492 Part IV. Chapter 2. 
Where the sandstone gives way to clayey soils, erosion is active and dee 
valleys are formed in the Sand mountain plateau in Alabama. The following 
trees are found in such secluded valleys, viz, Quercus Michauxii, Fagus ame- 
ricana, Ulmus americana, Fuglans cinerea, Tilia americana, T. heterophylla, 
Magnolia umbrella (= M. tripetala), M. acuminata, M. macrophylla. Rocky 
defiles or gorges are shaded by 7suga, Betula lenta, Ilex, Vaccinium virgatum 
associated with Rhododendron catawbiense, Oxydendrum arboreum, Hydrangea 
quercifolia, arborescens, radiata and cinerea, Ribes and Halesia. At the base 
of the mountain on the limestone formation is found the rare Neviusia ala- 
bamensis associated with Staphylea trifolia, Tilia heterophylla, Aristolochia 
tomentosa, Calycocarpüm Lyonü, Menispermum canadense, Solea concolor and 
Urtica chamaedryoides. 
Coniferous Forest Formation. The coniferous forest appears on the 
slopes of the Black Mountain Range at about 5200 feet (1585 m). The 
dominant tree of this formation is Picea nigra (= P. mariana) associated with 
Abies Fraseri. Intermingled with these two coniferous trees, but nowhere 
making a pure growth, are Acer spicatum, Betula /utea, Aesculus flava, Sorbus 
americana, and Crataegus sp. (Sorbus-Acer Facies). The trees are large 
and rugged, and clothed even to the topmost branches with dense coats of 
moss. Mosses and lichens cover the ground as with a dense mat a foot or 
more thick. The trunks of fallen trees are buried from sight by a living 
mound of green, set with flowers and ferns. 
n 
comium triquetrum, Dieranum fuscescens, Hypnum reptile, Polytrichum ohioense, and Stereo- 
The rocks support in sunny places a Sedum- 
Carex Association of Sedum telephioides, Carex rosea var. radiata, Saxifraga leucanthemifolia 
(= S. Michauxii) and Krigia montana. 
beneath which as herbaceous associates are found Viola blanda, Trilium 
erectum, and Clintonia borealis. The natural meadows on this range of moun- 
tains, surrounded by the forest of balsam and black spruce trees, are composed 
of a Carex-Poa Asso ciation, viz.: Carer intumescens, C. scoparia, C. brun- 
nescens var. gracilior, C. tenuis, with Poa Pratensis, P. alsodes, Agrostis alba, 
and Juncus efusus. (Carex-Poa Association) 
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