448 



NATUEALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



and the limestone slopes, but not Little 



Mountain. 



Larger trees: Red cedar, red oak, 

 sweet gum, willow oak Qi.iTcus Phelios), 

 scalv-bark hickor%' Hicoria ovata), 

 beech, shon-life pine {Pinus Faela), 

 mostly second growth, sycamore {Plat- 

 anus occideTitalis) , chinquapin oak {Quer- 

 eus Ifuhlertbergii}. white oak (Quercus 

 alba, Q. Schneckii), post oak (Q. 

 sUllata), water oak Q. Xigraj, walnut 

 {Juglan^ niijra^', American elm {Ulmus 

 americana . winged elm ((7. alaia), 

 hackberry Cdtis occiderUalis), tulip 

 poplar. iiri^eTj<iron), black gum, white 

 ash . :? americana. 



Sn_. . -rrs: dogwood, black willow, 

 redbud [Cercis canaden-ris) , ironwood, 

 chittamwood or smoketree [Rhus cotin- 

 oides , mulberry (ilorus rubra). 



On the Hmestone slopes are quite a 

 number of rare and interesting plants, 

 which are likely to remain for a long 

 time, on account of the impossibility of 

 cultivating such areas. Among the 

 many notc^ ' '- : ' be men- 



tioned £€ar-. . Cotinus, 



Fra-iera and Adeiia iigusirina.' 



3. The plateau region, a continuation 

 of the Cumberland plateau of Tennessee. 

 i- ' . - - horizontal strata of 



; _^ -er poor sandy loam 



soils, li is several hundred feet higher 

 than most of the neighboring limestone 

 valleys, the highest elevation being 

 about iSoO ft., on Lookout Mountain 

 near the Georgia line. Little Moxin- 

 tain, in the Tennessee Valley, is an 

 outlier of this plateau. The uplands are 

 undulating to moderately hilly, and 

 some of the streams have cut very pic- 

 turesque gorges, especially near the 

 points where they descend into the 

 limestone valleys. The streams are 

 comparatively clear most of the time. 

 The establishment of a national forest 

 in the western part or this region prom- 

 ises to preserve a considerable portion, 

 and some extensions of it are con- 

 templated. 



The plateau section is a mixed pine 

 and oak area in which the following 

 trees are important: 



Large trees: Shortleaf pine, white 

 oak, scrub or spruce pine Pinus vi^gin- 

 ianaj, chestnut, oak (Quercui montana), 

 red oak. Spanish oak (Q. coccinea), post 

 r ' :k oak {Querent telutina), and 



.Sl- "aber tree ' 'a 



macT.^. . 1 . _rwood ^Ox. ^m 



arboreum), holly {Ilex opaca). 



s In the bottoms of the Tennessee Eiver opposte 

 Deeatnr are a. few plants more coromon in the 

 eooBtal plain, nit a3 .Vjf«« ■waflora and DtcrAcm 

 9erticin«tut. 



The proportion of evergreens is 

 greatest eastward, where the rocks are 

 more metamorphosed and the summers 

 a little wetter than in the western por- 

 tion. The upland forests are rather 

 monotonous, but there are some very 

 interesting plants along streams, par- 

 ticularly in rocky places. A stirpris- 

 ingly large number of species chiefly 

 confined to the coastal plain are found 

 in the eastern portion, among them 

 Oromium, Smilax laurifolia, Magnolia 

 glauca, Sarracenia flora (or a variety of 

 it), Polygala nana, Sophronanihe pilosa, 

 Utricularia stibulata, Chondrophora vir- 

 gata. A number of species more or 

 less common here are rare or unknown 

 in other parts of Alabama. 



Lookout Mountain Region. The region 

 is thinly settled and not well provided 

 with railroads. Except p>ossibly in 

 midsummer, the naturalist who wishes 

 to explore the remoter parts of it would 

 do well to arrange to have some resident 

 accompany him for protection against 

 moonshiners. 



Little River falls and gorge, on Look- 

 out Mountain (Proposed; sandstone 

 cliffs. Noteworthy for number of rare 

 plants along river just above the falls, 

 among them Rhododendron Catavcbien-se, 

 Sarracenia, flata oreophila, Harperella 

 fluviatilis, Chondrophora virgata, and 

 HeliarUhus longifoUu-?. Threatened by 

 waterpower projects. 



In Cherokee and DeKalb counties, 

 Alabama. See Torre^a, 6: 114: 14: 1-54: 

 Xatural History, 10 : 200. 9 mi. S.E. Fort 

 Pavne I'countv seat of DeKalb Count v\ 

 3 mi. W. of Blanche. T. A. & G. R. R., 

 Cno hotel accommodations j. Xoccalula 

 Falls, with a sheer drop of about 90 ft., 

 is very accessible, being a few miles 

 north of Gadsden. DeSoto Falls on 

 Little River, 3 mi. S.E. of Valley Head. 



4. The ba-rin region, or Warrior. 

 Cahaba and Coosa coal fields, consists 

 of three distinct areas separated by 

 Umestone valleys. It merges into the 

 preceding region (Cumberland Plateau 

 Region), but differs from it principally 

 in being lower and having more shaly 

 rocks, larger and muddier streams, and 

 somewhat richer soils. 



The commonest trees are: Loblolly 

 pine, scrub pine, shortleaf pine, long- 

 leaf pine (P.pcdustris), white oak. beech, 

 red oak, sweet gum. red maple (Acer 

 ruhrumj, poplar, post oak, and 

 chestnut oak. With an understory of 

 small trees: Dogwood, black willow, 

 hop hornbeam ^Ostrya virginiana), iron- 

 wood, largeleaf magnolia, holly, and 

 southern sugar maple (Acer leucoderme). 



Warrior River bluffs. There is a re- 

 markable assemblage of interesting 



