262 NiIcHOLs: THE VEGETATION OF CONNECTICUT 
and red-osier dogwood, along with which may grow a few 
herbaceous plants. Along many of the smaller’ streams through- 
out the state, during the building up of a flood plain, a se- 
quence of plant associations is commonly encountered which is 
essentially similar to what has been described in an earlier paper* 
as characteristic of lakes and swamps. With the exception of 
the free-floating forms, any of the aquatic plants there mentioned 
may occur here. Of the species with aerial photosynthetic organs, 
the cat-tail (Typha latifolia) is especially conspicuous along many 
slow streams, frequently monopolizing wet, swampy tracts to the 
exclusion of practically everything else (Fic. 11). Marshes and 
meadows are quite as frequently developed along streams as along 
lake margins, and in general the aspect of the vegetation is similar 
in either case.t Phalaris arundinacea and Leersia oryzoides, how- 
ever, might be mentioned as being more common in. alluvial 
swamps than in other habitats. All of the shrubs and trees listed 
as characteristic of lake swamps are likewise found on flood plains 
along streams. Typical flood plain forests are best developed in 
areas which are subject to inundation only in spring. Here the 
soil relations are essentially those of a periodic swamp. Prominent 
trees in these forests along most streams are Quercus bicolor and 
Quercus palustris, species which are at least very infrequent in 
similar situations along the Connecticut. Except along the larger 
rivers, on the other hand, the cottonwood is practically absent 
and the silver maple is scarce. In addition to the two oaks 
already mentioned, the following trees are commonly represented 
in flood plain forests. 
Carya cordifolia Acer rubrum 
Carpinus caroliniana Tilia americana 
Ulmus americana Nyssa sylvatica 
Liriodendron tulipifera _Platonus occidentalis — 
* Bull. Torey Club 42: ecto IQIS. 
+ Regarding the vegetation of Connecticut meadows in general it should be 
remarked here that while in the case of many wet meadows there seems to be no 
doubt that the present vegetation represents the original type, this is probably 
not true of all present-day meadow-lands, here is 1eason to believe that most of the 
less wet areas now occupied by meadow associations were formerly forested, and that 
their present vegetation has been developed only as a result of human interference 
with the original conditions. See footnote on Pp. 254 
