438 



BOTANICAL SURVEY OF DISMAL SWAMP KKGION. 



on the north and oast, while similar smaller areas occur at the edges 

 of tho lesser wooded swamps. In the plant covering of such places 

 Scirpus cyperinus eriophorum is almost invariably the most important 

 element. This handsome sedge usually grows to a height of I to H 

 meters (1 or o feet). Willi it, 1ml in smaller numbers, usually occurs 

 Erianthus saccharoides, very showy with its tufts of tall culms termi- 

 nating in light colored, plume-like panicles (fig. 83). Typha latlfolia 

 and Andropoyon glomerulus are likewise often abundant constitu- 



Pio. 83.— Erianthus aaccharoiaes uu tho eastern margin of tho Dismal Swamp. 



ents of this association. Woodtntrdia viryinicu and Arundinaria 

 tecta are important in places, but these are species which are as char- 

 acteristic of the forest formation as of the open marsh. Most, of the 

 woody plaids that occur in the river' marshes arc likewise sparsely 

 represented in this association. 



Along ditches and in pools in the heart of the Dismal Swamp the 

 Reed Marsh formation is well represented. Dulicliium arundina- 

 ceum and Triadenum virqinieum are very abundant in the shallow 



