PRELIMINARY REPORT ON PEAT. PRIMULACEAE. Primrose Family. Samolus floribundus HBK. This little plant seems to be nearly always a sign of limestone not far below the surface, or in the water. It grows on several feet of peat along Helena Run, and in shallow calcareous swamps in various other parts of the State. Said to be distributed from Newfoundland to South America, but evidently absent over large areas. VACCINIACEAE. Huckleberry Family. Vaccinium virgatunm Ait.? Huckleberry. Blueberry. Non-alluvial swamps, bays, sandy river-bottoms, etc., from DeSoto County northward. (Perhaps several closely related species). Widely distributed in the Southeastern United States. Gaylussacia hirtella (Ait. f.) Klotzsch In estuarine swamps near Milton; sometimes 6 feet tall. Grows also in southern Alabama, and perhaps in other states. ERICACEAE. Heath Family. Cholisma ligustrina (L.) Britton. (Also spelled Xolisma.) In and around non-alluvial swamps, from DeSoto County northward; not very common. Widely distributed in the Eastern United States. Pieris nitida (Bartr.) B. & H. Hurrah Bush. In sour non-alluvial and non-calcareous swamps, bays, etc., where the water level does not vary more than a few inches throughout the year. Also in low scrub and sandy shores of lakes, above high-water mark. Common as far south as Polk County. Virginia to Louisiana, in the coastal plain. Pieris phillyreifolia (Hook.) DC. In bays, cypress ponds, etc., or in almost any place where pond cypress grows. Uusually climbs cypress trees by creeping up between the inner and outer bark, sometimes to a height of 30 feet or more, and sending out branches with leaves and flowers every few feet. More rarely on tyty or juniper. Frequent in nearly all the counties west of the Suwannee River. Okefinokee Swamp to Mobile Bay. Leucothoe racemosa (L.) Gray Chiefly in bays. Franklin, Leon, Jefferson, Madison and Bradford Counties. Widely distributed in the Eastern United States, but most frequent in the coastal plain. 323