AN (ECOLOGICAL SUHVEY OF THE MIDLANDS OF NATAL. 511 



It has, until it withers, a characteristic bluish colour, hence 

 the name " blue grass veld." The low veld is also known as 

 " sweet veld." These terms, however, are very loosely 

 applied. Any veld where the grass makes a good hay, or 

 where cattle do well, is apt to be termed '' sweet veld," and 

 the blue colour of the grass is not quite constant. When it 

 begins to wither the leaves become reddish. 



As in the high veld the purer the Anthistiria association 

 the more stable the soil conditions. Other grasses occur 

 sparsely mixed with it. Of these associated grasses the 

 following are the commonest : 



Andropogon hirtus, A. schoenanthus var. versi- 

 color, A. amplectens, A. pertusus, A. auctus, A. 

 dregeanus, A. schirensis, A. plurinodis, A. dichroos, 

 A. appendiculatus, Aristida angustata, A. junci- 

 formis, Eragrostis curvula, B. chalcancha, E. 

 brizoides, Cynodon dactylon, Tristachya leuco- 

 thi'ix, Sporobolus indicus, Chloris petrtea, C. 

 pycnothrix, Imperata arundinacea, Panicum spp., 

 Digitaria diagonalis, D. eriantha, D. ternata, 

 Eleusine indica. 



With changing soil conditions certain of these become more 

 abundaiit, chiefly the Andropogon species, as in the case of 

 the high veld. 



(b) Andropogon hirtus grows on the poorer soil. Some- 

 times it grows on almost bare shale, with only an inch or so 

 of soil. Unlike Anthistiria it always flowers, and in autumn 

 such parts of the veld are covered with grass two or three feet 

 tall. Its stems are rather slender, and the spikelets covered 

 with silvery hairs give a characteristic colour to the association. 



(c) Andropogon schoenanthus var. versicolor is 

 very similar in its habitat. The two species often grow inter- 

 mingled, forming a mixed Andropogon association. 



(d) Andropogon pertusus is a characteristic low veld 

 species (cf. A. ceresiasformis in the high veld). It 

 demands looser soil, and is only found where the soil is better 

 aerated than is usual in the low veld. Consequently it is not 



