1 .r)fi The sapwood in none of these trees exceeded 2 inches in thickness. A loblolly pine felled on the border of the brooklet watering the valley measured 25 inches in diameter across the stump and was found to be searcelv 50 vears old. The herbaceous vegetation on these pine-clad hills is of essentially the same character as that found on the uplands of the Central pine belt, denoting a dry soil. The hidden cause of such perfection in the development of the longleaf pine on a soil apparently as unpromis- ing as any of the rolling pine barrens was clearly revealed by the 60 PLANT LI KK OF ALABAMA. examination of the subsoil. The argillaceous schist underlying the sandy surface was. found completely decomposed, transformed into a friable loam rich in plant food and sufficiently porous to permit the slow percolation of the surface water and its unhindered access to the long taproot of the pine. Open forests of longleaf pine responding to conditions similar to those prevailing on the Hanks of the Talladega Mountains or Blue Kidge of Alabama, already mentioned, cover the lower cherty ridges in Calhoun County and the isolated peaks south of Talladega known as the Alpine Mountains, which rise to a height of 1,500 to 2,000 feet above the sea. These pine forests of the metamorphie highlands and of the Cambrian hills on their outskirts have in many localities become important since the development of the iron industry in these districts. During the past twenty-five years extensive areas have been denuded of their forests to yield the large supplies of charcoal demanded by this industry. Characteristic herbaceous species here found are: fVwm rirffiavma* Eupatorium aromatinim. (/ram* aplmta. Stditlayo otforu, and others. Tjespedem hirta. StTimrfirjmx torti/oHiix. Lespedeza repem. (laylmmciti dtMiuati. MinUmiu spp. Yacc'mmm sUtmineiuiu Eitpntiyriunt trlfmm. Heavy forests of longleaf pine cover the lower hills toward the Coosa River and the adjacent deposits of sands and gravels of the valley from Renfroe to Kymulga and to the banks of the Coosa Kiver. A similar timber belt follows the drifted deposits from (Jadsden, Etc)wall County, through Cherokee County and for a short distance beyond the Alabama and Georgia State line. The timber resources of these forests in the Imsin of Coosa River have furnished the sup- plies for an active lumber industry during the last twenty live years. They are, however, rapidly becoming exhausted. Wherever a richer and deeper soil covers the heights, the slopes of the mountains, and the lower hills, deciduous trees predominate, though rarely the shortleaf pine makes its appearance. The deciduous forests of these metamorphie mountains and Coosa hills differ only slightly from the xerophile forests of the same character in other divisions of the mountain region. Notable is the greater scarcity of tulip and cucumber trees, shagbark and pale-leaf hickory, elins, and lindens, which abound in other parts. On the rocky heights above !>00 to 1,000 feet the following prevail: Qurmitt prhtu# (mountain oak). Querms tHfjifuUt (Spanish Querrtw iaarikimliwt (black jack). Qtiercux mimtr (punt uak). Qurrrua re.hUina (black or yellow oak). More rarely occur: t fjvwmit afhtt fwhiU*oak)» tlminUt (rb^shint), Ilirftrift ylahra (pignut hickory). HERBACEOUS FLORA OF THE DRY FORESTS. 61 The chestnut, originally one of the most frequent trees of these for- ests, is ut present rarely found in perfection. The older trees mostly show signs of decay, and the seedlings, as well as the coppice growth proceeding from the stump, are more or less stunted. It is asserted by the old settlers that this tree is dying out all over the mountain-region, where at the beginning of the second half of the century it was still found abundant and in j>erfection. Wild cherry {l*nuutx xerotlna) is only found here and there in the richest spots, and red plum cuitrr/mna) rarely along the banks of streams. In the mesophile for- ests of the bottom lands, as elsewhere north of the maritime belt, cow oak (Qu^rem m Texas oak (Qurreus U.rana). willow oak (Quw- cu.s plu-l/o,v), and hornbeam {(Jarplmix v its low stature, scarcely exceeding 25 or 30 feet; by the stem, which is somewhat crooked with the bark rough; the wide-spreading slender branches, which are slightly drooping; its broader, thick