PLEISTOCENE FLORA OF NORTH CAROLINA 347 
CONCLUSIONS 
Attention is arrested by the remarkable development of the oaks 
in this flora, there being eleven species in all, or nearly 29 per cent. of 
the known flora; and if it be objected that some of the determina- 
tions, such as the recognition of prinus, prinoides, and platanoides, 
will not stand, there still remains an unusually large showing, possibly 
to be explained by the fact that oak leaves are more coriaceous and 
resist maceration better than do most leaves. 
It will be seen at a glance that the enumerated flora as given above 
contains no boreal or even cool temperate elements. All of the species 
which in the modern flora range northward into New England or 
Canada also range southward to Georgia and Florida, with but two 
exceptions—Pinus rigida, whose present southern range is Virginia, 
and Quercus prinoides, whose present southern limit is North Caro- 
lina. Southern Delaware and Maryland mark the northern limit of 
Taxodium distichum; New Jersey marks the northern limit of Quer- 
cus lyrata, digitata, nigra, Nyssa biflora, and Dendrium; while 
Quercus phellos and marylandica do not get beyond Long Island, and 
Liquidambar dies out in Connecticut. On the other hand, Ulmus 
alata does not get north of Virginia, and Persea pubescens and Planera 
aquatica do not get north of North Carolina. 
There are nine distinctly swamp and low river-bank forms, two 
additional forms of low moist woods besides Liquidambar and Pla- 
tanus, which make their best growth in humid wooded regions. ‘The 
forms which in the living flora are denizens of dry sandy or rocky 
soils are Pinus rigida, Quercus phellos, digitata, nigra, prinoides, and 
marylandica. 
While it is always perilous to estimate the temperature in degrees 
from fossil faunas or floras, and it would be rash indeed to assert that, 
since some of these forms do not range above North Carolina in the 
living flora, the temperature of the Pleistocene in this region would 
have a minimum of 40° to 44°. However, from. the floral grouping 
as a whole I think it may safely be concluded that the temperatures 
were not lower than they are at the present time in the same latitude, 
and, if anything, they were slightly higher, with as great humidity as 
prevails at the present time in the coastal plain of North Carolina. 
