THE ECOLOGICAL PLANT GEOGRAPHY 

 OF MARYLAND, MOUNTAIN ZONE 



FORREST SHREVE 



Introductory. 



The Mountain Zone has not nearly so great a diversity of vegeta- 

 tion as the Coastal Zone, having home in its virgin state a continu- 

 ous covering of forest without meadows or bogs, and without cliffs 

 or extensive rock out-crops. The several types of forest occurring 

 in the Mountain Zone are, however, more distinct from each other 

 than those of any other part of the state, and three of them are 

 chiefly made up of tree species which are either absent or much less 

 common in the Midland Zone. The floristic distinctness of the Zone 

 lies both in the presence of species not found in the remainder of the 

 state, and in the absence of species found throughout the other Zones. 

 The former species, which are listed in Part II, are, — as there 

 pointed out, — either plants of wide range in the north which extend 

 south along the Alleghanies, or are confined to the Alleghanies. The 

 number of Alleghanian species reported from both Pennsylvania 

 and Virginia, hut not collected in Maryland indicates that the list 

 of 27 species given may be considerably extended by further search 

 in Garrett County, particularly along the highest mountain ridges. 

 It has not been possible to explore all parts of the Zone at all seasons 

 of the year with sufficient thoroughness to prepare a reasonably com- 

 plete list of the Coastal and Midland species which are absent. The 

 list given in Part II is therefore chiefly made up of trees. 



Many of the species involved in the distinctiveness of the Moun- 

 tain Zone are common and characteristic in their respective habitats 

 or of very striking appearance, a good number of them, indeed, being 

 forest trees. Among the more notable of these are the Tamarack 

 (Larix Jaricina), the Black Spruce (Picea mariana), the Striped 