leaves, with a fine close pubescence beneath, and its rigid horizontally spreading racemes, the berries ripening in August. This tree was first observed in Alabama, in 189*2, on the summit of the Alpine Mountains, near the signal station (1,900 feet), on the same range near Renfroe, nearly 1,000 feet lower, and on the summit of Chehawhaw Mountain, 2,400 feet. On the exposed cliffs forming the escarpment of the last Lmicera flmut, was found, trailing abundantly over the rocks, associated with R ub us mllosus (12. <-ana- donMx authors) and Stiulax -rotund?folia. It is also found on the lower ridges of the Alpine Mountains, near Renfroe, at an elevation of about 1,000 feet, and confined to a few localities on the eastern Alleghenian ranges in South Carolina and Georgia at similar altitudes. Primus injiH-Hiidn, a low, straggling shrub lately described from northwestern Georgia, and VHis hicoh>i\ or Le Contc\ grape, are not infrequently met with on Chehawhaw Mountain, as well as on other summits of the liietamorphic region (Alpine Mountains, l,U0O feet) and on the highest of the Coosa hills (Anniston, 1,000 feet). Le Conte's grape is recognized at first sight by the long stems of a bright reddish-brown (rufous) color stretching from rock to rock and over- hanging the cliffs, the leaves sharply lobed, with deep narrow sinuses, i HERBACEOUS FLORA OF FORESTS AND FIELDS. 63 pubescent beneath, the berries in compact rather oval clusters, pur- plish black without bloom, juicy, and sweet, ripening in the latter part of September. Rohl/u'<( h't^plda and Horn hunt Hi* are common on these rocks. AimtrpJm vtrph'dsplant uxweiatvmx*—The highest summits are frequently watered by numerous springs, giving rise to grassy swales and lively brooklets. In the almost perpetually damp soil of the first prevail: (Mmunda china mumut, SHer in earoli nit in 11, llabenaria cifittri*. Angelica riflam. Soltilago avgntn. Solidago odora hiodora, The damp banks of the brooks are shaded with a varied vegetation of shrubs and small trees of which the following are examples: Kahnia latifoHo. Her opaea.] Amelaywhier cauodenxi*.1 Aronia arhidifolia.1 Xol:t*nia tign&trhiif. Hydrangea arbeen$ cordafa« A dwarfed form of the sweet birch {Ii^tala lenta) was found on the dill's near the brink where a brooklet on Chehawhaw Mountain leaps over the precipitous escarpment. This tree, a species of noble dimen- sions in its home in the Alleghenian life area, finds here, reduced to a small shrub, its southern limit. Azalea ntxmsa glaum, with Zan- thorha apllfolla% 1 frequent throughout the mountains and Coast plain, prefer the moistened rocks near the brink. In the open val- leys from l,i >00 to 2,000 feet above sea level—as, for example, in the Shinbone Valley and Talladega Valley in Clay County—the following associations of mesophile herbaceous plants have been observed. 1 (Trowing alsu in the lower valleys and un the Coast plain. t FLORA V* SOUTHERN EDGE OF METAMORPHIC HILLS. 65 Inhabiting the damp margins of water courses and the borders of low woods are found the following: (Hj) wvm t f! < tvescen *. Pohjyonvm mgiftatnm. Impatiem hi flora. ImpnlUuts fulva* (trails grandix. Pamaxxia< amrifolia. Onagra f/iennh.1 Lndtritjia altt'rnifolia*1 f'irttfiann mjxmarin. Phlox mamlata. Phlox paniciilatat Steirwiema ciliatum. Lobelia syphilUira. Lobelia inflata, I Wiionia faatcicuhtftt. Eupatorium maculatum amoenum, ftadbwkia luciniata. Ifflianthm tomentwux, threap-vis tri/rferi#, IWftfxitm alternifofia. Pah/mnia uredalin.1 Cardanaltinximnx.1 In the open bottom lands, with their meadows and pastures, the following1 grasses and other glumaceous plants form the bulk of the vegetation: Paspalutn hoxrinnnm.1 J*aspalum Inert't} Pant mm agroatidifttrme.1 Paniwm efangatmn.1 Panicum rostratnmJ Panintm clandestlnnm. Paninun commutatuni,1 Panicum pohjanthex* Syntherifnna mngvinalr*1 ifuhlenhergia rf/Jw, Elmxine indi.cn,1 SirfjUitffkt sederioidex,1 i'tirrs lurida*1 (Jnrex vulphioidm^ Panimm latifolium,1 On the borders of fields with manv of the above are found: anfjulatd.1 PhtfMtlodes physaiodett. I)iodi 'f the Met am orj>kw hiUt<.