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NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



jelatively more abundant now than 

 formerly. The commonest species seem 

 to be as follows: 



The trees are mostly those of the 

 western division, with some slight differ- 

 ences in relative abundance. Among 

 the smaller trees, Quercus Catesbaei, Q. 

 cinerea, and Osmanthus americana may 

 be mentioned. 



Most of the plants are of common and 

 widely distributed species, but there are 

 a few which range mostly southward and 

 eastward, into regions with still sandier 

 soils and wetter summers. A very 

 interesting spot is the "pocosin," a few 

 miles east of Troy (see U. S. soil map of 

 Pike County), an area of practically un- 

 touched forest of the sandy hammock 

 type, about ^ mi. in diameter, unlike 

 anything else known in Alabama, but 

 not very different from some of the 

 hammocks of Florida. (See Bull. Torreij 

 Bot. Club, 41: 209-220. 1914.) 



The Pea River near Elba flows through 

 a miniature canyon, and on its steep 

 wooded sides are a few plants of 

 interest, such as Adiantum Capillus- 

 Veneris, Stenanthium gramineum, Rhap- 

 idophyllum Hystrix, Magnolia pyr ami- 

 data, Ilex vomitoria, and {Kalmia 

 lulifoUa). Patsaliga Creek and the Co- 

 necuh River, near River Falls and Anda- 

 lusia, have rocky shoals with river weed 

 .{Podostemon), but these are likely to be 

 ruined by water-power develop.nents. 



Pocosin Sand Area (available). About 

 3 sq. mi. of sandy soil on the east side 

 of Walnut Creek 100 mi. north of the 

 Gulf. The so-called pocosin proper 

 consists of about a hundred acres of 

 many-storied climax forest of a type 

 characteristic of the dry sandy soil of 

 the Gulf Coast. The majority of the 

 trees and some of the shrubs are ever- 

 green. Most of these are non-coniferous 

 and of the live oak or magnolia type. 

 The surrounding sand hill country is 

 covered with more sparse vegetation 

 including scrub oaks and pines as the 

 chief outstanding feature. The fauna 

 includes the raccoon, opossum, gray 

 fox, fox squirrel, gray squirrel, and 

 pocket gopher. 



Located in Pike County, midway 

 between Troy andBrundidge. The dis- 

 tance between Troy and Brundidge is 

 approximately 10 mi. A small station 

 called Banks is midway between the two 

 by rail. Suggested by R. M. Harper. 

 (See Torrey Bull., 41: 209.) Compiled 

 by V. E. S. 



14. The lime hills belt is much like the 

 western division of the red hills, except 

 for having more limestone and perhaps 

 more red soils. Probably at least three- 

 fourths of it is wooded, and there has not 

 been much damage from logging. 



The vegetation of the lime hills in 

 Alabama is not very different from that 

 of the adjacent red hill belt. 



Large trees: Longleaf pine, short-leaf 

 pine, sweet gum, red oak, spruce pine 

 (Pinus glabra), red cedar, black-jack oak, 

 magnolia, beech, cypress, post oak, sugar 

 maple (Acer floridanum) , 



Small trees: Dogwood, redbud, holly, 

 ironwood, and hop hornbeam. 



Shrubs and vines: Dwarf palmetto, 

 poison ivy, sparkleberry (Batodendron), 

 Virginia creeper, red buckeye {Aesculus 

 Pavia), tyty, and {Aralia spinosa). 



The commonest native herb is the 

 epiphytic Spanish moss {Tillandsia us- 

 neoides). About the half the trees are 

 evergreen. 



Among the noteworthy plants in the 

 lime hills are Asplenium angustifolium, 

 Rhapidophyllum, Dirca, and Campanula 

 Americana. 



In the lime hills there are mineral 

 springs of various kinds, some contain- 

 ing salt, some lime, and some sodium 

 carbonate, but their influence on vege- 

 tation has never been studied. They 

 are most frequent in the southeastern 

 corner of Choctaw County and the 

 southern part of Clarke, and may be 

 reached in a few hours' walk from Silas 

 and Jackson. 



15. The lime-sink region is level to 

 undulating, with many ponds and a 

 few sinks and caves. The soils are pre- 

 vailingly sandy. Unlike most of the 

 regions previously described, this is 

 characterized by open park-like long- 

 leaf pine forests, carpeted with numerous 

 grasses and other narrow leaved herbs. 

 It is swept by fire every year or two, 

 usually in early spring, which is the 

 dry season. (Late summer is the rainy 

 season.) Most of the ponds are pretty 

 well filled with such water-loving trees 

 as cypress {Taxodium imbricarium) 

 black gum and May haw. There are 

 swamps along most of the streams, and 

 dense hardwood forests (hammocks) 

 around the few limestone outcrops. 



As the soil responds readily to fertili- 

 zation, much of the forest has been 

 cleared by farmers. The wooded area 

 decreased from about 95% in 1880 to 

 50% in 1920. However, there are still 

 some splendid stands of virgin timber, 

 not even turpentined, within a few 

 miles of the sawmill at Lockhart, Ala. 

 (The city of Florala, on the state line, 

 a mile or two away, is a good center for 

 botanical excursions.) 



The herbs are a conspicuous part of 

 the vegetation of this and most of the 

 remaining regions. Longleaf pine origi- 

 nally made up at least half of the forest 

 and next in importance are the following. 



Large trees: Slash pine {Pinus Elli- 



