04 PLANT LIFK oK M-AHAMA. 



(\\t»Mit. It is :i slnult <>r ji drcidcdly (lopical li:it)it. |)r(>|)crly Itcloiitrin^^ 

 to lilt' West rndian sul)ircnus Klt'iilci-ia. I'idiii !<' to l.") U>v.i hif^li, 

 st|u:nroscl\ liraiiclicd I'l-oiii the Icisc. and conspicuoits hy the. scurfy 

 i'o\ criiii:' <'t" silvery scjilcs on tin- Itrancldcts and lower sides of the, 

 lea\»'s. i'lie llowei's o])en from early in March to the middle of 

 Ai)ril. liy (lie end of the latter niontli the foliaj^e of the, previous 

 year is replaced 1)V new leaves. It appears certain that this int«restin«r 

 shruh is strictly confined to this secluded valley near the hanks of 

 Little C'ahaba Rivei-. The abundant white, star-like flowers of the 

 densely tufted Sedum nevii. eidiven the moss-covered rocks lieneath 

 these thickets of Croton. This prett}' plant is also found n(>ar Tusca- 

 loosa and is recorded from the mountains of southern \'ir«(inia and 

 from the Cumberland Mountains in Tennessee. Vedtei^iiti l(U'tei)imu^ 

 extending to northw^estern Louisiana and eastern Texas, and Arahis 

 jHifcfiK^ extending- to the Alh^ghenian area, occur on the shaded rocky 

 Ixn-ders. Of xerophile plants, Cairnjanula divaj'icata^ frequent in the 

 Metamorphic and Coosa hills, is found on exposed cliffs with Gilia 

 eoroiuipifolia., the latter ranging* from the middle country of South 

 Carolina to the plains of Arkansas and Texas. Of rarer plants occur- 

 ring here are Mdnhdlla Umceolata^ ranging from Cxeorgia to Tennessee 

 and North Carolina, and Silene regia^ conspicuous ])y its rich panicles 

 of flaming scarlet flowers, also at home in the prairies of southern 

 Illinois and of the lower Ohio. Many a fern from the mountains 

 finds here the southern limit of its distribution on the rocky, shaded 

 banks of brooklets and streams. Of such may be enumerated: 



rherioplerin hexagonoptera. Aspleidum filix-foemina. 



Axplenium ruta-muraria. Cheilanthes lanosa. 



Aspknium inontanum. Cheilanthes alabamerum. 



Asplenium panmlum. Woodsia obtusa. 



Asplenium (richoiiianes. Dnjopteris marginaJ.in. 



L.OUISIANIAN AREA OR FLORA. 



Descending from the hills of the older (Paleozoic) formations, con- 

 sisting of the extreme southern members of the Appalac^hian mountain 

 system, the Austroriparian or Louisianian area of the Lower Austral 

 life zone is reached. This area wdthin the State is thus coterminous 

 with the vast Coastal ])laiM. The elevation of this plain scarcely 

 exceeds at any point 3o(> feet above sea level, and in its gradual decline 

 to the (xulf shore presents great uniformity in its topography. Undis- 

 turbed by local influences due to great differences in elevation, the 

 distribution of heat here follows the lines of latitude. In consequence 

 the climate does not run to extremes. The following are data of tem- 

 perature and rainfall obtained at Greenville, Butler County, the most 



^Gaiesia laetevirens A. Gray. 