—Ail extensive collection of the vascular plants, made in the vicinity of Auburn, Lee County (850 to !)0() feet altitude), near the border line of the Ixmisianian area, was kindly contributed by the Biological Survey of Alabama. From a district investigated botanically but slightly before, it proved of particular interest, showing the intermingling of Alleghenian types with many from the Coast plain and a number of local species sparsely scattered thrmigh the Carolinian and Louisianxan areas, of which the following are remarkable examples: DrgoplerU Jlar'nfa it a,1 (}phioglmmm rrutnlophuroidrn*1 Jyi/ropoditftn tdoprrttmidrs*1 Jjeptnrrltis {il'tifttlia, Juitcux mntidniuix* fj)Mta antnnta gfaitdtdijern. ( ttfwmCLnthttn {Brirkrilia) vordifolium Enpnlorittm agemtuide*. Viola rillosa. Solitlago nt rjlrrftt, Salidatjo pad*'xrcttx* 1 (rrowin" al^o in the low^r valltjvs and on thv Coast plain. i:>S!>4 5 ()<> PLANT LIFE OF ALABAMA. Of these Dryopteri# floridana hud hitherto been known only from peninsular Florida and from Louisiana; Ophloghman<. crofalophoroides and Lympodinm (tlopeenrohh'x are known also from the const plain of the Southern Atlantic and Eastern Gulf States, and the remainder extend hither from the Alleghenian area and the upper belt of the Carolinian. The following, decidedly of northern distribution, seem to lind on these highlands their southern limit of distribution: Undarkt perfotiafa. Urularia xcwUifolia* Vtwfurra ntci'moMU Trillium xhjloxtiw. Pohjgoaainm hijfortm* Smiku- ecirrhata* A rh rofwtluw n nifolhu flahntnria hurra. Tfahettaria, Jfava. Darhija umhvlhdaia* .iwnu/i rirgiiiham. Aximina triloha. Iltfdraagra arhorrxmia. Ph ila * frfphax grand* florttx. >Sanieala mardandicam Sauimla tnfoliata. Ohimaphila vmMlnfa* Az prf i<>ii f rix. Solidafjtt hrarhgphyita. VrtJiftiltiOti. of ih<>> (JooKit />///*, frtiHr tUtUrtj land*% U-hil JUlt wooth*—On the extremely rugged area which forms the western out- skirts of this region antt- rnrno frrfii;* (('nhjrmdhitH both at home on the Alleghenian ranges from about New York to South Carolina, are strangely asso- ciated with the Carolina ash ( Fi-n.rniiix from the swamps of the Coastal plain, here inhabiting the wet banks of brooks, and form an interesting group of mesophile shrubs. In rocky but some- what rich soil on these ridges various species of blueberries abound beneath the hardwood trees, especially Vacclnimn racillavx^ a low, bushy form of V. rortfwhoxtuiu and I. imitmoatrpuiit, the so-called wild gooseberry, remarkable for its large fruit. The berries of the last are of the size of a small garden gooseberry, of a shining plum purple, almost black color, juicy and palatable, and eagerly consumed by man and animals. This shrub, from 24 to nearlv 4 feet high, when in bloom is at once recognized by the abundance of its strict!v racemose flowers, and when bending under the burden of its fruit pre- sents a pretty sight. The berries ripen in the latter part of July. It is sparsely distributed over other parts of the mountain region, and occurs also in the Ozark Hills of the same geological formation in southwestern Missouri. Where the floor of the Coosa rests upon the Silurian dolomites and subcarhoniferous limestones, and the same strata form the first terraces of the hills, the soil is highly fertile. The flora is rich in the number of herbaceous species, belonging to many families and partly of cam- pest rian and partly of sylvestrian character, and it stands in strong contrast with the flora of the arid rocky hills. In early spring ITepatlea hejHitlea and Stpulexinon f/ialictroidcs adorn the shelves. The meso- phile association of herbs, mostly perennials, is particularly attractive during later spring and the earlier part of the summer, on account of the bright flowers of the Indian pink (Sjngelia inarilaiiiJica)^ the scarlet flower of the catchfly (Silctut )■>/r(/uu<:nl(.ttv manv ft. ». 