46 PLANT LIFE OF ALABAMA. 



Deciduous forests. Deciduous-leaved forests prevail principally in 

 the northern part of the State. They are marked by the same variety 

 of forms and the same great abundance of catkin-bearing or nut-bear- 

 ing trees (amentaceous orders) which are characteristic of the forests of 

 the lower Allegheny ranges as far north as southern New England and 

 the lower Ohio Valley, with their walnuts, hickories, oaks, hornbeams, 

 beech, cotton woods, elms, tulip and cucumber trees of the magnolia 

 family, cherries, plums, haws, and service berries. 



Of the 43 species of amentaceous and other apetalous trees known 

 to occur in the State 39 are common also to the regions just mentioned. 

 Of the 23 oaks occurring in Alabama, 10 are found in the more 

 northern forests; of the 8 Magnoliaceae, 5; of the 8 plums and 

 cherries, 4; of the 20 or more species belonging to the apple tribe, 

 mostly haws, 7j of the 5 maples, 4; of the 4 elms, 3, and all of the 6 

 species of ash. 



In the mesophile forests, covering the valley sand terraces of a rich, 

 moderately humid soil, oaks predominate, but many other genera are 

 present. The following list exhibits the characteristic trees, all of 

 which, except Magnolia acuminata cordata, extend north of the Ohio 

 River: 



Quercus alba (white oak). Cornusflorida (dogwood). 



Quercus minor (post oak) . Ulmus americana, U. alata, U. pulnwnx 



Quercus digitata (Q.falcata) (Spanish oak) . (elm). 



Hicoria ovata (hickory) . Celtis mississippiensis (Southern hack- 



Hicoria minima (bitternut). berry). 



Juglans nigra (black walnut) . ftassafras sassafras (sassafras) . 



Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree) . Diospyros virginica (persimmon) . 



Fagus americana (beech) . Aesculus octandra (Ohio buckeye) . 



Carpinus caroliniana (hornbeam) . Quercus michauxii (cow oak) . 



Fraxinus americana (white ash) . Liquidambar styraciflua (sweet gum) . 



Magnolia acuminata and variety cordata Gleditsia iriacanthos (honey locust) . 



(cucumber tree) . Fraxinus lanceolata (green ash) . 

 Acer saccharinum (A. dasycarpum) . 



The sweet gum here attains its largest dimensions. The last 5 pre- 

 fer the lower bottoms subject to occasional overflow. 



In the paludial forest, particularly of the alluvial region, with the 

 soil submerged or constantly water-soaked, the cypress (Taxodium 

 distichum) forms in the so-called c} 7 press brakes the most imposing 

 feature. This tree is found throughout the State, and in that portion 

 belonging to the Louisianian area, it is associated with the tupelogum 

 (Nyssa aquatica) and the Carolina ash (Fraxinus caroliniana). The 

 overcup oak (Quereux lyratd) prefers the shallow lagoons of the allu- 

 vial lands in the center of the State. Planer tree (Planera aquatica), 

 water hickory (Hicoria aquatica), Carolina black gum (Nywa liflora), 

 apple haw ( Crataegus aestivalis), and green ash (Fraxinus lanceolata) are 



