64 



OUTLINE OF PLANT GEOGRAPHY 



these may be mentioned tamarisk, colocynth (Citrullus colocyn- 

 thus), docks, capers, Reseda, mesquit (Prosopis), Cassia, Astrag- 

 alus, Convolvulus and various grasses. 1 



The rich lands of the Nile delta are intensively cultivated, and 

 yield abundant crops of clover, beans, rice, cotton, sugar and flax, 

 as well as the usual fruits of the Mediterranean. Tamarisk, 

 willows, acacias and the sycamore fig are common, and water- 



Fig. 12. — Edge of desert, Algeria. Village with date-palms in background. 



Photo., Dr. W. A. Cannon. 



plants of many kinds, including the lotus (Nymphaea lotos) abound. 

 The climate of Morocco and Algeria is very similar to that of 

 southern California. With the autumn rains, the dominant 

 vegetation starts into life, and the lower mountain slopes and val- 

 leys are quickly covered with fresh grass and many showy flowers. 

 There is a great development of bulbous or tuberous plants. 

 Gladioli, Iris, Narcissus, star-of-Bethlehem, etc., which come up 

 quickly, some like the colchicums and species of Narcissus, flower- 

 ing in the autumn, others continuing through the winter and early 



1 For details of the desert floras, see Engler, loc. cit., Vol. I, pp. 15-45. 



