63 



above sea-level. The cause of the treelessness of such areas, 

 and their relations to other habitats in the neighborhood, are 

 unsolved — though perhaps not very difficult — problems. With 

 the exception of Acer rubrum and Salix longipes, scattered along 

 stream channels at Balsam Gap, the vegetation is entirely her- 

 baceous, as follows : 



Eupatorium perfoliatum Osmunda regalis 



Vernonia noveboracensis Hypericum mutilum 



Panicularia nervata Helenium autumnale 



Homalocenchrus virginicus Oxypolis rigidior 



Juncus effusus Cyperus strigosus 



Eryngium virgatum Mimulus ringens 



Scirpus sylvaticus Galium trifidum ? 



Rhynchospora glomerata Apios tuberosa 



Carex lurida Carex crinita 



Linum striatum Juncus canadensis? 



Polygonum sagittatum Gerardia purpurea? 



Osmunda cinnamomea Habenaria ciliaris 



All of these are just as common outside of the mountains as 

 they are here, if not more so. Most of them can be found in 

 wet meadows in New England, and a still larger proportion along 

 the head-waters of East Meadow Brook, near Hempstead, Long 

 Island ; and all range at least as far south as Middle Georgia, 

 about lOO miles farther south and 2,500 feet lower. 



All the species seem to be perennial, but none are evergreen 

 in the ordinary sense of the word. Nearly half the angiosperms 

 are monocotyledons. There are no Ericaceae among them. 



The weeds of the mountain region are found principally along 

 trails and roads and in pastures and abandoned fields. They 

 are all or nearly all herbs, and mostly dicotyledons. The follow- 

 ing list is doubtless very incomplete. The species are arranged 

 approximately in order of abundance, as usual. 



Juncus tenuis * Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum 



Prunella vulgaris Achillea Millefolium 



Potentilla ca)iadensis Veronica officinalis * 



Rumex Acetosella Polygonum Hydropiper 



Lobelia inflata Trifolium repens 



Verbascum Thapsus Oxalis stricta ? 



*See Gray ,Am. Jour. Sci. 42 : 41.1842. 



