94 PLANT LIFE OF ALABAMA. 
extent. Itisashrub of a decidedly tropical habit, properly belonging 
to the West Indian subgenus Eleuteria, from 10 to 15 feet high, 
squarrosely branched from the base, and conspicuous by the scurfy 
covering of silvery scales on the branchlets and lower sides of the 
leaves. The flowers open from early in March to the middle of 
April. By the end of the latter month the foliage of the previous 
year is replaced by new leaves. It appears certain that this interesting 
shrub is strictly confined to this secluded valley near the banks of 
Little Cahaba River. The abundant white, star-like flowers of the 
densely tufted Sedum nevit enliven the moss-covered rocks beneath 
these thickets of Croton. This pretty plant is also found near Tusca- 
loosa and is recorded from the mountains of southern Virginia and 
from the Cumberland Mountains in Tennessee. Yeatesta laetevirens,' 
extending to northwestern Louisiana and eastern Texas, and Arabdis 
patens, extending to the Alleghenian area, occur on the shaded rocky 
borders. Of xerophile plants, Campanula divaricata, frequent in the 
Metamorphic and Coosa hills, is found on exposed clifis with Gilia 
coronopifolia, the latter ranging from the middle country of South 
Carolina to the plains of Arkansas and Texas. Of rarer plants occur- 
ring here are Marshallia lunceolata, ranging from Georgia to Tennessee 
and North Carolina, and Silene regia, conspicuous by its rich panicles 
of flaming scarlet flowers, also at home in the prairies of southern 
Illinois and of the lower Ohio. Many a fern from the mountains 
finds here the southern limit of its distribution on the rocky, shaded 
banks of brooklets and streams. Of such may be enumerated: 
Phegopteris hexagonoptera. Asplenium filix-foemina. 
Asplenium ruta-muraria. Cheilanthes lanosa. 
Asplenium montanum. Cheilanthes alabamensis. 
Asplenium parvulum. Woodsia obtusa. 
Asplenium trichomanes. Dryopleris marginalis. 
LOUISIANIAN AREA OR FLORA. 
Descending from the hills of the older (Paleozoic) formations, con- 
sisting of the extreme southern members of the Appalachian mountain 
system, the Austroriparian or Louisianian area of the Lower Austral 
life zone is reached. This area within the State is thus coterminous 
with the vast Coastal plain. The elevation of this plain scarcely 
exceeds at any point 350 feet above sea level, and in its gradual decline 
to the Gulf shore presents great uniformity in its topography. Undis- 
turbed by local influences due to great differences in elevation, the 
distribution of heat here follows the lines of latitude. In consequence 
the climate does not run to extremes. The following are data of tem- 
perature and rainfall obtained at Greenville, Butler County, the most 
1Gatesia laetevirens A. Gray. 
