INTRODUCTION 



FORREST SHREVE 



Maryland, although ranking as the eighth smallest state of the 

 Union, is so carved out as to comprise a diversity of natural conditions 

 out of all proportion to its area. Its greatest length is some 320 

 miles measured in an ESE-WNW direction. This axis is nearly 

 at right angles to the general trend of *he Alleghany Mountains, of 

 the various geological formations and of the "Fall-line." The state 

 is thus, in effect, a narrow cross-section of the Coastal Plain, of the 

 Piedmont Plateau and the Alleghany Ridges, extending from the 

 ocean over into the drainage basin of the Mississippi River. The 

 elevations pass gradually from sea-level to 3,342 ft., near Table Rock 

 in Garrett County. While the north and south extent of the state is 

 not great (250 miles at its greatest point), yet it lies between the 

 North and the South and is a meeting ground for plants of northern 

 and southern range. Together with differences of altitude and dis- 

 tance from the sea, go differences in climate in the eastern and 

 western parts of the state, as well as striking differences in topog- 

 raphy. The geological formations range from the most ancient 

 granite and gneiss, through rocks of every age and great mineralog- 

 ical diversity, clown to the coastal deposits of recent times. Over- 

 lying these varied rocks and deposits are a diversity of soils, which 

 have been nowhere covered by glacial action, as in the neighboring 

 states to the north. Through the middle of the coastal portion of 

 Maryland stretches the Chesapeake Bay with its great system of 

 estuaries, varying the topography, modifying the climatic conditions 

 and bringing about constant changes in the distribution of plant 

 communities. 



All of the above mentioned features are such as tend to give variety 

 to the plant life and to render interesting the study of the botanical 

 features of even so small an area. The very facl of the existence of 



