Jones: Flora of Illinois 7 



ozark hills 



The Ozark Ridge of southern IlUnois is the most conspicuous topographic 

 feature in the state. The axis of the ridge hes along an east-west line across 

 the southern part of the state from Jackson and Union counties to Gallatin 

 and Hardin counties. The highest point is Williams Hill in Pope County, 

 with an elevation of 1065 feet. The flora of the Ozark Hills has been little 

 affected by the Illinois ice-sheet, which apparently did not reach beyond the 

 northern edge of the area. There are several species of vascular plants which 

 have not extended their ranges northward in Illinois and are therefore peculiar 

 to this part of the state. Some of these plants are: PolypoSum ceteraccinum, 

 Pinus echinata, Smilax bona-nox, Ulmtis alata, Magnolia acuminata, Sedum 

 pulchellum, Rhododendron niidiflorum, Vaccinium arboreum, and Phlox 

 stellaria. 



TERTIARY DIVISION 



The Mississippi Embayment of the Coastal Plain of the south Atlantic 

 and Gulf states extends into Illinois as far as the southern base of the Ozark 

 Hills. The Tertiary deposits in the bottomlands of Alexander, Pulaski, and 

 Massac counties contain a number of austrcriparian species that have not 

 migrated northward into the glaciated areas. Some of these are: Taxodium 

 distichum, Arundinaria gigantea, Quercus phellos, Planera aquatica, Itea 

 virginica. Wisteria macrostachya, Nyssa aquatica, Bumelia lycioides, and 

 Bignonia capreolata. 



