The Vegetation of North America 32! 



many places the red cedar covered extensive areas of shallow, 

 rocky upland. 



Toward the west the deciduous forest occupies long, finger-like 

 extensions covering the valleys in the prairie region, which finally 

 become narrowed down to mere strips of elm, ash, poplar, and 

 willows along the margins of the streams in the plains country. 

 Toward the south the hardwoods compete successfully with the 

 southern pines and occupy the better lands. 



The southeastern evergreen forest formation. This forest 

 centers on the Coastal Plain from eastern Virginia to eastern 

 Texas. On the sandy uplands it is the home of the longleafed 

 and shortleafed pine. In the swamps there are extensive areas 

 of cypress ; and along the streams and bayous near the coast, 

 tupelos (sour gum), water oaks, pecans, sweet bay magnolias, 

 and live oaks flourish. 



The cHmate of this region is marked by average summer tem- 

 peratures of 70 to 80 degrees and winter temperatures of 40 to 68 



U. S. Forest Service 



Fig. 198. Longleaf yellow pine encroaching on grassland in Florida. An example of 



succession. 



