108 IM.ANT LIFK <»K ALABAMA. 



jtiiif tdiTsts (k) m)t (lillor lioni tliox' tOiiiiiiii:" the soil coxci- in the 

 ojii'ii pine foivsts of the udjoiiiinu' Lower I'iiic belt. 



Xii'<>j>/i!li Jirrl><lrrni(.s J>hnif ((ssoclatlon . — 111 llic plirts A\ licrc tilt' rcjU'- 

 tion of til*' (It'coinposiiijjf linR'stoiic stnitii upon doi'u^'in^ vc^ctuhlc iiiiit- 

 t(M- lias produced soil coiidition.s similar to those which prevail in tiie 

 ( 'ciitral l*i-airic rc«,non (w liicli includes the more or less calcareous lands 

 of thi' post oak prairies and cedar htunmocks), the plant associations 

 bear the same eampestrian character. In Monroe and Clarke counties 

 are found the same tall C'ompositae. tojrother with various j)lants of 

 other families, which are characteristic of that region. The following 

 species are examples: 



JleUanthus iomaitosus. Lithospermum tuberosum. 



Helianthus hirmttis. Fliacelia purshii. 



^Silphiuin lacinkUum. Verbena canadensis. 



SUphiuDi asperrhmun. Acuan {Denutanthus) brachycarpum. 



/^Uphium Uievicaule. Morongia horridula. 



Lepachys pinnata. 



None of the above are met with farther south except the last two, 

 which extend to the coast plain. Of xerophile and mesophile plants 

 inhaliiting shaded rocky dells and banks, the following find here their 

 southern limit: 



Hepatica hepatka. Panax quinquefolia. 



Anemone decapelala. Collinsonia canadensis. 



Ranumnlus recurvalus. Houstoniu caerulea. 



On the damp rocks which line the narrow channels of brooks deeply 

 cut into the limestone strata, the maidenhair fern {Adiantum capillus- 

 vmerls) occupies every crevice. Toward the southern confines of the 

 region the following, which grow also in the adjoining region, are 

 found: 



Sida elliottii. CUnopodium carolinianum. 



Callirhoe papaver. Koellia albescens. 



Scutellaria canescens punctata. Stokesia laevis. 



On the limestone l)luffs inclosing the bed of the Alabama River, for 

 instance near Claiborne, Ulrca jxdustris, a shrub from the Alleghenian 

 area, finds in deeply shaded situations its extreme southern outpost. 

 Fhlladelphu-s hwdorux with Ptelea trifoUata and the river grape ( VUis 

 ripaHa) are also found on the bare ledges of these blutis on the oppo- 

 site sides of the river. In the southwestern part of this region where 

 the calcareous prairie soils are mixed with the light loams, the red 

 cedar once formed a large portion of the timber growth, making a 

 feature analogous to the cedar hammocks of the Central Prairie region. 

 The cedar hammocks of this region are at y^resent, however, nearly all 

 under cultivation, and the few still covered with cedar are rapidly being 

 stripped of tJieir valuable timber, mostly for use as pencil wood. 



In the eastern extension of this region the loose Ozark sands form 