1 fissures while baking in the summer's sun, form a peculiar feature in the topography and flora of the Coosa Valley. These flats extend for many miles in the main valley where the impervious Cambrian slates form its lloor. They are for the greater part covered with a low forest of dwarfed trees, black jack, Texan oak, post oak scarcely over ^0 feet high, with equally stunted loblolly—more rarely short-leaf and scrub pines- scattered among them. These dwarfed woods are ren- dered truly impenetrable by the multitude of shrubby haw thorns (('i'tifffiyns c/'i/x-w,t\ S, hmr/fol to) and forming a perfect maze of green. In the bare openings the following form tin1 very open vegetation upon the ashy gray flats: llowt hitrtttlis. (h'itrca vlvfjlnUtutt. fJiiritjia xttjJ'rttticoMi, (jyraipxh rra^[foUa. Awlrpiu* rttririjafa. Jitncus ttciimintttw* tfrhtlb. Aponpitnn wwattJihtttiti* The last of these is the most frequent. Rosa hxmilis is here red need to a height of (> to 10 inches. No grasses or eyperaceous plants inhabiting a damp soil are met with, a fact readily accounted for when the sharp extremes of wet and dry to w hich these Hats are subjected and the total absence of decayed vegetable matter are considered. O (hdtvnd plant —About. ^5 per cent of the area of this subdivision is farm land more or less subjected to the plow; the rest is under tree covering1. High forests in their original condition prevail on the steep mountains, which are not profitable for tillage, and in valleys remote from the highways of trailic. In the metamorphic area the lower hills and valleys with a warm loamy soil, resulting from the decomposition of the more basic schists and softer shales and augitie or feldspathie gneiss, worn down far beyond their original level, are, of high and lasting fertility and almost entirely under cultivation, which is also to be said of the fertile lands of the Coosa Valley. Over one-half of the tilled lands are devoted to cotton, broad fields of which alternate with smaller ones of Indian corn (Zen ■///«//*), of small grains (mostly oats, wheat, and rye), and forage crops (clover and meadow grasses), with patches of the Chinese sugar cane or sorghum (Soryhnm FKATUBES OF WABKIOE AND COOSA TABLE-LANDS. (U) Hftwharahini)* sweet potatoes {Ipom<><-<)« ground nuts {Anwith hypogaeif)^ and more rarely the Irish potato, presenting a system of diversified farming; like that practiced throughout the mountain region, with the difference that in the richer soils of this subdivision the production of cotton, the staple crop of the South, has assumed far greater proportions. Among the cultivated fruit trees the peach takes the first rank, no other part of the State producing this fruit in greater perfection than the lower metamorphic hills and plains, where also the grape is suc- cessfully cultivated, and is, owing to the drier atmosphere, less liable than elsewhere to the injuries caused by fungoid diseases. Pears and apples are of a thrifty growth all over the mountain region and pro- duce abundant crops of high quality, particularly the latter, in situa- tions on the higher levels. TAJiLE-T.ANIlS OK T1IK "WAKKTOlt AND COOS A HASINA. l'llYSHMJK.U'HH'AL FEAT! lfi-:3 AM) t'LIMATK. This area comprises about 4,500 square miles, including all of Cull- man, Winston, Walker, and Klotiut counties, nearly all of Marshall and Dekalb, and small portions of Ktowah and Cherokee counties, with the detached spurs of the Cumberland Mountains in the north- eastern part of the Tennessee Valley in Jackson County. About three- quarters of this area contains the coal measures, with their drainage level above the Subcarboniferous limestone lands. The extreme southern spurs of the westerly Alleghanian ranges, including the Cumberland Mountains and all of the strata of the lower coal measures and underlying Subcarboniferous rocks, constitute this floral subdivision. It comprises the extensive table-lands drained by the Warrior River and of the coal lield drained by the Coosa River, covering fully three-quarters of the area of the mountain region, and also the valleys with their water level not below TOO or 800 feet above the sea. The lower Carboniferous sandstones and conglomerates form the surface rock of these table-lands. Their surface is furrowed bv the q - narrow beds and deep gorges through which the, numerous tributaries of the main channels of drainage have worn their wav. The soil resulting from the disintegration of the strata is a light, more or less sandy, loam, and where shallow, full of thin rocky fragments. The mean annual temperature on these highlands at their average elevation of from 800 to 1,500 feet is about 55(J F., with a mean of 45° for the winter and 75°for the summer months; average minimum liJ0 in January, and maximum S7 in August, The mean annual precipi- tation amounts to 55 inches; mean for the winter months 18 inches, for the summer months 14 inches. The larger streams forming the 70 PLANT LIFE OF ALABAMA, main channels of drainage have cut their bed through to the Subcar- boniferous limestone. The calcareous strata constitute the floor of the wide valleys of erosion by which the diverging ranges are separated and also of their foothills. VKKBTATIOX OK THE I'l.ATEAt'N, MOI'NTAJN SLOPKS, AM> !l [fiflER VALLEYS. Xft'ophifc forcsfx.