Ecology of the Cincinnati Region 
147 
First stage. —The shallow valley in the till of the upland contains a 
stream, for it will be remembered, the water table is high. This upland 
stream is sluggish and meandering. It has many of the marks of old 
age. The flood plain which it is building supports a hydrophytic vegeta¬ 
tion wherever the forest is not very dense. Such plants as Cardamine 
pennsylvanica, Asclcpias incarnata, Mimulus ringens, Lobelia siphilitica, 
Eiipatorium perfoliatum, Helianthus strumosus, and Bidens laevis, are 
found scattered along the stream. The aspect of the upland beech woods 
is, however, little modified by the valley, for its slopes are not yet steep 
enough or high enough to greatly influence the vegetation. 
Fig. 20. The broad open valley of Gunpowder creek. 
Across the cleared uplands, the stream is bordered by hydrophytic 
herbs, and occasional willows. The plants found are the same as those 
along the stream in the woodland, but here they are much more numerous. 
Second stage. —Gradually the ravine increases in size. Its banks 
become higher, and steeper (5 to 10 degrees). Its flood plain becomes 
broader, but less hydrophytic, for the stream is lowering its channel below 
