J. WEST FLORIDA PINE HILLS. 233 



sjjrings, discharging a few gallons a minute, and there are said to be 

 a few rather large ones tributary to Alaqua Creek. Except for the 

 Apalachicola, Yellow and Escambia Rivers, the streams are practi- 

 QTcAXy free from mineral sediment. The smallest branches are al- 

 most perfectly clear, and the creeks usually coffee-colored from dis- 

 solved and suspended vegetable matter.* 

 Vegetation Types — The prevailing type of vegetation is open 

 forests of long-leaf pine. On the driest uplands or where the sand 

 is deepest there is a considerable admixture of small black-jack oaks 

 and a few other deciduous trees with small or thick leaves. The 

 v/et slopes of the broader branch-valleys have a characteristic bog 

 or wet pine-barren flora, more richly developed in this region than 

 anywhere else in Florida. There are all gradations between dry 

 aiid wet pine land, as in the neighboring cypress pond region. At 

 the heads of some of the streams are dense tyty bays (one of which 

 was figured in the Third Annual Report, p. 253). Swamps are 

 common, and vary in character with the size of the stream travers- 

 ing,- them, and the distance from the coast; the largest streams, 

 which fluctuate the most, being bordered by vegetation indicating 

 richer soil than that of the non-alluvial and the estuarine swamps. 

 Shallow ponds with cypress, slash pine or black gum occur in tlu- 

 flatter places, but much less frequently than in region no. 2. 



Fire is f rec[uent in the pine forests and rare in the swamps. Small 

 areas of upland protected from fire by being partly surrounded 

 by swamps are characterized by hammock vegetation, here as in 

 other long-leaf pine regions. 



Plants — iThe following list of plants is based on observations 

 made on 34 different days, distributed as follows : Mar;:h, 5 ; April, 

 I ; May, i ; June, IQ; July, 2; September, 6; October, i ; December, 

 8. It ought to be reasonably complete as far. as it goes; but a few- 

 trees and shrubs seen only once or twice, and all herbs noted less 

 than seven times, are omitted for the reasons given on page 185. In 

 order to bring out certain local irregularities in distribution, which 

 are more or less significant, the percentages for the two parts of the 

 region are given separately. !The first column is for the part west 

 of the lake region, and the sepond for the smaller eastern part. ■ 



• r 



*For a discussion of the classification of these and other Florida streams 

 see 3d Annual Report, pp. 230-231. 



