128 PLANT LIFE OF ALABAMA. 



firmly in the soil, their mostly strong, interlacing rhizomes forming a 

 dense sod, resisting the action of waves and winds. Reed-like grasses, 

 large rushes, and tall umbelliferous plants are the most conspicuous 

 features of this association. Species are 



Phragmites communis. Sdrpus lacustris. 



Spartina polystachya. Sdrpus olneyi, 



Spartina cynosuroidzs. Sdrpus fluviatilis. 



Zizania aquaiica. Cladium effusum. 



Zizaniopsis miliacea. Cyperus articulatus. 



Panicum virgatum. Cicuta maculata. 



Panicum digitarioides. Oxypolis teretifolia. 



Typha latifolia. Slum cicutaefolium. 



Zizania aquatica^ Sdrpus lacustris, and Typha latifolia are among 

 the first to gain a firm hold on the muddy shoals, constantly formed by 

 the deposits of silt with which the turbid waters are charged. The 

 following plants constitute the lower and closer covering of the soil: 



Cyperus erythrorhizos. Carex alata. 



Cyperus strigosus. Homalocenchrus hexandrus. 



Cyperus stenolepis. Andropogon glomeratus glaucopsis. 



Cyperus spedosus. Rynchospora caduca. 



Carex lurida. Rynchospora corniculaia. 



Carex albolutescens. 



Among other paludial plants which adorn the reed marshes are: 



Ipomoea sagittata, Vernonia gigantea, 



Mesadenia lanceolata, Sagittaria falcata lanceolata, 



Kosteletzkya virginica, Sagittaria montevidensis, 



BoUonia diffusa, Sagittaria viscosa (rare) , 



plants characteristic of such marshes from North Carolina to Louis- 

 iana. With these grow also 



Lythrum lineare, Echinodorus radicans, 



Pontederia cordata, Sagittaria latifolia, 



Rumex altissimus, 



of frequent occurrence as far as the northern limit of the Carolinian 

 area; and SoUdago sempervirms ranging from the coast of Nova Scotia 

 southward. The Sagittarias often occupy considerable tracts almost 

 exclusively. The dark waters of ditches and shallow pools at the out- 

 skirts of these marshes are filled with the floating stems of Jussiaea 

 diffusa and bordered by 



Hydrocotyle ranunculoides. Ptilimnium capillaceum. 



Hydrocotyle verticittata. Aeschynomene virginwa. 



Ranunculus scekratus. 



Eleocharis montana, with its densely matted rhizomes, forms wide 

 patches of shining bright green, rarely accompanied by EleocJwris 

 palustris. Triglochin striata, Juncus scirpoides, and J. polycephalm 

 are scattered through the marsh, and Vigna gldbra and WilluqlJ)ya 

 scandem intertwine their steins among the grasses and sedges lining 

 the muddy banks. Sesbania tnacrocarpa and Glottidiwn floridanum 



