372 



BOTANICAL SURVEY OF DISMAL SWAMP UKOlnN. 



Other shrubs which occur on the open dunes arc Prumiti tmousti- 

 folict (rl/iro.so), P. si rofi no, /)iosj>i/r<>s r/'ri/i n io >io , Stilix flliviatilis 

 (lo7igifolia), Qiiercus viryiniana (vireius), Bactrfiaris halimifolia, and 

 occasionally Geplialaniliibs oecidentalis and Plafanus oecidentalis. 

 Of these each of the two species of Primus, as well as the Salix and 

 Cephalani fins, somet hues Conn small thickets, excluding other shrubs. 

 The occurrence of such normally water-loving plants as Baccharis, 

 Salix, Platanus, and Cephalani hus on the summits of the dunes is a 



Fui. 04.— Thicket of " myrtle " ( Myrica caralinensis) on a dune at Capo Henry, Va. 



Striking indication of the abundant water content of t lie sands. ( )nly 

 a few meters distant, in soil of precisely the same character, such a 

 plant as Priinns any list /folio, which is usually confined to the driest 

 soils, may be seen growing vigorously. The live oak (Quercus viryin- 

 iana) hardly occurs as a tree on the Virginia coast, nor does it form 

 thickets (fig. <'>">). Among the open dunes it is a straggling shrub with 

 gnarled stems usually I -A <»r 2, sometimes '.i, meters (•"> to 10 feet) long, 



