xiv North American Trees 



SOUTHERN forest REGION 



This region covers the coastal area from Maryland to Texas, 

 extending north along the river bottoms into Missouri, Arkansas, 

 and Oklahoma. The area is characterized by abundant rain- 

 fall and mild temperatures, and it is one of the most important 

 timber producing areas on the continent. The seven species 

 of pine are found largely on the uplands or flatlands, while 

 baldcypress, Atlantic white-cedar, and numerous hardwoods 

 are typical of the extensive swamps and bottomlands. Among 

 the important hardwoods are the sweetgum, tupelo gums, 

 numerous oaks and hickories, beech, river birch, and several 

 ashes and elms. 



CENTRAL HARDW^OOD FOREST REGION 



There has been a greater decrease in the amount of forested 

 land in this region than in any other, due to the large per- 

 centage of fertile agricultural land. There still remain, how- 

 ever, large quantities of high-grade hardwood lumber. This 

 region embraces the central portion of the eastern United States, 

 with the exception of the Appalachian Mountains, and ex- 

 tends into southern Canada. It is characterized by a very large 

 number of species and many types. The climate is humid and 

 generally moderate. Oaks are the dominant species in this 

 region with hickories, ashes, elms, maples, gum, beech, yellow- 

 poplar, walnut, Cottonwood, sycamore, and dogwood also 

 important. 



NORTHERN FOREST REGION 



This is by all odds the largest of the forest regions, extend- 

 ing from Georgia north along the Appalachian Mountains 

 to New York, New England, and the northern portions of the 

 Lake States in the United States, and north in Canada to the 

 limits of tree growth. In Canada this region is transcontinen- 

 tal, extending in a continuous belt across the northern limits 

 of the Great Plains and through the interior of Alaska. The 

 southeastern part of this region is characterized by highly valu- 

 able timber species such as white, red, and jack pine, hemlock, 

 red and white spruce, birches, beech, basswood, maples, and 

 red oak. The northern transcontinental portion of this region 

 is enormous in extent, but is largely composed of small-sized 

 trees of white and black spruce, balsam fir, larch, paper birch, 

 aspen, balsam poplar, and willows. 



ROCKY MOUNTAIN FOREST REGION 



This region, vast in extent, is spread over the mountains 

 and high plateaus of the western interior from Mexico into 



