(')() PLANT MKK oK ALABAMA. 



('xaiuiiiat ion of tlif sul»s()il. 'V\\r arLi'lllaccoiis sclii^t niidcrlyint,'' tho 

 saiuK surtacc was t'oiiiid coiiiijlctcly dccoiiiposctl, truiisl'oniu'd into ji 

 t'rial»lr loam rich in plant food and sullicicnt ly porous to permit tlio 

 slow piM'colalion of (he surtacc water and its unliintlcivd ac(;cs.s to the 

 lono- taproot of the pine. 



Open forests of lon^lc^af ])in<' res])oiidin»;- to conditions similai" to 

 those pi'e\ailinu- on the flanks of the Talladoj^a Mountains or Blue 

 Kidu'c of Alal»ama. already mentioned, cover the lower cherty rid*(cs 

 in Calhoun County and the isolated i)eaks south of Talladega known 

 as the Alpine Mountains, which rise to a hei<rht of 1,500 to 2,000 feet 

 above the sea. These pine forests of the metamorphic hitrhlands and 

 of the Cambrian hills on their outskirts have in many localities become 

 important since the development of the iron inchistry in these districts. 

 Duriny- the past twenty-five years extensive areas have been denuded 

 of their forests to yield the large supplies of charcoal demanded l)y 

 this industr}'. Characteristic herbaceous species here found are: 

 Cracca virginiana. Eupatorlum aromaiicuni. 



Cracca spiccUa. Solidago odora, and others. 



Lespedeza hirta. Sericocarpun tortifolms. 



Lespedeza repens. Gaylussaciu dumosa. 



Meihomia spp. Vaccinium stamineum. 



Euputorlum album. 



Heavy forests of longleaf pine cover the lower hills toward the 

 Coosa River and the adjacent deposits of sands and gravels of the 

 valley from Renfroe to Kymulga and to the banks of the Coosa Ri\er. 

 A similar timber belt follows the drifted deposits from (iadsden, 

 Etowah County, through Cherokee County and for a short distance 

 beyond the Alabama and Georgia Stat(> line. The timber resources 

 of these forests in the basin of Coosa River have furnished the sup- 

 plies for an active lumber industry during the last twenty -five years. 

 They are. however, rapidly becoming exhausted. 



Wherever a richer and deeper soil covers the heights, the slopes of 

 the mountains, and the lower hills, deciduous trees predominate, though 

 rarely the shortleaf pine makes its appearance. The deciduous forests 

 of these metamorphic mountains and Coosa hills difler only slightlj' 

 from the xerophile forests of the same character in other divisions of 

 the mountain region. Nota))ie is the greater scarcity of tulip and 

 cucumber ti'ees, shagbark and pale-leaf hickory, elms, and lindens, 

 which abound in other parts. On the rock}^ heights above 900 to 1,000 

 feet the following prevail: 



Qiiercus priuws (mountain oak) . Quercus digitata (Spanish oak) . 



Querais marilandica (black jack) . Quercus minor (post oak) . 



Quercua relulina (black or yellow oak) . 



More rarely occur: 



Qiifrni.^ nlbn (white oak). Cnstancd derdula (chestnut). 



Hiroria ylahru (piiinut liickory). 



