SHORTER ARTICLES AND CORRESPONDENCE 



PLEISTOCENE SWAMP DEPOSITS IN VIRGINIA 



Buried swamp deposits of Pleistocene age are far more abun- 

 dant in the Atlantic coastal plain than was suspected a few years 

 ago. A large number of such deposits are exposed by the com- 

 paratively recent cutting of the waves along the western shores 

 of the Chesapeake Bay and the estuaries of our southern rivers. 

 These deposits vary greatly in botanical interest from point to 

 point. In some no recognizable remains have been found, in 

 others these are limited to the stumps of the cypress, while still 

 others contain the remains of a considerable flora. It seems evi- 

 dent that quite a number of modern species are more restricted 

 in their northward range than they were during certain inter- 

 glacial periods or even post-glacial time, while others are extend- 

 ing their range at the present time. Among the former the 

 red bud or Judas-tree (Cercis canadensis Linne) and the osage 

 orange (Tokylon pomiferum Eat.) might be mentioned, both oc- 

 curring in the interglacial beds of the Don Valley near Toronto 

 in Canada. Another species abundant as far northward as New 

 Jersey in inter- or post-glacial time was the bald cypress 

 (Taxodium distich urn Rich.), and the loblolly pine (Pinus taeda 

 Linne) also appears to have withdrawn southward since the late 

 Pleistocene. The water elm (Planera aquatica Gmel.), on the 

 other hand, appears to have retreated southward in the late 

 Pleistocene and to be readvancing at the present time. 



Numerous Pleistocene swamp deposits are described in the 

 recently published account of the Maryland Pleistocene 1 and 

 their contained fossil plants have been admirably exploited by 

 Dr. Hollick, who enumerates over 40 species from beds of this 

 age in Maryland. 2 Similar deposits are to be found at many 

 points in the Old Dominion, although very little attention has 

 been thus far devoted to their description. 



In 1906 the writer described 3 Fagus americana (nuts) Vitis 

 sp. (seeds), Hicoria glabra (fruit), Taxodium distichum (seeds 



1 Maryland Geol. Surv., Pliocene and Pleist., 1906. 

 2 /&?<*., Systematic Paleont., pp. 217-237, pi. 67-75. 



432 



