BY A. A. HAMILTON. 481. 



swamp, its movements limited only by the degree oi' soil satura- 

 tion. The regularity of the zonation of these frequently asso- 

 ciated rushes is exemplified on the banks of George's River, at 

 Coiiin. where their several ranks extend in parallel lines forming 

 an even band, 6-8 feet wide, for a distance of several hundred 

 yards, the Juncus keeping the front line along the river margin. 

 The slightly reduced height of the Cladium, its p ale green stems, 

 and insignificant inflorescence are sufficiently distinctive to en- 

 able the observer to follow the lines of their respective bound- 

 arm- throughout their association. The fruits of Cladium 

 junceum have no flotation, seeds 5 years old. which resemble a 

 leaden pellet in size and colour, sinking at once. 



in a shallow basin on a saltmarsh at Clyde, the cosmopolitan 

 Reed-mace, Typha angustifolia L., has established a colony, an 

 irregular formation of Juncus maritimus occupying a position 

 on the border of the depression, a vacant space several yards 

 wide dividing them. The factor limiting the boundaries of their 

 respective formations is the decreased salinity of the water in the 

 basin, which is fed by a sluggish seepage from the marsh bank, 

 rendering it prohibitive to the Juncus, though congenial to the 

 Reed-mace, the ridge on the border of the basin remaining in- 

 accessible to either. The ovaries of the flowers of the Reed-mace 

 are surrounded by tufts of hairs affixed to the stipes which fall 

 off with the fruit, simulating the pappus of a Composite. 



The saltmarsh at the head of Woolooware Bay, Cronulla, is 

 merged into a swamp in which tidal and fluvial waters inter- 

 mingle. A forest of Casuarina glauca has spread over the 

 swampy area from the verge of the tidal zone to the dry land- 

 ward slopes. In this station Juncus maritimus has relinquished 

 its banded formation and, adopting a massed disposition, has 

 invaded the forest to the boundary of the fin vial zone. Its 

 frequent associate. ('Indium junceum, is also represented by 

 a scries of diffused patches, and two reed-like Sedges, Scirpus 

 littoralis Schrad., a species common in the Mediterranean, which 

 is tolerant of a lacustrine habitat, though much better developed 

 under estuarine conditions, and Cyperus laevigatus L., common 

 in most warm regions, noted only by the writer in estuarine 

 stations, have also established small colonies in the Juncus 

 formation. The seeds of these two Sedges have a brief flotation, 

 dried seeds of both species sinking within 24 hours. Discussing 

 New Zealand halophytes, Miss Cross (7. p. 547) remarks: — 



