f)!) PLANT MKK «»K \I,.\ltAM\. 



I'lif >lrii(lrr >t('iii> of tlicsr t:ill rt'c(U!intl rii>lic> >\v;iy tt>:iii(l tro 

 iil)()V<' the limiildtT },^rii.ss('s (1 lomiilotTiicliiMis, cti'.), lotmd riislics (,/////- 

 rit-s spp.), «i;':iliii;4':il('s ( ( 'i/j>< /v/.v s|)]). ). s('(lt,''«'s ( f 'iiiux s]))). ). and Imr reeds 

 {SjKtr<i<tnluiii sp. ). Th(>se tDnii the lloor of the sponi^-y soil, wliicli 

 is fre(iiieiitly of fatlioinless depth and inoi'e or h'ss snhiiieiyed. The 

 monotony of the uiiiniineoiis vi'j^etation is often relie\'ed l>y various 

 showy llowers. namely: 



Iris versicolor, Jrix lii.i(i(jniiii (l)liif lla^). }f('xa>ltiii<i. (( 'aail.ln) luiirroldln (cacalia). 



Ilijmenocalli.'i rolata (.spider lily). Lythruia Ibn'arc (lytliruiii). 



Sugitiaria sp]i. (arrowhead). CiciUa maculata (water heinlick). 



Ponft'ilrria rordata (pickerel weed). Sinm Intifol'mm (water pan^iiip). 



IlHiisms inosclu'utos (fjwani]i rose mallow ). J'udwx aUisinmitx (swamp dock). 

 Asclepkii< liinceolala (swamp milkweed). 



To the same ela.ss of hydrophytes l)eh)no- tlie pahidial i)lants eon- 

 fined to the .'><alt mar.she.s of the .seashore and the outlyino- islands with 

 their rig-id salt gra.s.sos {lJij<tivJili.s xpicata^ Sjmrtitui spp.). hhick rush 

 {Jimcus roenicrianuH)^ elub-rush {Sdrpus inarltinvuii)^ and the .species 

 of the dicotyledonous orders mentioned above. The plants of these 

 associations of haloph^'tes are nearly all perennials with stout, fre- 

 quently deeph' rooted, running rhizomes. This vegetation of the 

 swamps and salt marshes encroaches upon the water with the shoaling 

 of the rivers and the formation of mudd}- banks in the inlets of the sea 

 and on the open shore, and serves to break the force of the waves, and 

 finally, by the close interlacing of the rootstocks, binds the loose soil 

 into a solid matting as a bulwark against the ceaseless destructive 

 action of the water and winds. 



The paludial arboreal vegetation of the more or less submerged soil 

 of the alluvial districts has already l)een spoken of, and the flora of 

 the tree-clad swamps fringing the pine-barren streams and of the open 

 pine-barren swamp will be fully discussed in treating of the several 

 regions in which th(>3' occur. 



OKd.ANOTOriC FLORA. 



These plants differ from all others in finding theii- habitat upon 

 other living plants or their decomposed riMuains. 



EPIPHYTIC PLANT .V.SSOCTATIOX.S. 



The epiphytes are simph> lodgers living upon trees in an atmosphere* 

 saturated with moisture, without depending for their nourishment on 

 the tissues of the supporting plant. Only a few of the many species 

 of these plants which lodge in the trees of the Tropics are represented 

 in the flora of Alabama. The}^ inhabit the trees of the damp or semi- 

 swampy forests of the Louisianian area. The Spanish moss {Tilland- 

 sia usnwides)^ a rootless plant of the Bromelia famih', simulates in its 

 habit the lichen Usnea of the Northern forests. This plant draws 



