110 



located in the best examples of the vegetation type. The struc- 

 ture and composition of the plant communities and their princi- 

 pal relationships are considered in successive sections of the 

 guidebook. An appendix contains some scientific data relating 

 to the region. As yet this trail is in the experimental stage. 

 Those interested in it are appreciative of the comments given 

 by the members of the botanical foray. 



Some of the principal forest types along the trail represented 

 by virgin stands are: hemlock ridge type, mixed cove hard- 

 woods (undifferentiated climax) , buckeye-basswood cove type, 

 prealpine beech gap type, pine-heath, spruce, and fir. Different 

 examples of the very interesting heath balds, or laurel slicks, 

 were seen. Brushy Mt. especially was of interest in this respect. 

 These treeless communities dominated by shrubs of the heath 

 family range from narrow ridge-top communities to broad 

 mountain-top and upper slope stands. The shrubby growth 

 ranges from low stands of Leiophyllum a foot or two high to 

 almost impenetrable thickets of Rhododendron and Kalmia 

 fifteen or twenty feet tall. The soil of these communities is 

 always strongly podzolized and in some instances is covered by 

 a thick layer of peat reaching a depth of three feet or more. 

 This peat accumulation is all the more striking inasmuch as it 

 develops not in basins but on steep slopes and sharp rocky 

 ridges. 



The region is rich in Ericales. Kalmia latifolia was found on 

 hundreds of acres along the trail in excellent flowering condi- 

 tion. Rhododendron catawhiense was past its prime but some 

 plants in fine flower were seen at higher elevations. (Some of 

 the party who went later to Mt. LeConte found this magnifi- 

 cent shrub in its prime.) Rhododendron carolinianum was in 

 flower on Brushy Mt. (4,911 ft. elev.) and R. maximum was 

 coming into bloom along the streams at lower elevations. Other 

 members of the order seen in flower were: Arsenococcus (Ly- 

 onia, Xolisma) ligustrinus, Decachaena (Gaylussacia) ursina, 

 Leiophyllum (Dendrium) Lyoni, Menziesia pilosa, Galax aphyl- 

 la, Monotropa uniflora, and Azalea calendulacea. The latter 

 occurs in a multitude of colors from pale yellow to deep flame. 

 Several members of the order which were observed, although 

 not in flower, were Decachaena haccata, Epigaea repens and 



