410 



NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



interesting sand dunes are found along 

 the Atlantic Coast at Ocean City. 

 These dunes occur on the outer edge of 

 a bar fringed along its inner side by 

 fresh or salt Marshes. The predominant 

 phmt of the dune is the seasand reed 

 with which are associated the plants 

 characteristic of dunes throughout the 

 North Atlantic Coast, as, American sea 

 rochet, beach heather, sea beach sand- 

 wort, seaside evening primrose, Ameri- 

 can cocklebur, saltwort, knotweed 

 spurge and seaside knotweed. 



Ocean City, B. C. & A. R. R., is in 

 the immediate neighborhood. — C. C. 

 Hamilton. 



Historic and Other Trees Worth 

 Preservation, Maryland 



Tulip trees on St. John's College 

 Campus, Annapolis. 

 Wye Mills Oak near Easton. 

 St". Paul's Oak near Chestertown. 



4. VIRGINIA 



By Ivey F. Lewis 



The fauna and flora of Virginia in their 

 geographical affinities include represen- 

 tatives of four of the great forest types: 

 the northern coniferous forest type 

 (the Boreal Canadian), the northern 

 mixed coniferous and hardwood forest 

 type (Transition Alleghenian), the 

 mixed hardwood forest type (Upper 

 Austral Carolinian), and the southern 

 mixed coniferous and hardwood type 

 (Lower Austral-Austroriparian) . 



The northern coniferous forest 

 (Canadian) fauna and flora is limited 

 to a small area, comprising the higher 

 Alleghenian ridges in the extreme south- 

 western corner of the State. Into this 

 zone come some of the animals and 

 plants characteristic of more northerly 

 localities, particularly evergreen trees 

 such as red spruce {Picea rubra), hem- 

 lock {Tsuga canadensis), and southern 

 balsam {Abies halsamea). 



The northern mixed coniferous and 

 hardwood forest (Alleghenian zone) 

 covers the lower ridges and high valleys 

 of the western portion of the state. 

 It stretches in a band about 100 mi. wide 

 from the northern to the southern 

 boundary, running northeast by south- 

 west. It includes the Blue Ridge, the 



Appalachian Valley (Shenandoah Val- 

 ley), and the lower of the Appalachian 

 Ridges. Here the 



"chestnut, walnut, oaks, hickories (and 

 yellow poplar), of the South meet and 

 "overlap the beech, birch, hemlock, and 

 sugar maple of the North; the southern 

 mole and cottontail rabbit meet the 

 northern star-nosed and Brewer moles 

 and varying hare; and the southern 

 bob-white, Baltimore oriole, bluebird, 

 catbird, chewink, brown thrasher and 

 wood thrush live in or near the haunts 

 of the bobolink, solitary vireo, and the 

 hermit and Wilson's thrushes. "^ 



The butternut and hazelnut are also 

 characteristic. 



The mixed hardwood forest area 

 (Carolinian zone) occupies the Pied- 

 mont Plateau between the "fall line" 

 and the eastern base of the Blue Ridge, 

 as well as the northern portion of the 

 Coastal Plain. It embraces the central 

 part of Virginia and much of the eastern 

 section. Characteristic trees are sassa- 

 fras, yellow poplar {Liriodendron tulip- 

 ifera), hackberry {Celtis occidentalis) , 

 sycamore {Platanus occidentalis), red- 

 bud (Cercis canadensis), persimmon 

 {Dios'pyros virginiana), shortleaf pine 

 {Pinus echinata), and hickories, with 

 chestnut {Castanea dentata), and walnut 

 {Juglans nigra) common in the western 

 portion, and willow oak {Quercus phel- 

 los), sweet gum (Liquidambar styra- 

 ciflua), and sweetbay (Magnolia 

 virginiana) in the eastern section. Of 

 animals, the opossum {Didclphis vir- 

 giniana), gray fox (Urocyon cinereoar- 

 genteus), fox squirrel {Sciurus niger 

 neglectus), cardinal, Carolina wren, 

 tufted titmouse, gnatcatcher, summer 

 tanager, and yellow-breasted chat are 

 common. 



The southern mixed coniferous and 

 hardwood forest area (Austroriparian 

 zone) occupies the southeastern corner 

 of the state, with its best development 

 seen in the Great Dismal Swamp of 



1 Merriam, C. H.: Life zones and crop zones. 

 Bulletin 10, United States Department of Agri- 

 culture, 1898. See also Merriam: The Geographic 

 Distribution of Life in North America with special 

 reference to the Mammalia. Proceedings of the 

 Biological Society of VVashington, Vol. 7, pp. 1-64. 

 1892. 