- An uninterrupted forest of a varied growth of deciduous-leaved trees and evergreen cone bearers originally covered n n • this subdivision. On the broad expanse of the table-lands above 1)00 or .1 ,000 feet the tan-bark or mountain oak largely prevails, associated with post oak and Spanish oak, or more rarely with black-jack and black oak, occasionally with scarlet oak, a rare tree in this State; also with mocker nut, pignut hickory, and tine chestnut trees (the latter rap- idly disappearing, having been eagerly sought for on account, of their durable timber for fencings or wantonly destroyed for the nuts), and with white oak (Quercua aJhu) and highland gum {Xt/ssa sylnaft<•(/). Among the tree growth of smaller size the sour wood {Oxifth'tult'tnti a/'burntin) is most frequent, here attaining its largest development, not infrequently becoming 40 feet in height and over a foot in diameter; together with dogwood, persimmon, sassafras, and the Southern pale- bark maple {Acer h'UCMh'Mir)* and in localities with a deeper soil, the Northern sugar maple (Anr mwvhtrxw- harhaftmi). tulip tree, box elder {Acitaeroph>//la (larjrc-lcul' mag- T'dia americana (baaswood). nolia. Tilia futerophylla (basswood). These deciduous-leaved magnolias in these sheltered valleys arrive at their best development, the last having been observed with a trunk fully 20 inches in diameter. In such a valley on the northern border of Winston County, near a branch of the east fork of the Sipsey River, the yellow-flowered magnolia {May nolia acumhmta cor data), first described as a distinct species1 by Michaux the elder, was discovered by the writer in 1882. Since the original discovery of this rare and beautiful tree by this great investigator of the trees of eastern North America, on the banks of the upper waters of the Savannah River, the range of its distribution had remained obscure. It can now be said, however, to extend from upper South Carolina and the upper moun- tain region of Georgia to northwestern Alabama. Here this tree has been observed as large as a full-grown common cucumber tree, of which species Professor Sargent regards it as a variety. When unfolding under full exposure to the sun, the flowers are from a dingy canary to a golden yellow color, but are of a greenish tint when opening under the shade of the dense foliage. In the shape and size of the mature leaves the vellow-iiowered variety can scarcely be * i distinguished from the typical form; it is only in the foliage of the young vigorous shoots that the heart-shaped form of the leaves is observed. Entering near the same valley the cliff-bound channel of the Sipsey fork, one finds to his surprise the rocky defile shaded by groves of stately hemlock (7xuga canadeim#). This inhabitant of the coniferous forests of northern regions extends southward along the highest sum- mits of the Appalachian ranges to Georgia and northwestern Ala- bama, where it follows this mountain torrent for a distance of about 10 miles, nearly to the falls of Clear Creek, in Winston County, there reaching its southern limit. In this valley the hemlock is accompanied by the sweet or cherry birch, BeUda lenta, at home in the same northern life zone. XeTopliilc and mt'Hophilc herhaceoux plmit a^ociatitmn.—Belonging to 1 M. cor data Michaux, Flora, Vol. 1, p. M2S (1803). XEKOPHILE AND MESOPHILE HERBACEOUS VEGETATION. 73 the former, many ferns peculiar to the mountain region take root in the eh inks of the bare rocks. Such are: Cheilanthfx fmnenioitis* Anplvmtuti mmiUmnm* i %filardkes ittmmt* Axphwinm rtda-mnmrht. Cht'ihmfhes alabamenxi#, A#f dew turn phuiatijiituttL Pdlam atrojmrjmretL In similar situations art1 found thv following flowering ])l;ints: tSileitf* TOtundifoUa. An'naritt atrirttf. Siletw enrolhi irtita* ijteimtyhi Sftjifrttfju rirffiflirty Sewrio ohorttinx. Other species of ferns on the bordtu- line of xerophile and ineso- phile associations prefer the more sheltered rocky ledges, as: .1 xp/r%ium parndum. DirL'sotiiii pnntfitobufa. 