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NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



and the limestone slopes, but not Little 

 Mountain. 



Larger trees: Red cedar, red oak, 

 sweet gum, willow oak (Quercus Phellos], 

 scaly-bark hickory (Hicoria ovata}, 

 beech, short-life pine (Pinus Faela), 

 mostly second growth, sycamore (Plat- 

 anus occidentalis), chinquapin oak (Quer- 

 cus Muhlenbergii), white oak (Quercus 

 alba, Q. Schneckii), post oak (Q. 

 stellata), water oak (Q. Nigra], walnut 

 (Juglans nigra}, American elm (Ulmus 

 americana}, winged elm (U. alata], 

 hackberry (Celtis occidentalism, tulip 

 poplar, (Linodendrori) , black gum, white 

 ash (Fraxinus americana). 



Small trees: dogwood, black willow, 

 redbud (Cercis canadensis), ironwood, 

 chittamwood or smoketree (Rhus cotin- 

 oides , mulberry (Morus rubra}. 



On the limestone slopes are quite a 

 number of rare and interesting plants, 

 which are likely to remain for a long 

 time, on account of the impossibility of 

 cultivating such areas. Among the 

 many noteworthy plants may be men- 

 tioned Leavenworthia, Neviusia, Cotinus, 

 Frasera and Adelia ligustrina. 6 



3. The plateau region, a continuation 

 of the Cumberland plateau of Tennessee, 

 is characterized by horizontal strata of 

 sandstone, and rather poor sandy loam 

 soils. It is several hundred feet higher 

 than most of the neighboring limestone 

 valleys, the highest elevation being 

 about 1850 ft., on Lookout Mountain 

 near the Georgia line. Little Moun- 

 tain, in the Tennessee Valley, is an 

 outlier of this plateau. The uplands are 

 undulating to moderately hilly, and 

 some of the streams have cut very pic- 

 turesque gorges, especially near the 

 points where they descend into the 

 limestone valleys. The streams are 

 comparatively clear most of the time. 

 The establishment of a national forest 

 in the western part or this region prom- 

 ises to preserve a considerable portion, 

 and some extensions of it are con- 

 templated. 



The plateau section is a mixed pine 

 and oak area in which the following 

 trees are important: 



Large trees: Shortleaf pine, white 

 oak, scrub or spruce pine (Pinus virgin- 

 tana), chestnut, oak (Quercus montana], 

 red oak, Spanish oak (Q. coccinea), post 

 oak, black oak (Quercus velutina), and 

 blackgum. 



Small trees : cucumber tree (Magnolia 

 macrophylla} , sourwood (Oxydendrum 

 arboreum), holly (Ilex opaca}. 



5 In the bottoms of the Tennessee River opposite 

 Decatur are a few plants more common in the 

 coastal plain, such as Nyssa uniflora and Decodon 

 verticillatus. 



The proportion of evergreens is 

 greatest eastward, where the rocks are 

 more metamorphosed and the summers 

 a little wetter than in the western por- 

 tion. The upland forests are rather 

 monotonous, but there are some very 

 interesting plants along streams, par- 

 ticularly in rocky places. A surpris- 

 ingly large number of species chiefly 

 confined to the coastal plain are found 

 in the eastern portion, among them 

 Orontium, Smilax laurifolia, Magnolia 

 glauca, Sarracenia flava (or a variety of 

 it), Polygala nana, Sophronanthe pilosa, 

 Utricularia subulata, Chondrophora vir- 

 gata. A number of species more or 

 less common here are rare or unknown 

 in other parts of Alabama. 



Lookout Mountain Region. The region 

 is thinly settled and not well provided 

 with railroads. Except possibly in 

 midsummer, the naturalist who wishes 

 to explore the remoter parts of it would 

 do well to arrange to have some resident 

 accompany him for protection against 

 moonshiners. 



Little River falls and gorge, on Look- 

 out Mountain (Proposed) sandstone 

 cliffs. Noteworthy for number of rare 

 plants along river just above the falls, 

 among them Rhododendron Catawbiense, 

 Sarracenia, flava oreophila, Harperella 

 fluviatilis, Chondrophora virgata, and 

 Helianthus longifolius. Threatened by 

 waterpower projects. 



In Cherokee and DeKalb counties, 

 Alabama. See Torreya, 6: 114; 14: 154; 

 Natural History, 10: 200. 9 mi. S.E. Fort 

 Payne (county seat of DeKalb County), 

 3 mi. W. of Blanche, T. A. & G. R. R., 

 (no hotel accommodations). Noccalula 

 Falls, with a sheer drop of about 90 ft., 

 is very accessible, being a few miles 

 north of Gadsden. DeSoto Falls on 

 Little River, 3 mi. S.E. of Valley Head. 



4. The basin region, or Warrior, 

 Cahaba and Coosa coal fields, consists 

 of three distinct areas separated by 

 limestone valleys. It merges into the 

 preceding region (Cumberland Plateau 

 Region), but differs from it principally 

 in being lower and haying more shaly 

 rocks, larger and muddier streams, and 

 somewhat richer soils. 



The commonest trees are: Loblolly 



Eine, scrub pine, shortleaf pine, long- 

 3af pine (P .palustris) , white oak, beech, 

 red oak, sweet gum, red maple (Acer 

 rubrum), poplar, post oak, and 

 chestnut oak. With an understory of 

 small trees: Dogwood, black willow, 

 hop hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana], iron- 

 wood, largeleaf magnolia, holly, and 

 southern sugar maple (Acer leucoderme] . 

 Warrior River bluffs. There is a re- 

 markable assemblage of interesting 



