44 



ri-ANT 1-ll'K (»F ALAHAMA. 



(Inifni mill x/iii'it's cdiiniitiii In .[lulmmn nml J'.'iirojir, ilr. — ( 'iiiitiiiiiccl. 



1 Cotinns in the Mediterranean region. 

 -Hibisfus of the Mediterranean region. 

 ■'S(uithorn and western Europe. 

 ••Stora.K of Ww Mediterranean region. 



6 Fraxinus. 



"Orobanehe and Phelypaea diflfcr but slightly 



from our Thalesia "(Aphyllon;. 

 ■(Jaliinn. 



BIOLOGICAL AND ECOLOGICAL RELATIONS. 



YioAvinu- the plants of Alul)anui in their bioloo^ical aspect, their 

 habit.s of life, and the peculiar adaptations by which they establish 

 and maintain themselves successfully among" their various associations, 

 no striking features are met with which are not presented in one or 

 the other of the adjoining States. With our present knowledge it is, 

 however, impossible to enter upon very close comparisons. The per- 

 ennial plants are largeh' in excess of the annuals and biennials, com- 

 prising five-sixths of the total vascular flora of the State. Among the 

 woody pertMinials, 343 distinct species and vai'ieties have been counted, 

 32 with climl)ing or creeping stems. This number includes 45 under- 

 shrubs and suffrutescent perennials, most numerously belonging to the 

 Hypericaceae (St. Johnswort famih'), with 12 species, which, owing to 

 the large number of individuals gaily adorned with bright yellow 

 flowers, form a striking feature in the plant covering of the flat pine 

 barrens in the coast plain. 



FOREST FLORA. 



SnRrBBY PLANT ASSOCIATIONS. 



The 171 species and varieties of shrubs known in Alabama, intimately 

 coniKH'ted Avith the arboreal vegetation, form the higher undergrowth 

 and the bi-iish\- cover of the soil of the mixed forests in the southern 



