456 



NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



contained many hardwood trees in- 

 cluding blackjack, post oak and Spanish 

 oak, hickories, and elm, with a scrubby 

 undergrowth of deerberry, sumac {Rhus 

 glabra and copallina), poison ivy {R. 

 toxicodendron radicans), New Jersey 

 tea {CeanoUius americanus), hydrangeas, 

 muscadine {Vilis rotundijolia), and such 

 herbaceous forms as asters (several 

 upland species), cinquefoil, puccoon 

 {Lithospermum canescens), upland milk- 

 weeds, birdfoot violet, and tick trefoil 

 {Desmodium spp.)- In the richer loamy 

 soils of the northern and western section 

 pine became rare and the oaks and more 

 mesophytic species were dominant. 

 The upland flora included the species 

 mentioned and plantain {Plantago aris- 

 tala), crowfoot {Ranunculus fascicula- 

 ris), day-flower {Commelina virginica), 

 cranesbill {Geranium sp.), dwarf dande- 

 lion, everlasting {Antennaria -plantagi- 

 nifolia), may apple, several species of 

 violets, wild yam-root, alum root, 

 spiderwort {Tradescantia virginiana), 

 bracken {Pteris aquilina), and beech 

 fern {Phegopteris hexagonoptera) . 



The fauna of this region was typical. 

 Insects, crustaceans, millipeds, and 

 centipeds were abundant. Other com- 

 mon species were: toad {Bufo lentigino- 

 sus), tree toad {Hyla versicolor), leopard 

 frog, scorpion or blue tailed lizard 

 {Eumeces fasciatus), common lizard 

 {Sceloporus undulatus), garter snake, 

 green snake {Opheodrys aestivus), blue 

 racer {Bascanion constrictor), king snake 

 {Lampropcltis getuhis), spreading adder 

 {Heterodon platirhinos), copperhead 

 {Agkistrodon conioririx), and rattle- 

 snake {Crotalus sp.). 



The birds and mammals included all 

 the species mentioned in the discussion 

 of the Tennessee River Hills and the 

 prairies. 



A heavy forest of hardwoods covered 

 the fertile lowlands. Common trees 

 were: white oak, basket oak, overcup 

 oak, and water oak, red and river maple, 

 sycamore, slippery and white elm, 

 l)eech, scaly bark {Carya ovata), tulip 

 poplar, redbud, holly {Ilex opaca), 

 river birch, and cypress. The under- 



growth consisted of: button bush, holly 

 (/. decidua), bladdernut {Staphylea 

 trifolia), Virginia creeper {P seder a quin- 

 quefolia), pepper vine {Cissus arbor ea), 

 papaw, red haw {Crataegus marshallii), 

 swamp rose {R. Carolina), trumpet 

 honeysuckle, muscadine, trumpet 

 creeper {Tecoma radicans), bamboo 

 brier {Smilax rotundifolia), cane {Arun- 

 dinaria sp.), blue phlox, jack-in-the- 

 pulpit, ferns, yellow fringed orchis, 

 and marsh St. John's wort. 



In marshes and in the edges of ponds 

 or sluggish waters were boneset {Eupato- 

 rium perfoliatum) , false dragon head, 

 sedge {Dulichium arundinaceum), arrow- 

 head {Sagittaria engelmanniana), great 

 bulrush {Scirpus validus), swamp rose 

 mallow {Hibiscus moscheutos), deer grass 

 {Rhexia sp.), and water purslane {Lud- 

 vigia palustris). 



Snails were numerous. Several spe- 

 cies of mussels were abundant in the 

 streams. Some of the fish were: shovel 

 bill cat {Polyodon spathida), gar {Lepi- 

 sosteus sp.), channel cat, mud cat {Lep- 

 tops olivaris), buffalo, minnow {Hybog- 

 nathtis hayi), and a carp {Opsopoeodus 

 emiliae). Bull frogs, water moccasins 

 {Agkistrodon piscivorus), water snake 

 {Matrix fasciatus), copperhead rattle- 

 snake, soft shelled turtle {Trionyx sp.), 

 Cumberland turtle {Chrysemys elegans), 

 and mud turtle (C. sp.) were abundant 

 in and near the streams and ponds. 

 Essentially all of the species of birds and 

 mammals listed in the Tennessee River 

 Hills and in the prairies occurred in 

 this section. 



7. Loess or Bluff Hills Region. Topog- 

 raphy. The soil is a fine calcareous 

 silt which has been much eroded forming 

 precipitous hills. This is a transition 

 area both as to topography and biota. 



Original biota. Hardwood forest. In 

 the south a gloomy condition of the for- 

 est was due to the dense growth of Span- 

 ish moss {Tillandsia usneoides) on the 

 trees, and lianes including: fox, river 

 bank and muscadine grapes, Virginia 

 creeper, cross vine {Bignonia capreolata), 

 trumpet creeper, and supple jack. 

 Magnolias and the Cherokee rose {R. 



