SAND STRAND OF LYNNI1AVFN BAY 



381 



of mention. In somewhat boggy soil occur Galium elaytoni, Panicum 

 ciliatum, Polytrichia)) commune, and small quantities of peatmoss 

 (forms of Sphagnum cymbifolium and /S'. recurvum, occasionally 

 *S'. henryanum). in one diminutive sphagnum bog the moss, both 

 living and dead, was only 20 to 25 centimeters (8 to 10 inches) high. 

 The surface had, at noonday, absorbed much heat from the sun and 



Pig. 71. — Innermost dunes encroaching on the strand pine woods (of i J ittus tnedn ) near Virpfinia 



Beach. 



was perfectly dry, while the Lower pari was wet ami quite cold. The 

 substratum was 1 lie prevailing sand. 



AND STRAND 



OF LYN'MI \ V'ES BAY, 



The Sand Strand of Lynnhaven Bay ami its ramifications is less exposed to the 

 wind than the shores of the Chesapeake and the open Atlantic, and is therefore 

 without typical dunes. Its plant associations are somewhat different from those 

 of the outer Sand Strand, containing, as would lie expected, a larger admixture of 

 inland forms. The narrow strip of beach lies in must places in frontof an abrupt 

 bank, which is often :; to •"> meters (10 or 15 feet) high. The summit of this bank 

 is commonly covered with trees, and it forms the edge of the inland forest, but 

 shelters a plant association somewhat different I rom any other in the region. The 

 prevailing pine is often I 'in us eehhuttu, which attains a better development here 

 than elsewhere in the region, being frequently 18 meters (nil feet) high and 8 deci- 

 meters (2i feet) in diameter near the base. At other points Pinus taeda predomi- 

 nates. Other characteristic trees are tyuercus minor, which grows to a consid- 