11 no'I si it ohtitxtt. (W t» ptusorus vit iznphtfUux. Pohj}»>dim)t rnhjar>\ C'j^topte.ns frag Hi?. ('arex pieta ((ltoottierofon {Hoyl'tnia) arm,iiifolium inhabits the bare rocks forming the brink of streams, and Diamorpha pumlla is found in similar localities—both extend inif hither from the lower mountains of South Carolina and Georgia, lleucht-ra anwrivana grows in more open, and If. rugelu, Viola -m ulticaulis, and Jf*pafiri. 1 Owurs also in the I/oui»iiunan area. 74 I'LANT LIFE OK ALABAMA. Among the hugely predominating Compositae tiill rosin woods and coarse sunflowers arc conspicuous, particularly the former, which present a number of types rarely or not at all observed in the State outside of this subdivision; for example, S/Ipltiuiti mohrii and S. gat-mi u both known from Cullman County; S. trifoliatarny ranging from the plains of the Ohio Valley to the Central Prairie region; S. liWrhjatwm* If>!Utnthns wJiwiitHzii* and II. gfuuntx^ from the lower mountains of South Carolina and Georgia, and .V. foinj>o.situm% abund- ant throughout the region. The following are frequent in dry thin soils all over the Mountain region, some extending all over the State: HAUmihu# atrortiht'n*. ht fitted hirmtta. Ifeliftnfltas himttus. ! quitted MujilldefoUd*x Ilelidnfhux microcephalux. Nd/fftht# frdwri* llelidiithu# tlirarirdfitx. l^rhea rdtrmtilowt. ireliojwix lnfiditthoiilrx. Lfrht'ft leyyeffH. Parfhntium infryriftt/iuvt, Kuril!a pyntdittlintnrit/rn. Serirontrpitx wttcmirftx. Wrphilia cilidfd. A star li/1 * If tgo ^ itt\i *i(*(f ft I ist Solidago vowt/i* Orrhix $peciah'dh< Cgpripedium parrijiontm,x Arhaema qitinaium. Vircaen lulelhtutt* Iltfdru&tiH anutdeusix1 (scarrr). liirucu Ita m ru I far* tt. Dentnria diphyth*. Cuhelium cow*dor. Panax (pihupofoHntn.1 The &<>(;<{« rerenn>() with its weak, decum- bent stems, occurs here, where its foliage is scarcely ever affected by frost and never touched by the direct .sunlight, and Ifettchem rmjdi'i is also quite frequently found on the damp ledges which form the threshold of the caves, but rarely penetrates beyond them. Ifydraphyticplant axmciathtn# (puludhd phi ht-s).—On the table-land beyond the channels of the large streams and their very numerous branches no areas of great extent of a water-soaked or submerged soil are found, and the narrow channels through which the water rushes toward the lowlands afford but little chance for the spread of a hydrophile yegetation. The wet grassy swales are inhabited by the following: Amlropogon virgin irti*. Ilottudot'ehchvua (F^emn) rlrtpntnu, I^aniculariti wmrttt. Paiiiciim roxtrntutiK Putiimm commutation. Ptutimm polymtllwu. Pamnim xphaerocarpGn. Carex lurhla. Car ex lupiilina. Carex intumewew. Carex sqitarrosu (rare). Carex torta. i *n?ex grmmlaris* h7f:oi'hn(firostrix a uxtralh are found on the miry banks of Ryans Creek, Cullman County, with Peltaudra vmjinica, 'n of Lookout Mountain,—Near the northern frontier of the State the most easterly of the spurs of (lie Appalachian ranges belong- ing to this subdivision rises abruptly at Valley Head to an elevation fnilv 800 feet above Little Wills Vallev, with its floor at this point 1' J. 1,150 feet above tide water. The summit of Lookout Mountain spreads out to a wide table-land of the same character as the plateau of the Warrior coal field, and ter- minates suddenly in the precipitous escarpment abutting upon the Tennessee River known as the most prominent landmark in the Ten- nessee basin. Near Men tone, Little River, a pretty stream which follows the southern extension of this table-land, leaps over a ledge into its narrow channel, some 125 feet below. By reason of a rainfall more copious than in other sections of the mountain region (64.4 inches), and toward its northern extremity of a generally deeper and fresher soil, this mountain was recently covered with a fine hard-wood forest, chieflv of oaks, and was noted for the abundance of white oak timber 4- ™ (tywrrtf* alba) and tan-bark oak; but this timber wealth is now almost exhausted. On its flanks the black locust (Iiohinia pmud<(cacia) is found, one of the few localities in Alabama where it can be considered to be indigenous. The short-leaf pine is rarely met with on these heights. The scrub pine is more