—— 
Pe ke ee 7 
1903] FLORA OF NORTH CAROLINA 253 
origin. Adams*? has demonstrated this clearly in a study of 
the faunal distribution of animals and in a cursory way with 
plants. 
The marshaling of these facts exhibits the flora of the south- 
ern Appalachians and of the mountains of North Carolina in a 
new light. That the plants of the northeastern and north cen- 
tral United States (except those left as high northern plants 
on the nunataks and non-glaciated islands and those of cold tem- 
perate habit) are derived from the region of the southern 
Appalachians, adds considerable zest to the study of the flora of 
these elevated mountain lands. 
PRINCIPLES: UNDERLYING THE DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS IN 
EASTERN AMERICA. 
It is advisable at this point to make a restatement of the prin- 
ciples underlying the distribution of plants in eastern America. 
These statements are derived from the work done by Gray, 
Hooker, and others on the distribution of North American plants, 
with additional facts which seem to the writer necessary to men- 
tion because of recent work that has been published with refer- 
ence to the flora of North America in general. 
1. Subsequent to the great Cretaceous uplift in a favorable 
period of mutation, the north temperate regions of Europe, Asia, 
and America which extended to high northern latitudes became 
the habitat of dicotyledons and monocotyledons identical as 
Species in most important points. 
This region was occupied by a forest of great density,* com- 
posed of numerous species of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous 
plants, and these plants were subsequently definitely allocated 
during preglacial times to certain geographic areas by the planing 
down of the country to base level. 
3. The movement of the glaciers southward over the north- 
7 ADAMS, CHAS. C., Southeastern United States as a center of geographical dis- 
tribution of flora and fauna. Biological Bulletin 3: 115-129. JI 1902. 
°Gray, Asa, Sequoia and its history. Proceedings American Association 
Advancement of Science 21:1. 1872. Scientific papers of ASA GRAY 2:142; also 
ibid. 2:204. Cf. Gray, Forest geography and archeology. American Journal of 
Science 16: 85-94; 183-194. 
