350 



NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



{Gaultheria procumbens) and trailing 

 arbutus (Epigaea repens). 



In this region are red fox (Vxdpes 

 fulva), skunk {Mephitis nigra), gray 

 squirrel, and a great variety of birds, 

 including both northern and southern 

 species. Rattlesnakes are numerous. 

 The larger mammals which formerly 

 inhabited this area — black bear (Ursus 

 americanus), cougar {Felis cougnnr), 

 bob-cat {Lynx rufus), Virginia deer 

 {Odocoileus virginianus) — are now ex- 

 tinct with the exception of black bear. 

 2. The second region which is quite 

 well defined is one underlain by lime- 

 stones of the Cincinnatian Series. It is a 

 region of low relief, rolling to hilly, and 

 lies about 500 ft. lower than the moun- 

 tain section to the east. In this is the 

 so-called Bluegrass Region of Kentucky. 

 The boundary of this region begins near 

 Maysville and extends to Stanford in 

 Boyle County and then circles around to 

 near Louisville. The fertile Bluegrass 

 Region was originally entirely forested. 

 Several forest types could be distin- 

 guished: (1) bur oak {Quercus macro- 

 carpa), chinquapin oak {Q. muhlen- 

 bergii), white oak {Q. alba), shellbark 

 hickory {Carya ovata), black walnut 

 {Juglans nigra) ; (2) tulip tree, beech, 

 white oak, red oak, hickory; (3) white 

 oak, sweet gum {Liquidambar styraci- 

 fiua), red maple {Ace rubrum); and (4) 

 on the best soils, sugar maple, blue 

 ash {Fraxinus quadrangulata), black 

 walnut, pignut hickory {Carya glabra), 

 mulberry {Morus rubra), Kentucky 

 coffee tree {Gymnocladus dioica). 

 Chestnut, hemlock and pines, so plenti- 

 ful in the iViOuntainous section to the 

 east, are absent here. Little of this 

 forest now remains. The remnants are 

 open forests of blue ash, bur oak, chin- 

 quapin oak, black walnut and sugar 

 maple. Grasses now carpet the floor 

 of grazed forests, the most important 

 being Kentucky blue grass {Poa praten- 

 sis) and orchard grass {Dactylis glomer- 

 ata). The little red fox is quite common 

 in the hillier portions of the region, 

 especially near Falmouth. 

 3. A region lying to the west of these 



two regions and extending west to the 

 Tennessee River is underlain by lime- 

 stones of Mississippian age. In this 

 area, there is found an open region 

 specially in the lower portion which is 

 known as the barrens. This was orig- 

 inally covered with prairie grasses and 

 low and stunted trees of black jack oak 

 {Quercus marilandica), post oak (Q. 

 stellata), and black oak (Q. velutina). 

 Since the cessation of prairie fires and of 

 grazing by bison, a forest of small and 

 poorly developed trees has grown up, 

 made up of the following species: black 

 jack oak, Spanish oak, red ce 'ar {Juni- 

 perus virginiana), black gum {Nyssa 

 sylvatica), sweet gum and sugar maple. 



4. West of the Tennessee River one 

 finds a region belonging to the Quater- 

 nary age, and the country is generally 

 more or less rolling. The forest of this 

 region is made up of shingle oak, red 

 oak, overcup oak {Quercus lyrata), and 

 scattered beech and sugar maple on the 

 richer lands. The smaller plants are: 

 Bidens arisiosa, Helenium tenuifolium, 

 Hedeoma pulegioides, Solidago spp., 

 Aster spp., Vernonia fasciculata, Ver- 

 nonia missurica, Ambrosia tridentaia, 

 and Silphium. 



5. The alluvial land of the Mississippi 

 River bottoms constitutes the fifth 

 distinct area of the state. Here are 

 typical sloughs, small lakes, a\i.d swamps. 

 In these the principal trees are sugar 

 berry {Celtis mississippiensis), water 

 locust {Gleditsia aquatica), willow oak 

 {Quercus Phellos), bald cypress {Taxo- 

 dium distichum) and cottonwood {Popu- 

 lus deltoides). The chief herbaceous 

 plants are: American lotus {Nelumbo 

 lutea), white water lily {Castalia 

 odorata), spatterdock {Nymphaea ad- 

 vena) and false loosestrife {Ludvigia 

 sp.). The wood duck is found to breed 

 in this region. 



S. Present biota {W. R. J.)^ 



There are no large regions in Kentucky 

 remaining today in which the fauna and 



' Primeval Tracts of Kentucky, by W. R. Jillson. 

 Reprint from Pan-American Geologist, Vol. XLI, 

 April, 1924. 



