274 ECOXO^riC ROTAXY OF ALABAMA 



THYMELEACEAE. .MkzEreum Family. 



About 40 genera and 4'i') species, mostly shrul)s with tough 

 bark, widely distributed. A few are cultivated for ornament. 



DIRCA, Linnaeus. 



Dirca palustris, L. Lkatherwood. (x\1so called MoosK-vvood 

 and \\'iC0PY in the North.) 



A deciduous shrub a few feet tall, with very tough bark, 

 smooth entire leaves, and small yellow flowers in early spring. 

 Sometimes cultivated for ornament. The bark has some medicinal 

 properties. 



Grows in rich woods, especially in virgin forests and near 

 streams, where it is well protected from fire. It has a rather pe- 

 culiar distribution, if it is all one species (and no variations seem 

 to have ever been suggested). It ranges northward to Canada, 

 and in New England is found mostly in cool, damp woods, but in 

 Georgia and Alabama it seems to be chiefly confined to the coastal 

 plain. Its known distribution in Alabama is as follows : 



2A. Along West Fork of Sipsey Fork of Warrior River, near nortli- 

 ern edge of Winston County. 



2B. Damp shady ravine near Lock 14, Tuscaloosa County. 



low. Rich woods west of Snow Hill, and along Pine Barren Creek 

 south of Ackerville, Wilcox County. Near Limestone Creek, a few miles 

 northeast of Claiborne, Monroe County. Between Dickenson and Grove 

 Hill, Clarke County. 



11. Near Gilbertown, Souwilpa and Silas, Choctaw County. Bottoms 

 of Bassett's Creek near Suggsville sta. (Allen P. O.), Clarke County. 



LYTHRACEAE. Loo.sestrifk Family. 



About 20 genera and 400 species, mostly in tropical America. 

 A few are ornamental, and one furnishes henna dye. 



DECODON, J.F. Gmelin. (Apparently no genuine common name) 

 Decodon verticillatus (L.) Ell. (The only North American 

 species.) 



A weak short-lived deciduous shrub, with spongy bark near 

 the base, and long branches that bend over and take root near their 

 tips. 



Grows in boggy or peaty sv.-amps or shallow water. Rather 

 rare in Ala])ama, but commoner farther east. 



