56 I'LANT 1,1 KK <>K Al.AHAAIA. 



BilV. About oiiP-lliilf iiic native in the West Indies. ]\[oxico, southiM'li 

 Brazil, and Ai'L-'enlina; (tne-loiii-tli ar(> an-i\als from tlic Mediteri-anean 

 reijion and ti-oi)i»aI i-e<:ions of tlie Old AN'orld, and the rest are from 

 central and western Europe. 



Of the trees and shrubs introduced into cultivation in Alabama a 

 comparatively small muuber have escaped. Such are lait 1\ found 

 to stray far from the localities where, they have ])een cultivated, and 

 they establish themseh'es mostly amon*^ the native j)lants along fences, 

 about dwelliniis. on tlie borch'rs of adjacent woodlands, and in hedge- 

 rows. Still smallei- is the ninnlu'r which have escaped of the orna- 

 mental herbaceous exotic plants cultivated in our gardens, A few 

 spring up voluntarily one season after another within the inclosure, 

 such as Ammi majus^ Ageratimi mexicanum^ Adicea microphijlla Jier- 

 niaHoides^ but are never found outside of them, while a feAV others 

 stray into the adjacuMit fields and waste places, the principal examples 

 being: 



Ipomuea purpureit. Viola tricolor. 



Quaviodlt quamodil. Perillu fntteHcens. 



Gynandropm pentaphylla. Gernmingia chinensis. 



jVIore numerous are the escapes from the gardens of potherbs, medic- 

 inal herbs, and otherwise useful plants. Such are: 



Mentha piperita (peppLTiiiiiit) . C'nicus benedicius (blessed thistle) . 



Mentha spicata. C'hrysanlhemum parthenium (feverfew) . 



Mentha rotundifolia . Artemisia vulgaris (mugwort) . 



Nepela cataria (catnip) . Leonurus cardiaca (motherwort) . 



Marrubium vulgare (hoarlioniid). Ruinus communis (castor bean). 



The greatest number of species escaped from cultivation or acci- 

 dentally introdiu'ed belong to the grasses, which make up fully one- 

 tiftli of the naturalized plants. These are mostly abundant and 

 W'idely ditfused, covering large areas and forming a conspicuous fea- 

 ture among the associations of the indigenous plant. PromincMit 

 species are: 



Syntherisma sanguinale (crab grass) . Dactyloctenium aegyptiacum (Egyptian 



C'apriola dactyloii (Bermuda grass) . crowfoot) . 



Paspalum compressum {carpet graas) . Paspaluiit dilatatum (hairy-Hijwered pas- 



pahiin). 



PLANT DISTRIBUTION IN ALABAMA. 



In several instances, the boundaries of the life zones and areas, 

 based upon the distribution of heat and moisture on this continent, 

 as established b}' Mei-riam, can not at present be distinctly drawn in 

 Alabama. The investigation of the plant covering of the State, the 

 location of species, and the study of their relation to the factors 

 controlling their distribution within its limits is as yet not sufficiently 



