CHAPTEE VIII 



THE SOUTH-EASTBEN STATES 



The inhabitants of the south-eastern States, which I shall 

 endeavour to describe in this chapter, form, in many respects, 

 a great contrast to those of the continental basin. The greater 

 humidity of the Atlantic States produces that characteristic 

 wealth and profusion in floral life which constitutes so at- 

 tractive a feature as we approach the ocean from the west. 

 And no one can fail being struck by the change in vegetation 

 even in travelling southward through the Atlantic States from 

 the north. The oaks, chestnuts and hickories become more 

 varied, evergreens of all kinds increase in number, new and 

 magnificent magnolias make their appearance, while vines 

 and creepers mingle their foliage with that of shrubs and 

 trees. The splendid white pine of the north is replaced in 

 the south by the long-leaved yellow pine, whose hard, strong 

 and durable wood serves such a wide range of uses. We also 

 notice an entirely new conifer, the cypress, which, like the 

 tamarack, sheds its leaves in the autumn. Further south in 

 Florida, still greater changes await us, and in the extreme 

 tip of that peninsula we are surrounded by tropical vegeta- 

 tion. Low fan palms and the palmetto grow even further 

 north, but here we meet for the first time with the royal palm, 

 which for height and grace of shape is unequalled, and many 

 other characteristic denizens of the tropics. Indeed, as Mr. 

 Brendel * points out, the flora of southern Florida should not 

 be looked upon as part of the North American flora but as a 

 link between it and that of the West Indies. Over two hundred 

 and thirty species of plants do not extend north of Tampa, 

 whereas southern Florida has one hundred and eighty seven 

 in common with the West Indian Islands. 



This affinity between the floras of southern Florida and 



* Brendel, F., " Notes on the Flora of Florida," p. 449. 



