INOf 7 | FLOWERING PLANTS AND FERNS 43 
yellowish, caleareous silt, non-stratified, and containing numer- 
ous snail shells. It is thickest next to the Delta edge and thins 
toward its eastern margin. 
On acecunt of the lime content the soil derived from this 
material is more fertile than that of the plateau farther back, 
and supports a somewhat different vegetation. In this region, 
the upland flora of the plateau and the lowland flora of the 
Delta come into competition, with the result that the flora, while 
of hill type, has some characters derived from the Delta. 
The extent cf the region from north to south is such that, 
while the distinctive features of the flora persist, some species 
appear in the southern part that have not been found in the 
northern part, and vice versa. 
The tree growth of the Loess hills is almost entirely of 
hardwoods. Pines are not at all a common feature, except as 
second growth in old thrown out fields or other openings. Red 
cedar is not uncommon on the slopes, but was probably not a 
part of the original flora. Magnolias of several species are com- 
mon and characteristic ; several species of lime-loving trees that 
are common in the lime soils of northeast Mississippi skip the 
intervening regions and reappear here. Such are Durand’s oak, 
~ the butternut and hackberry. The gray moss (Tillandsia usne- 
oides) drapes the trees, being especially abundant in the south- 
ern half of the region, and gradually disappearing before the 
northern boundary of the state is reached. Myrica cerifera 
has been observed toward the southern end of the regicn, but 
has not been seen farther north, though east of Pearl River in 
sandy loam soils, it is found considerably farther north. 
The beautiful white Cherokee rose (Rosa laevigata), with 
its dark, glossy, trifoliate leaves and long trailing stems is very 
common and striking in the southern half of this region, and 
in the rich loam soils east ef the Bluff region in the same lati- 
tudes. 
A few herbaceous species have been observed in this region 
are Croton Texensis, Parthenium hysterophorus and Heter- 
as far north as Natchez, and nowhere else in the state. These 
