MARYLAND WEATHER SERVICE 229 



frequent woodlots of a few acres extent, that afford the owners the 

 needed fuel, and are a source of some revenue in the sale of nuts. 

 These patches of woodland are of frequent occurrence in the upper 

 part of the region in question, and consist to a large degree of nut 

 trees, together with several species of oak, and an occasional beech, 

 although often too dry and thin soiled for the normal development 

 of the latter tree. In those woodland areas the forest floor is 

 usually covered by a grassy growth of species of Poa, Mulden- 

 bergia,, and Panicum, with such plants of similar habitat as Viola 

 pedata and Garex platyphylla. Under favorable conditions of 

 moisture and shade there are often large patches of ferns, of nearlv 

 pure stands of single species, but these are not so frequent as is 

 the case in the more damp, and heavier humus soil region in the 

 section farther west. The fern which occurs in most abundance 

 in the majority of cases is Dichsonia punctilobula, and in a smaller 

 number of cases, Dryopteris novebovacensis. In the open wet mead- 

 ows other ferns take the place of these species, but no rarities or 

 unusual forms were discovered in this type of habitat. 



The Sour Gum, which is so common a member of the woodland 

 vegetation in the Lower Zone of the State, is not common here, but 

 occurs occasionally, and often in the same locality with the Tulip 

 Poplar, though not in the majority of cases. Along the edges of 

 the woods, Stylosantlies biflora is frequent, with Cassia nictitans, 

 Meibomia nudiflora, and Dasystoma laevigata just within the 

 border, and scattered through the more open places. 



Bottoms. — In the shady moist ground along the bottom lands 

 such plants as the Erythronium americanum, Claytonia virginica, 

 Podophyllum peltatum, and Spathyema foetida are found in asso- 

 ciation with the Eed Maple, Moose wood, and the Hornbeam in the 

 lower parts of the adjacent woods, and the Red Bud and Dogwood 

 on the slopes of the hillsides. In the deep soil of these woods, 

 where there is considerable light, Bicuculla cucullaria forms con- 

 siderable patches, and Hepatica hepatica is common. Medeola vir- 

 giniana, Arisaema triphyllum, and Trillium, cernuum are to be 

 found in the deeper woods. 



The Chicken Grape (Yitis cordifolia) is a frequent vine of the 

 forest margin in damp locations, especially in the region between 



