236 Plante Lindheimeriane. 
Oak. Swampy places are often densely covered with Mar- 
silea macropoda, like fields of clover. 
“Ten to twenty miles from the coast the country rises into 
the “rolling prairies.’ Along the rivers Quercus macro- 
carpa, Taxodium distichum, and Carya olivzeformis constitute 
large forests of vigorous growth. The groves of the prairies 
are principally formed by Sophora speciosa, Condalia obovata, 
and Diospyros Texana. The prairies themselves are richly 
studded by flowers, among which the blue and fragrant Lu- 
pinus Texensis and different species of red and yellow Casti- 
lejas are most conspicuous. 
* About one hundred miles from the coast the country 
becomes hilly ; conglomerate rocks are frequently seen; the 
streams are more rapid and clear and often expose horizontel 
strata of cretaceous rocks. Elm and Cypress are the principal 
trees along the rivers; Sycamores, Linden, and Hackberry are 
sparsely mixed with them. Many curious shrubs, among them 
the Ungnadia, are found in these river-forests. Here, also, 
the Muskit trees (Algarobia) make their first appearance, 
indicating the region of the Arborescent Mimosez ; they form 
open woods, where the level ground, often overflowed in the 
rainy season, brings forth abundance of the thin and wiry but 
nutritious * Muskit grasses" (Aristida, Atheropogon, and 
others). Many other interesting plants are found in these 
- * Muskit-flats." 
“In this region, and at the base of the first plateau, are 
located the towns of San Antonio, New Braunfels, and 
Austin, in a delightful climate, where snow or ice are rarely 
seen, and where the summer heat, tempered by the sea- 
breezes, never becomes uncomfortable. 'The spring, which 
at the coast sets in in January and early February, com- 
mences here a month or six weeks later. During the sum- 
mer the weather is usually dry, and the vegetation languishes, - 
but the rains of the latter part of August and September soon 
cause the whole country again to be clothed in fresh verdure. 
