\>*J PLANT \AVV. OK AI.AHAMA. 



M,.^,, J, III I, j'i>r>.-<fs. 'I'lif t'on-sls of the t't'i-lilr \ :ill<'\ >:iii(l the iiiclosino- 

 liilUidcs of a soiiicw hat fell ilt- >oil aic lira\ily I iiiilirrf*!. The Soutli- 

 »M"ii liacklu'lTV ( ( r/f/'s ////.v.sv'.v.v/yy//V/^s/'.s), iioiK'V locust, and lur«^<', swi'ct 

 or vv<{ )i\\\\\ ( Li<jiii<l<i mini r sfi/r(ic!lf I'll), hccoiiH' iiioi't' fi"('(|U<'iil aiiionu- 

 tlic al»uiulaiit cow oak, Southoni icd oak, Spanish oak. and tlic more 

 scattered tulip trees, white ash. and iiickories ot tlie h)wlands. and tlie 

 scarce Ithick wahuit. The tiiid)er orowth on the hirjjfei' Irifmtai'ies of 

 the ^\'an•ior. jjarticuhirlv the MulboiTV fork and its numerous hrancbes 

 (("ane. Lost, \\'olf. and others) crossed l>y tlie writer, has been hut 

 sliehtly i'lici'oached upon. 'I'he loblolly })ine is confined to the luirrow 

 bottoms along the ])ank8 of the streams. In the semiswampy bottom 

 of the Luxa])allila. of a cold, somewhat sandy . and com]jact soil, this j)ine 

 is found of lare«> dimensions, scatter«'d among beech, sweet gum, willow 

 oak. cow oak, water oak, and laurel oak, the last two now becoming 

 more frequent than observed farther north. The hillsides with a fresh 

 soil and the openings in tliese forests are in the spring and early sum- 

 mer adorned by the flowers of tlie uml)rella tree {Magiuflm tripetala)^ 

 Fraser magnolia (M.frdscr't)^ and lai"ge-leaf magnolia (J/! iinKTophyJla)^ 

 })y the ])l()()m of the Carolina silverbell, and b}' the profusion of the 

 delicate white-flowered spikes of the small-flowered buckeye {Aescvlus 

 parviflfrra) and the dense clusters of Ilydrangea quercifolld^ known 

 as sevenbark, l)oth of these shrubs, strictly southern Appalachian, 

 extending along the mountains to South Carolina and southwestern 

 Virginia, respectively, and southward to the Tertiary hills. 



The importance of the forests of the ''Hill Country of Alabama," 

 the great mineral region of the State, in connection with the wealth 

 hidden in the ground beneath them, can not be too highly appreciated. 

 The mining of every ton of coal requires half a cubic foot of timber. 

 To this demand of the miner nmst be added the large drafts upon 

 these forests for charcoal and foi' lundjer, which are augmenting with 

 the rapid increase of the population at the centers of mining and other 

 industries. 



Her}}aceoi(j< ]d(i'>^>i o^fKociationfi. — The her])aceous flora of the Lower 

 Hills, with its associations of species common on the table-lauds and 

 in the higher valleys of the mountain region, mingling with forms 

 more or less fre((uent in the Louisianian area, differs but slightly in 

 its general character from the similarlj' mixed flora of the southern 

 edge of the metamorphic region. Characteristic, however, is the 

 occurrence of a few endemic types confined to a single localitv in this 

 region and of others of a peculiarl}' local distribution rarely found 

 elsewhere in the Carolinian and Louisianian areas. Neviusia aZaham- 

 eiisw has already been mentioned as a monotype endemic to this 

 region. To this is to be added Croton alabamensU^ presently to be 

 further discussed. Phacelia Mpmnata hrevistylis is known only from 

 the banks of the Warrior River near Tuscaloosa, and Cromnia pauci- 



