NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS 



455 



mals were abundant: opossum, cotton- 

 tail rabbit, southern fox squirrel, gray 

 squirrel, flying-squirrel, bats, white- 

 tailed deer*, bear*, skunk, gray and 

 red fox, wolf*, wild-cat*, and cougar*. 



Along the streams and on moist 

 slopes were: white oak, willow oak, 

 water oak, walnuts, maples, hackberry, 

 hop hornbeam, tupelo and black gum, 

 red gum, and cypress. Hydrangeas, 

 trailing arbutus {Epigaea repens), trum- 

 pet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) , 

 and liverleaf {Hepaiica sp.) flourished. 

 Muskrat and beaver lodges were common 

 and mink and raccoon abounded. Wil- 

 low (Salix nigra) and alder {Alnus 

 serrulata) formed thickets along wet 

 spring branches. Otters* were not un- 

 common. 



Fish were abundant in the streams. 

 Among the species were: minnows 

 {Notropis umbratilis punctulalus, N. 

 bellus and Fundulus notatus), buffalo 

 {Ictiohus iirus, cijprinella, buhalus), 

 yellow cat {Ameiurus natalis), channel 

 cat {Ictalurus punclatiis), and speck 

 {Ulocentra stigmaea). 



2. Pontotoc Ridge. Deciduous hard- 

 wood forest. The topograph j^ and the 

 biota closely approximated that of the 

 Tennessee River Hills. 



S. Northeast Prairie Region. Topog- 

 raphy. This gently rolling land re- 

 sembles the western prairies. The soil 

 is a loamy clay of Cretaceous limestone 

 origin. 



Original biota. Some of the charac- 

 teristic prairie species were: compass 

 plant (Silphium laciniatum), prairie 

 dock (S. terebinthinacenm), milkweed 

 {Asclepias species), Indian plantain 

 {Cacalia tuber osa), prairie clover {Peta- 

 lostemum candidum), white evening 

 primrose (Oenothera speciosa, 0. triloba), 

 blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium sp.j, 

 black-eyed Susan, and other species of 

 Rudbeckia. Horned toads have been 

 taken but it is probable that they arc 

 not indigenous. Sandhill crane, ui)land 

 plover and partridge were abundant. 

 The bison* was once common but was 

 one of the first species to disappear. 

 This prairie region was almost treeless 



except for scattered clumps of cnib- 

 api)lt«, honey locust, and red cedar; 

 and along the streams a heavy growth 

 of lowland oaks, hickory, iioney locust, 

 tulip poplar, maples, an<l lush. Asso- 

 ciated with these were: wi.stcria, papaw, 

 buckeye, blue phlox, cinnamon fern, 

 wild yam-root, common wood violet, 

 and others. The fauna associated with 

 these was characteristic of slightly 

 sluggish stream bottoms. Fish were 

 abundant. They included carp (Opso- 

 pocodus cmiliae), minnows, darters (Bole- 

 soma camurum, Elheosloma nrlcsiae, 

 Microperca proeliaris), and yellow and 

 channel cat. 



4- Jackson Prairie Belt. Similar con- 

 ditions obtained in this region though 

 there were marked intrusions from the 

 adjacent sections. 



■5. Flat woods Region. Topography. 

 The soil of this strip of undulating land 

 is a heavy clay or fine sand, poor, and 

 usually cold, acid and water-logged. 

 The streams are sluggish and adjacent 

 lands are subject to overflow. 



Original biota. Xerophitic mixed for- 

 est. The original forest was open and 

 to the north consisted largely of xero- 

 phitic oaks on the uplands with a low- 

 land growth very similar to that of the 

 North Central Plateau. Loblolly and 

 jellow pine were dominant over the oaks 

 in the southern portion of the region. 

 The fauna included species of tlie 

 adjacent regions. 



6. North Central Plateau. Topog- 

 raphy. The altitude of this maturely 

 eroded plateau varies from about 400 

 to 700 ft. Due to erosion the surface 

 has become gently rolling in tiie uplands 

 and intricately dissected near the 

 streams. Notwithstanding excellent 

 drainage in the uplands tlic first bot- 

 toms of the streams are often swampy. 

 The eastern and soutlicrn lialf of the 

 region has a clayey or sandy .soil wliich 

 in the western iialf is ovi-rl.iiii \<\ a 

 brown loam. 



Original biota. Xerophitic mixed for- 

 est. In tlio original forest on the sandy 

 uplands the shortleaf yellow \t'\nc was 

 the dominant type though the forest 



