82 PLANT LIFE OK ALABAMA. 



( )ii iIh" iiiL;Lr»'tl tV)(»tliills and iiioiiiilaiii slopes, and pait iciilai'ly on tlio, 

 bi'oad. hancn. liincstoiu^ Mats ot' the uplands in tlu' eastern part of tho 

 valley north and east of the Tennessee River the red cedar forms 

 oxt<>nsi\e woods, of piii"e jrrowth. inteiriipted oidy l»y hare openings 

 where the rocky ground scarccdy allords a foothold to shrul) or luM-h. 

 The trees in the cedar glades or cedar l)rakes are closely set and attain 

 a height of from 50 to 75 feet, the trunk from 15 to rarel}' 24 inches 

 in diametei-. hreast-high, fi-e([uent]y deeply ridged toward th(; base, 

 knotty, and with the crown from 3<» to 50 feetor mon^ above theground. 

 Under these severe soil conditions the growth of the trees is exceed- 

 ingly slow, particularly during the later stages of life. By counting 

 the annual rings trees of the dimensions mentioned were found to be 

 from 140 to 175 years old. Large supplies of the valuable timber of 

 the cedar, used for piling and for telegraph and telephone poles, are 

 drawn ever}^ year from the cedar glades. On the gentler slopes with 

 a deeper soil covering, and in the narrow valleys with a damp and rich 

 soil, red cedar occurs scattered among the hard woods and hen^ reaches 

 its greatest perfection. The trunk is smooth from the base and free 

 from knots and limbs for the greater part of its height; the wood is 

 straight-grained, soft, and easily worked, and possesses all the (juali- 

 ties for which it is so eagerly sought in the manufacture of pencil 

 casings and the best qualities of hollow ware. Not long since this tree 

 was abundant in the narrow valleys and rich coves south of the Ten- 

 nessee Kix'er, but these resources are now becoming rapidlj' exhausted. 



On the sunny exposures, in the openings and borders of the forest 

 which covers the calcareous hills, where the soil is deeper, a vai'iety of 

 xerophile trees of small size and of shrubs of the lower belt of the 

 Carolinian area are found mingled with the red cedar. Examples are: 



Rhamnus caroliniana (buckthorn) . Crataegus coccinea (red haw) . 



Bumelia lycioides (bumeUa). Comus asperifolia (rough-leaf dogwood). 



Bumelia lanuginom (shittimwotxl). Viburnum pinmifolium (black haw). 

 Ostrya virginiana (hop hornbeam) . 



X^eroplule herhaeeoux jdant (msocldtroihH. — The herbaceous associations 

 are naturally, in the main, of xerophile character. On the exposed 

 rock}^ flats tiny cruciferous winter annuals fill every crevice. Leaven- 

 ivorthia aiired^ L. nniflora^ and Z. torvlom^ the first harbingers of 

 spring, are followed by Draba caroliniana and D. hrachycarjja. With 

 the advent of warmer weather all herbaceous vegetation withers on 

 these arid cedar glades, which then continue to present the aspect of 

 absolute barrens. 



On the rocky banks and shelves of the sunny hillsides a varied array 

 of characteristic herbs makes its flowery display. In the height of 

 springtime, as observed on the southern slopes of Monte Sano»(near 

 Huntsville) and on the northern declivity of the Warrior table-land 



