204 
In the open places there was a remarkable growth of the gopher- 
apple (Geobalanus oblongifolius) with the plants in full flower. 
This is one of the species—of which there are many in the south- 
eastern United States—that, as a matter of protection, have 
come to bury their main stems under the ground, and it is from 
these buried stems that they send up their branches erect. 
This condition most likely came about as a result of the fires 
that continuously sweep the country in which it grows. For, 
although it is a woody plant, its exposed wood is not resistant to 
fire. Thus, when fire-swept, all the branches are burned off, 
but new ones arise subsequently from the buried stem. The 
gopher-apple has no relative outside of the southern coastal 
plain. Another interesting case of a shrub with the main stem 
buried is found in northern peninsular Florida and northward. 
It is the chinquapin of the coastal plain, both that of the Atlantic 
and that of the Gulf. The widely distributed common chin- 
quapin (Castanea pumila) grows mainly in the Piedmont and 
mountainous regions, where fires are comparatively rare, owing 
to a more fertile soil and a limited amount of tinder. Con- 
sequently, we find a larger plant—a tall tree or shrub. In the 
dry pinelands of the coastal plain, on the other hand, we find a 
poor soil and plenty of tinder. There, ordinarily, shrubs do not 
grow large and while still young they are very likely to be de- 
stroyed by a forest fire. Therefore, the chinquapin of the coastal 
plain is naturally a low shrub, but really not a small shrub, for 
it is greatly elongated. Upon investigation one will find that he 
can pull up a stout underground woody stem of the chinquapin 
several rods long. Beneath the sand this organ is perfectly safe 
from fire, and again as soon as fire has burned the erect branches, 
leaving mere blackened stubs, this buried stem sends up new 
branches to take their places. 
Neither do the older geological formations, however, lack 
shrubs with subterranean stems. While writing this paper our 
attention was directed to an article bearing on this subject,’ 
concerning the box huckleberry (Gaylussacia brachycera), chiefly 
as it occurs in the Blue Ridge of Pennsylvania. The particular 
‘Frederick V. Coville, Science, N.S. 50: 30-34. 1919. 
