16 
North Carolina Experiment Station 
Quercus alba-Quercus falcata. Fertile soils. Chiefly below 3,000 
feet. Developmental, rarely subclimax. 
Betula nigra-Platanus occidentals. Chiefly on flood plains. 
Developmental. 
Salix nigra-Alnus rngosa. Stream borders. Developmental. 
Rubus sps. Clearings. Developmental. 
Acer rubrum-Fagus grandifolia. Fertile soils below 5,500 ft. Cli¬ 
matic climax. 
Quercus marylandica-Quercus stellata. Sterile soils. Develop¬ 
mental. 
Quercus virginiana-Juniperus virginiana. Old coastal dunes. 
Developmental, subclimax. 
Liquidambar styraciflua-Acer rubrum. Developmental. 
Pinus palustris-Pinus tceda. Fertile soils. Developmental. Sterile 
soils. Subclimax. Edaphic climax. 
Fig. 10. Quercus association on fertile soil of slopes of the Cape Fear 
River in the heart of the Coastal Plain 
It will be noted in the above treatment that the Acer-Fagus and 
Pinus climaxes have been included as associations in the mesophytic 
forest formation. To the mind of some ecologists such a “lumping” 
will seem quite unwarranted. To the writer, however, it seems inevit¬ 
able if one is to be guided by the dual definition of major distinctive 
vegetation associated with a major distinctive habitat. 
