12 JOURNAL OF THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM [vol. iv. 



jection to them, may be mentioned Carpinus caroliniana Walt., Ostrya 

 virginiana K. Koch., Cornus asperi folia Michx., Diospyros virginiana L., 

 Bumdia lanuginosa Pers., Prunus mexicana Wats., Crataegus riridis L., 

 C. spathulata Michx, and Cercis canadensis L. There is generally here but 

 slight development of shrubs or herbaceous plants. Ilex decidua Walt., 

 Benzoin aestivale Nees, Forestiera acuminata Poir. and Callicarpa americana 

 L. are abundant in places, and sometimes about the roots of a large tree 

 on a low mound smaller shrubs, such as Arundinaria macrosperma Michx, 



and species of Rubus and Vaccinium find foothold. Commonest of all, 

 however, is the Palmetto, Sabal minor Pers., which often covers large 



areas where the tree growth is not too dense. Woody vines also play a 

 very subordinate role. The commonest ones noted here are the Grapes, 

 Vitis cinerea Engelm. and V. cordifolia Michx., the Virginia Creeper, 

 Parthenocissus qninquefolia var. hirsuta Planch., Rhus Toxicodendron L., 

 Berchemia scandens Trel. and Brunnichia cirrhosa Banks. 



In these low woods the trees generally develop slender straight trunks 

 and the stand is often heavy. Many of them attain a large size, and while 

 much culling has now been done, especially among the species most 

 valuable for lumber, some magnificent specimens of Cottonwood, Oaks, 

 Elms, Hickories and Cums may yet be found. 



Numerous bayous and small lakes, often vestiges of former river chan- 

 nels, are encountered, and along their margins and in shallower depressions 

 real swamp conditions prevail. Along the banks of the river and smaller 

 bodies of water the tall stems of the Black Willow, (Salix nigra var. altis- 

 sima Sarg.) is very common. Specimens 30 meters tall and more than a 

 meter in diameter are not rare. This tree grows here with a straight clear 

 trunk and has thick, very deeply fissured bark. Characteristic of the real 

 swamp areas and depressions where water remains for a considerable part 

 of the year are The Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum Rich.), Swamp 



(Q 



(Q 



Honey Locust {Gleditsia aquatica Marsh.). Common also to this habitat 

 are Carpinus caroliniana Walt., Liquidambar Styraciflua L., Crataegus 

 virulis L., Acer rubrum L. and Fraxinus pennsylvanica var. lanceolata 

 Sarg. Amongst smaller growth is the Palmetto, Small Cane (Arundinaria 

 macrosperma Michx.), Ilea virginica L., Forestiera acuminata Poir. and 

 Cephalanthus occidentalis L., the last two species often forming extensive 

 thickets. Rank growths of sedges, grasses, rushes, ferns and otlier 

 aquatic herbaceous plants often accompany these. The margins of some 

 of these swampy lakes are almost tropical in appearance, with various 

 species of lofty trees interspersed with a tangle of shrubs and vines coming 

 down to the water's edge, among them Bald Cypress with straight columnar 

 trunk rising from a buttressed base, sometimes four or five meters in 

 diameter and well out in the water, surrounded by a grotesque assemblage 

 of the aerial root cones, commonly known as "knees/' and little mounds 



