M1NOK PLANTS OF BLACK GUM FOREST. 421 



(Vitis rotund i folia), which climb by twining (the young stems and 

 branches of the two latter with the aid of tendrils); and Deciimarict 

 barbara and the poison ivy {Rhus radicans), which hold fast to the 

 bark by means of innumerable aerial roots (PL LXX). In spring the 

 fragrant bright yellow campanulate blossoms of Gelsemium and the 

 large trumpets, dusky red outside, orange-colored within, of Bignonia 

 are produced in great profusion among the crowns of the trees. In 

 early summer Decumaria puts forth numerous cymose (dusters of 

 small white flowers. Less common are Vitis labrusca, Smilax rotundi- 

 folia, and S. waiter i, the latter quite conspicuous when its scarlet 

 fruits are mature. Smilax laurifolia, abundant in (he open swamp, 

 occurs only on the edges of tin 4 black gum forest, being decidedly a 

 sun-loving plant. Clematis crispa, with handsome, lilac-purple flow- 

 ers, and the ground nut, Apios apios^ are frequent, but are not to be 

 classed among the larger woody lianas. The former lias weak, thin 

 stems with a comparatively slight development of wood, while the 

 latter is a perennial twining herb. Farther south, near Newbern, 

 Ampelopsis arborea is a common liana of the wooded swamps. 



In every direction (he ground is encumbered with old logs and 

 stumps in all stages of decomposition. Upon these is the favorite 

 haunt of saprophytic fungi, as well as of small phanerogams such as 

 Tipularia unifolia, Habenaria alavellata, Gaultheria procumbens, and 

 MitclieUa repens. Liverworts and mosses are likewise abundant on 

 dead stumps and upon the liases of living trees. The smooth, light- 

 gray bark of the red maple affords a home to numerous Bryophyta. 

 A woody parasite, the mistletoe (Phoradeiulroiiflarescens), is abun- 

 dant upon the branches of Nyssa biflora and Acer ruhruni, especially 

 around Lake Drummond, where in the spring its dark leaves contrast 

 strikingly with the tender green of the young foliage of the host trees 

 (fig. 7i>-). Occasionally it grows upon the main trunk of small red 

 maples, sometimes at a height of only 1 meter (3 feet) from the ground. 



Two vascular epiphytes, besides numerous lichens, make their home 

 upon the branches of Taxodium, especially on the margin of the lake 

 and other open places, where light is plentiful. These are a fern, Poly- 

 podium polypodioides (ineanum), and a phanerogam, Spanish moss 

 (Tillandsia usneoides). The latter was noticed only upon the small 

 cypress trees in Lake Drummond (Plate LXVIII), where it is rather 

 scarce, and none was seen with stems over a half meter (1^ feet) long. 2 



'The one species of the Leguminosae which can be said to be thoroughly at 

 home in the Dismal Swamp. 



'-' On Long Creek, near Cape Henry, Tillandsia usneoides grows to a length of 4 

 feet. This plant must formerly have been common in the region, to judge from a 

 remark of Colonel Byrd in the ''Westover Manuscript," where, speaking of the 

 trees near the Dismal Swamp, he writes that they " looked very reverend, with 

 the long moss that hung dangling from the branches. Both cattle and horses eat 

 this moss greedily in winter when other provender is scarce, though it is apt to 

 scour them at first. " 



