46 PLANT LIFE OF ALABAMA. 
Deciduous forests.—Deciduous-leaved forests prevail principally in 
the northern part of the State. They are marked by the same variety 
of forms and the same great abundance of catkin-bearing or nut-bear- 
ing trees (amentaceous orders) which are characteristic of the forests of 
the lower Allegheny rangesas far north as southern New England and 
the lower Ohio Valley, with their walnuts, hickories, oaks, hornbeams, 
beech, cottonwoods, elms, tulip and cucumber trees of the magnolia 
family, cherries, plums, haws, and service berries. 
Of the 43 species of amentaceous and other apetalous trees known 
to occur in the State 39 are common also to the regions just mentioned. 
Of the 23 oaks occurring in Alabama, 10 are found in the more 
northern forests; of the 8 Magnoliaceae, 5; of the 8 plums and 
cherries, 4; of the 20 or more species belonging to the apple tribe, 
mostly haws, 7; of the 5 maples, 4; of the 4 elms, 3, and all of the 6 
species of ash. 
In the mesophile forests, covering the valleys and terraces of a rich, 
moderately humid soil, oaks predominate, but many other genera are 
present. The following list exhibits the characteristic trees, all of 
which, except Jfagnolia acuminata cordata, extend north of the Ohio 
River: 
Quercus alba (white oak). Cornus florida (dogwood) . 
Quercus minor (post oak). Ulmus americana, U. alata, U. pubescens 
Quercus digitata (Q. falcata) (Spanish oak). (elm). 
FHicoria ovata (hickory).. Celtis mississippiensis (Southern hack- 
Hicoria minima (bitternut). berry). 
Juglans nigra (black walnut). Sassafras sassafras (sassafras) . 
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree). Diospyros virginica (persimmon). 
Fagus americana (beech). Aesculus oclandra (Ohio buckeye). 
Carpinus caroliniana (hornbeam) . Quercus michauxit (cow oak). 
Frarinus aanericana (white ash). Liquidambar styraciflua (sweet gum). 
Magnolia acuminata and variety cordata  Gleditsia triacanthos (honey locust). 
(cucumber tree) . Fraxinus lanceolata (green ash). 
alcer saccharinum (A. dasycarpum). 
The sweet gum here attains its largest dimensions. The last 5 pre- 
fer the lower bottoms subject to occasional overflow. 
In the paludial forest, particularly o the alluvial region, with the 
soil submerged or constantly water-soaked, the cypress (Zaxodium 
distichum) forms in the so-called cypress brakes the most imposing 
feature. This tree is found throughout the State, and in that portion 
belonging to the Louisianian area, it is associated with the tupelo gum 
(Nyssa aquatica) and the Carolina ash (/raxinus caroliniana). Tae 
overcup oak (Quercus lyrata) prefers the shallow lagoons of the allu- 
vial lands in the center of the State. Planer tree (Plancra aquatica), 
water hickory (/icoria aquatica), Carolina black gum (Wyssa biflora), 
apple haw (Crataegus aestivalis), and green ash (Fraxinus lanceolata) are 