frequent, reaching its best develop- ment on rocky benches and declivities with a scanty covering of soil. On the brow of this mountain, and particularly along the low, damp banks of Little River, there occurs a strong mingling of types that arc1 at home in the Alleghenian area of the adjoining States and of North Carolina with plants of the lower ranges within the Carolinian area, ifivinsr rise to a varied flora, the like of which has not been ~ i~i f observed in any other part of the mountain region of Alabama. When the low elevation of this extremely limited spot is considered (not quite 2,000 feet above the sea), the suffusion of types from different life zones admits of no explanation on the ground of climate or local influences controlling plant distribution, but points clearly to a disjunc- tion of floral conditions due to geological changes. Among the woody plants peculiar to the Alleghenian area, Rhododendron catawbieme 78 PLANT LIFE OF ALABAMA is the most prominent. In the beginning of summer, when covered with the profu.se clusters of its purple or lilac flowers, this shrub, from ft to 10 feet in height, massed in dense thickets along the banks of Little River, forms one of the most attractive sights. The home of this shrub is ascribed to the highest crests of the southern chains of the mountains from western Virginia to Roan Mountain, on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee, at an altitude of f!,ooo feet. I t has, however, been found, by Mr. Small, at a much lower elevation on Table Mountain. At its extreme southern limit in Alabama it is asso- ciated with the Azulrd arhntweeibs and Kaiuihi Of other shrubs Viburnum (Xtxxinoidi'x^ extending to the Canadian zone, is abund- ant on the banks of this stream. Vlffiinmrn , and Cehtxfrux *nn/idem, of the same range of distribution, arc frequent among the shrubs of the more exposed rocky heights. With these AHeghenian shrubs occur a host of other species, which are at home on the southern extremity of the lower ranges within the Carolinian area, and are more or less frequent throughout our mountain region. For example: Hat w via (t'tthfeauthu#) feiiilix. Iltfrfrattfjca ttr/nti'txci-ftx nmUttts hiftmorvl uuunii ralirfa are paludial plants so far only known in the State from the hanks of Little River near De Soto Falls. There oeeurs also Danthonia aat famia comptu-^a and Ih-xchanqwia so far not yet reported from any other locality in the State, while ('(('ft',1' v/yvwyvM, Tiatwlla corl>a ^ hpta* quadrtfolta^ and Awtm/ii marraat/nun frequent the rocky dells and more or less open copses. The tiny At'faaria bra-ifo! ia, known from a few localities in upper Georgia and the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee, roots in crevices of rocks among the dark-green cushions of mosses (Grinimia, Hedwigia), with the three-leaf stonecrop (Srihtm trrnatam) and the round-leaf talinum (7hliauut Aw a fleshy perennial with rose-purple flowers adorning exposed rocks in the mountains north- ward to Pennsylvania. On the exposed rocks close to the edge and above the falls of Little River dense tufts of filiform leaves produced by a many-branched rootstock deeply sunk in the crevices attract the attention. Specimens of this plant in flower obtained in September proved to be Cltotafrophora riiyntn (Bigelovia Nutt). The identity of our plant with NuttnlTs .specimens is, however, not free from doubt. In the type collected by Nuttall in lower New Jersey and preserved in the Herbarium of the Academy of Sciences at Philadelphia the radical leaves, which furnish the decisive character, are wanting; furthermore, the similarity to I'luthamin' (/ramint'folia ascribed by Nuttall to his type is not recognized in our plant. The, locality quoted by Nuttall is also doubtful, his plant having never been found afterwards, although the ground has been closely investigated by later botanists. Under the umbrageous cover of the high forest on the upper flanks of the mountain, in the deep soil, rich in humus, tall umbelliferous herbs are conspicuous, among which are Lifjusticma mwultniw, frequent throughout the, mountains northward to Pennsylvania, Thaxpium pia- aafifiduitt, and Tha^piam hurhiaotl»\ which extends north to the Ohio Valley. Together with these occur 0.ntlix com- >autaftna, widelv distributed through the