Plante Lindheimeriane. 237 
Many plants then bloom a second time; some, indeed, in this 
fertile climate, bloom oftener than that, almost after every 
period of rains. 
«A short distance north of this region, steep and sterile 
declivities, covered by loose rocks, rise to the first plateau, 
just mentioned. The high plains which are now reached 
are mostly sterile and stony, and often large faces of naked 
rocks areexposed. Many interesting plants mentioned in this 
catalogue, are peculiar to these plains: the smaller Cactacee, 
Echinocactus setispinus, Cereus cespitosus, several Mammil- 
lariz, and prostrate Opuntie grow here; different species of 
Yucca are common; the curious and stately Dasylirion is 
here first met with. The trees of this region are Elms and 
Cedar among the rocks,and Cedar again, finely developed, 
along the banks of the streams, where Cercis occidentalis, the 
shrubby Red Bud, forms thickets. Juglans fruticosa and 
Morus parvifolia are here found; the Live Oak dwindles 
down to a shrub; and low bushes of Vitis rupestris, the 
mountain grape, cover large tracts of these pl&ins. 
*«'T'wenty to thirty miles farther northwest the country rises 
again and becomes more hilly, and regular conic or pyramidal 
elevations, often showing the horizontal strata of the cretace- 
ous limestone exposed in naked terraces, rise one behind the 
other, producing many peculiar plants. The valleys between 
them are often wide, with a thin soil, covered with grass and 
often with sparse Post Oaks; or they are narrower, without 
any timber, but more fertile. The springs are here numerous 
and beautifully limpid, of a temperature of about 67 or 68 
degrees; the streams clear and rapid. The beds of the 
larger watercourses are often en.wely dry in summer, leaving 
a wide, stony, or pebbly bed or naked rocks, abounding 
with interesting plants. The banks of the deeper streams are 
thickly covered with stately Cypress trees. 
“A few miles north of the Pierdenales the first outlier of 
the granitic formation is seen, which is found extensively 
developed on the Liano. The vegetation here begins to show 
JOURNAL B. S. N. H. 31 JAN, 1850. 
bso” = 
