UNDERGROWTH OF INLAND MIXED FOREST. 401 



Mingled with those larger shrubs are numerous nndershrubsand half 

 shrubs. Such are Vaccinium stamineum, V. vaciUans, V. virgatum 

 tenellum, and Gaylussada frondosa in the higher, drier woods. In 

 moist low pine woods Rubus hispidus sometimes carpets the ground 

 with its slender, trailing, prickly steins. Arundinaria tecta, usually 

 :j to decimeters high, often forms a close covering in moist ground 

 in open pine woods, excluding other growth almost entirely. 



In this, as in other format ions of the Coastal plain, woody climbers 

 or lianas are almost everywhere abundant in the drier parts, forming 

 dense tangles among the undergrowth. Where moisture is more abun- 

 dant their large stems climb high on the trees. Hence most of the 

 species having this life form show transitions in the inland forest from 

 their typical habit on the dimes to that which they assume in the 

 wooded swamps. One of the most abundant and generally distributed 

 species is Smilax rotundifolia. Rhus radicans, Vitis rotundifolia, 

 V. aestivalis, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Tecoma radicans, and Gel- 

 semium sempervirens are also very common. Smilax glauca, S. bona- 

 nox, and Lonicera sempervirens are unimportant in number of indi- 

 viduals as compared with their abundance in the maritime vegetation, 

 while Bignonia crucigera and Berchemia scandens are in this forma- 

 tion hardly to be regarded as more than waifs from the swamps. As 

 illustrating the abundance and luxuriance of the liana form in this 

 part of the Coastal Plain, it is worth mentioning that near Edenton, 

 N. C, a large tulip tree (Liriodendron) afforded support^to two speci- 

 mens of Tecoma (one with a stem diameter of 8 centiiieters), three 

 specimens of Decumaria (one of them 4 centimeters through), one 

 specimen of Rhus radicans, and one of Kignonia, all firmly attached 

 to the trunk from near the ground, while a large Smilax rotundifolia 

 joined forces from the top of a neighboring small tree. 



The habit of the lianas is most various. In dry, comparatively 

 open woods, where pine is almost the only timber, they usually trail 

 upon the ground ( Vitis rotundifolia, V. aestivalis, Smilax boiia-nox, 

 Tecoma radicans, Gelsemium sempervirens), or have long under- 

 ground stems sending up occasional leafy and flowering branches 

 {Rhus radicans). These are forms which the species usually assume 

 on and near the dunes. Where the undergrowth is heavy they form 

 dense tangles among the bushes (especially species of Vitis and 

 Smilax.) While in lower moist ground where the growth of shrubs 

 and small trees is rather scanty, and a transition to palustrine forest 

 is therefore to be recognized, the lianas assume the high-climbing 

 form (notably Gelsemium, Vitis spp., Synilax rotundifolia). 



Owing to the density of the woody growth in most parts of this 

 forest formation, herbaceous plants have a comparatively limited 

 space for development. In the drier, more open pine woods, how- 

 ever, where woody undergrowth is sometimes sparse, the ground is 

 often covered with grasses (Danthonia sericea, J), spicata, Aristida 