Allegheuian area. Trillium xft/losit/ti.of the southern Appalachian ranges, and ('tjj)ripvtliiua climate. \\ est of the detached spurs of the Cumberland Mountains, which form I he northeastern continuation of the table-lands south of the basin of the Tennessee liiver, this vallev is marked as an area of T 4 erosion, in which the waters have cut their channel altogether in the subcarboniferous limestone, the surface rock. The most distinctive feature of the vegetation of the Tennessee Valley consists in decid- uous forests, generally of a me«ophile composition, with decidedly northern types prevailing, and containing species in common with the Carolinian area in the Ohio Vallev which are not found in anv other * ■» piirt ol Alabama. For example of trees and shrubs there occur here: uvtmuivtt (lmckeye). Sfajthffra trifofia (bladdcrwort). Afsctihta yfuhra (buckeye). Syhip]toriw£Y}}t>x (coral- Acer Mirrharmn (suprar maple), berry), Cl&drmsti# lincioriy the appearance of the short-leaf pine among the hardwood trees. The climate of the valley is somewhat extreme. According to the observations of the United States Weather Service at Huntsville (altitude 050 feet), made during a period of fourteen years, the mean annual temperature is 59.9° F.; for the winter, 41°; spring, 59.9°; summer, 75°, and for the fall, 59.7 . The lowest temperature once during this period was 9° below zero; the highest, 9t>°. The average of annual minimum temperatures is 11'-; the average of the highest temperatures, 92", The range of temperature throughout the year is most clearly exhibited in the following table: Absolute ami average minima and maxima of temperature far rack mouth. Month. Absolute minima Average minima. Absolut*? maxima Average maxima Jan. u : 1 14. 4 75 ' J*Yb. Mar. Apr. May. June, July. Au# I o o 12.2 75 70 K 19.5 o 13 &1. x m X'2 a 31 45.8 1H) m ftL 9 92 90 Q 51 59.8 95 92 o r>\ 58/2 96 90 Sept. V m 42 91 m ot. Nov. o 29 34 XI o 13 21 78 72 7 15 68 76 The mean annual precipitation is 54.1 inches; for the winter, 14,68; spring, 15,41; summer, 15.16; fall, 8.85.1 VEGETATION OF THE TABLK-LAND8 A\l> HIGHER KflMiES. Xwophile forests {ce (black haw), JCevophile herbaceous plant —The herbaceous associations are naturally, in the main, of xerophile character. On the exposed rocky flats tiny cruciferous winter annuals till every crevice. Leaoen- worthm a urea, L. and L. tonthwt, the first harbingers of spring, arc followed by Draba ramllnkina and IK hmchycarpa. With the advent of warmer weather all herbaceous vegetation withers on these arid cedar glades, which then continue to present the aspect of absolute barrens. On the rocky banks and shelves of the sunny hillsides a varied array of characteristic herbs makes its flowery display. In the height of springtime, as observed on the southern slopes of Monte Sano»(near Huntsville) and on the northern declivity of the Warrior table-land XEROPHILE HERBACEOUS PLANTS AND MESOPHILE FORESTS. 88 near Moulton, the following' prefer the slightly sheltered rocky shelves: A H i onhi vyctafjiiwa. TMhmpermum catt&ceiw. Ranunculus JascicuktrtM. Lithoupentinm (tihrroxuHt. Aral/ix laevigata. Salmi artwaefolia.] ('layiOftia mrffhiica. ScuteJiarui annpexlrix. Arenaria- nerpyllifolia* Polymuia canadeiusi# radkitam Oprnttia rafinmpiiV Belli# integrifolia* Geranium maculatum*1 fSedum pule helium and Phac<>lui purxlt't, adorn the interstices of the rocky fragments, and Arenaria fx (tula the hare rocks. During" the first summer months the golden (lowers of Ihjpert cum aureum and // ftjtfwirocmpmi1 adorn the hills, giving way in the latter part of the season to blue and purple asters- -A*frr i hi omjifolium* A. Ineviv lati- folhiH, A. cordtfolim and others of the more commonly diffused species—and to the bright flowers of golden rods, such as Solidmjo a/t)plexivjnri'x and Brochijchtu-tit Hphmxlutn (/$. cordatri Torr. & Gi'.), which are confined to the lower southern Appalachian ranges. West of the spurs of the Cumberland highlands isolated knolls rise above the wide river plain with its seemingly interminable fields of cotton, corn, and small grain. These hillocks, of a siliceous limestone which has resisted erosion, support with their scanty covering of soil a stunted growth of chinquapin oak [Quercm acumimita)* wild plum {l*run urn amei'lca/i l>tug