66 HARPER 



unique in that the attractive organ is an enlarged pinkish calyx- 

 segment, the corolla being greenish and not visible a short dis- 

 tance away. 



The principal modes of dissemination are by wind, resilient 

 stems, and fleshy fruits, there being about a dozen cases of each 

 kind. 



The 78 species of vascular plants belong to about 63 genera 

 and 42 families. The largest family in the list is Cyperaceae, 

 with 7 species. 



Monocotyledons here constitute not quite 30% of the an- 

 giosperms, a much smaller proportion than in the moist pine- 

 barrens, and about equalling that for the whole region. This is 

 perhaps as good an indication as any that the branch-swamps 

 are considerably nearer the mesophytic climax condition than 

 are the moist pine-barrens. 



In general range the species of this group resemble those of the 

 preceding. Most of them are confined to the coastal plain. 



6. Creeks and Small Rivers. 



As the branches just described flow toward the sea they of 

 course unite into creeks and those in turn into rivers. The 

 distinction between a branch and a creek is one of degree rather 

 than of kind, namely, a creek contains water all or nearly all 

 the time, while a branch frequently dries up. The plants in the 

 following list grow in streams of the third class described on a 

 preceding page, i. e., those which originate within the Altamaha 

 Grit region and are rarely or never muddy. Streams of this class 

 do not become very large before they leave the region, not large 

 enough to be navigable, for instance. They do not usually have 

 well-defined banks, and very often the whole channel is full of 

 trees, as may be seen in the Allapaha and Little rivers within 

 a few miles of Tifton. (See Plates VI, VII, and VIII, Fig. 1.) 

 The water-level in these small endemic rivers varies a few feet 

 at different seasons, but rarely gets beyond the edge of the 

 swamp. The species here enumerated nearly all grow between 

 high and low water marks. 



6 Nyssa biflora 



6 " Ogeche 4-5 



