62 



Trees (continued) Herbs 



C ornus florida Dryopteris noveboracensis 



Platanus occidentalis Epiphegus virginiana 



Magnolia acuminata Cimicifuga racemosa 



Castanea dentata Polygonum virginianum 



Quercus velutina? Podophyllum peltatum 



Acer Saccharum ? Meibomia nudiflora 



Juglans nigra Phryma Leptostachya 



Fraxinus sp. Geum canadense 



Prunus serotina Clematis virginiana 



Here the trees outnumber the shrubs and herbs, and there are 

 more vines than in any other habitat in the region. This pre- 

 ponderance of trees and vines seems to be characteristic of river 

 banks and alluvial swamps in many other parts of the world.* 

 Rivers as a rule are bordered by vegetation approaching the 

 climax, but at this altitude of 3,000 feet there is still so much 

 erosion going on that the normal succession is retarded, which 

 probably accounts for the abundance of four evergreens. 



Few if any of the species in this list can be considered as 

 peculiarly Appalachian. Nearly all of them are common in the 

 Piedmont region from Pennsylvania to Alabama, as well as in the 

 Mississippi valley ; and several are still more widely distributed. 



In the gravelly and muddy beds of the same streams, which 

 must be covered with water half the time, the following herbs find 

 a congenial habitat : 



Polygonum sagittatum Rhynchospora glomerata 



Impatiens biflora Carex lurida 



Juncus efFusus Scirpus polyphyllus 



Hypericum mutilum Lobelia cardinalis 



Eupatorium perfoliatum Mimulus ringens 



The fact that four of these, or 40 per cent., are monocotyle- 

 dons, is probably not without significance. All of them are 

 pretty widely distributed, mostly northward. 



Near Davis Gap (sometimes called Pigeon Gap), about three 

 miles east of Waynesville, and near Balsam Gap, about seven 

 miles southwest, are the only wet meadows which I made note 

 of in the region under consideration. Both are about 3,300 feet 



*See Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 17 : 67-73, 103-104. 1906. 



