212 THE PLANT LIFE OF MARYLAND 



Anthoxanthum odoratum 

 Viola lanceolafa 

 Carex stricta 

 Calamagrostis cinnoides 

 Heracleum lanaium 

 Lobelia cardinalis 

 Aster puniceus 

 Carex rosea var. rod in In 

 Carex vulpinoidea. 



Vegetation of the Cecil ( 'lay. 



TOPLAND. 



The differences which distinguish the vegetation of the Cecil 

 ( 'lay and that of the Loams are not great as respects the arboreal 

 flora ; indeed, in view of the great variability of the forests on the 

 loams due to human agency, it is with hesitation that any but the 

 most general differences observed in the field are held to be sig- 

 nificant. As indicated in the Introduction the soils derived from 

 gabbro are peculiar in their chemical character owing to the pres- 

 ence of small amounts of magnesium and the absence of lime, the 

 same features in less degree which characterize the serpentine soils. 

 The peculiarities of the gabbro soil would indicate, however, that 

 the magnesium salts do not exert, a toxic effect, as the number of 

 species absent from them is small, and none of the plants show 

 peculiarities of structure or dwarfing of size. The distinctions 

 which may be observed between the gabbro clay and the loams are 

 all readily accounted for by the physical character of the clay. 

 The tree species which are predominant are such as are more 

 abundant in moist and poorly drained soils, the herbaceous species 

 which are absent are those that occur most abundantly in sandy 

 or other light soils. The differences which the Cecil Clay areas 

 present are, then, similar in a close degree to those described for 

 the Elkton Clay on the Eastern Shore. 



The Cecil Clay of Harford County bears topland forest in which 

 the Chestnut and Mockernut Hickory stand in about the same 

 relation to the make-up as on the Loams, while the Black Oak is 



