262 Nichols: The vegetation of Connecticut 



and red-osier dogwood, along with which may grow a few 

 herbaceous plants. Along many of the smaller streams through- 

 out the state, during the building up of a flood plain, a se- 

 quence of plant associations is commonly encountered which is 

 essentially similar to what has been described in an earlier paper* 

 as characteristic of lakes and swamps. With the exception of 

 the free-floating forms, any of the aquatic plants there mentioned 

 may occur here. Of the species with aerial photosynthetic organs, 

 the cat- tail (Typha latifolia) is especially conspicuous along many 

 slow streams, frequently monopolizing wet, swampy tracts to the 

 exclusion of practically everything else (Fig. ii). Marshes and 

 meadows are quite as frequently developed along streams as along 

 lake margins, and in general the aspect of the vegetation is similar 

 in either case.f Phalaris ariindinacea and Leersia oryzoides, how- 

 ever, might be mentioned as being more common in alluvial 

 swamps than in other habitats. " All of the^ shrubs and trees listed 

 as characteristic of lake swamps are likewise found on flood plains 

 along streams. Typical flood plain forests are best developed in 

 areas which are subject to inundation only in spring. Here the 

 soil relations are essentially those of a periodic swamp. Prominent 

 trees in these forests along most streams are Quercus hicoJor and 

 Quercus paliistris, species which are at least very infrequent in 

 similar situations along the Connecticut. Except along the larger 

 rivers, on the other hand, the cottonwood is practically absent 

 and the silver maple is scarce. In addition to the two oaks 

 already mentioned, the following trees are commonly represented 

 in flood plain forests. 



Carya cordifoUa Acer ruhrum 



Carpinus caroliniana Tilia americana 



Ulmus americana Nyssa sylvatica 



Liriodendron tulipifera Platanus occidentalis 



* Bull. Torrey Club 42: 176-194. 1915. 



t Regarding the vegetation of Connecticut meadows in general it should be 

 remarked here that while in the case of many wet meadows there seems to be no 

 doubt that the present vegetation represents the original type, this is probably 

 not true of all present-day meadow-lands. There is leason to believe that most of the 

 less wet areas now occupied by meadow associations were formerly forested, and that 

 their present vegetation has been developed only as a result of human interference 

 with the original conditions. See footnote on p. 254. 



