NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS 



457 



laevigata} were common. The fauna 

 consisted of species of the adjacent 

 regions. 



8. Y azoo-Mississippi Flood Plain. 

 Topography. This alluvial flood plain 

 is remarkably rich and level. Drainage 

 is poor and much of the land is in a 

 swampy condition. The streams are 

 meandering with numerous bayous, 

 cutoffs, and sloughs. Crescent-shaped 

 lakes, originally old stream beds, are 

 numerous. Levees have been builded 

 along the Mississippi and now overflows 

 from this source are not common. 

 Reclamation of this land will be rapid, 

 the greater portion already being under 

 cultivation. 



Original biota. Deciduous hardwood 

 forest. A heavy hardwood forest origi- 

 nally covered this section of the state. 

 The flora was typically hydrophytic 

 and shade loving and the number of 

 species was not great. The swampy 

 areas had a characteristic dense growth 

 of: tupelo and black gum, sweet gum 

 (Liquidamber styraciflua) , cypress, low- 

 land oaks, cane (A. macro sperma), 

 palmetto palm (Sabal minor}, lizard's tail 

 (Saururus cernus), ditch stonecrop (Pen- 

 thorum sedoides}, frog-fruit (Lippia 

 lanceolata}, and day-flower (Commelina 

 hirtella}. Less swampy ground had a 

 less dense undergrowth and in addition 

 to the trees mentioned, white oak, 

 white ash, pecans (Carya illineonsis, 

 C. aquatica), hackberry, and magnolia. 

 Willow (Salix nigra) and cottonwood 

 (Populus deltoides} were abundant on 

 the sandy flats near the Mississippi 

 River. 



The fauna was typical of such a floral 

 association. Fresh-water molluscs, 

 fresh-water shrimp (in the southern 

 half), and crawfish abounded. The fish 

 included: shovel bill cat, gar, channel 

 cat, mud cat, buffalo, suckers (Catosto- 

 mus sp.)i several species of minnows, 

 shad, little pickerel (Esox vermiculatus), 

 eel, tiny perches, and large mouthed 

 black bass. Snakes and turtles were 

 numerous. They included green snake, 

 copper-head, water moccasin, water 

 snake, and rattlesnake, soft shelled 



turtle, snapping turtle (Chelydra ser- 

 pentina), and alligator snapper (Macro- 

 chelys lacertina). Alligators were found 

 in the streams and bayous of the south- 

 ern part of this region. Of the birds 

 that were once abundant the following 

 have been exterminated or are becoming 

 rare: double-crested cormorant f, 

 hooded merganser, mallard, wood duckf, 

 fresh-water marsh hen, coot, wild 

 turkeyf, bald eaglet, Carolina paroquet*, 

 and ivory-billed woodpecker*. All the 

 mammals mentioned in the Tennessee 

 River Hills still occur here. 2 



9. Long Leaf Pine Region. Topog- 

 raphy. The surface is rolling, becom- 

 ing hilly in the western part of the state. 

 The reddish-brown sandy loam soil 

 is rather poor and dry except in the low 

 areas where it is often water-logged 

 and acid. 



Original biota. Longleaf pine forest. 

 The biota of this region was charac- 

 teristic of an almost pure longleaf pine 

 (Pinus palustris) forest. At least nine- 

 tenths of the trees were of this species. 

 To the north shortleaf yellow pine crept 

 in while on the west and along the stream 

 bottoms hardwoods from the bluff hills 

 occurred with or replaced the pine. On 

 the sandy well drained uplands in 

 addition to the longleaf pine were dwarf 

 and staghorn sumach, upland oaks, 

 flowering dogwood, wild plum (Prunus 

 americana), sassafras, and sweet gum. 

 Associated with these were: hoary pea 

 (Tephrosia virginiana and spicata), wild 

 bean (Phaseolus pauciflorus), partridge 

 pea (Cassia nictitans and chamaecrista) , 

 butterfly pea (Clitoria mariana and 

 Centrosoma virginianum) , aster (Aster 

 adnatus, patens, paludosus), black-eyed 

 Susan, milkweed (Asclepias tuber osa], 

 blazing star (Liatris spicata and squar- 

 rosa), rosin weed (Silphium sp.), and 

 sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) . 



Along the streams and swamps where 

 the soil was flooded for several months 

 of the year the chief trees were cypress, 

 ash, sycamore, tupelo gum, and leather 

 wood (Cyrilla racemiflora} . In the sec- 

 ond bottoms which were better drained 



2 With the exception of the beaver and otter. 



