THE PLAXT ECOLOGY OP DRAKENSBEKG RANGE. 539' 



faii-ly deep soil, the bracken fern Pteridinni aquilinum is^ 

 dominant. 



In certain places, particularly at the higher altitudes, this 

 type might be classified as Fellfield. Warming's description 

 applies : " The soil is never completely covered by plants. 

 One individual stands here and another there ; between them 

 we see bare, pebbly, stony, sandy, or clayey soil, which is 

 devoid of humus and determines the prevailing colour of the 

 landscape.'' The latter part of the description is particularly 

 true of the type during the dry season. In the rainy season 

 the growth is naturally somewhat more luxuriant, but the 

 fellfield formation is never a close one. The tufted grasses 

 which occur here and there among the other plants are more 

 xerophytic even than in the tussock veld proper. Cushion 

 growth-forms are more abundant here than in any of the 

 other plant formations, especially the species of Muraltia 

 and some of the Helichrysnms and other Compositae. The 

 writer has not been able to discover any veiy large develop- 

 ment of fellfield, so it is here included as subordinate to the 

 veld formation and representing a transitional type. 



(C) AssociATKD Veld Plants occupying moist places. 



These are transitional to vlei plants. Though the 

 Cyperacea", as a whole, are found mostly in the vleis, the 

 following prefer moist parts of the veld : 



Ascolepis capensis, Mariscus capensis, Bulbo- 

 stylis cinnamome, Cyperus compact us var. flavis- 

 simus, Carex dregeana, Ficinia stolonifera, Fimbri- 

 stylis sp. 



In addition to these, the following plants belong to this 

 class: Hypericum lalandii, Trifolium africanum, 

 Alchemilla woodii, Graliura wittenbergense var. 

 glabrum, Valeriana capensis, Denekia capensis, 

 Senecio viscidus, Sebsea spp., Chironia krebsii, 

 Wahlenbergia undulata, Mimulus gracilis, Me- 

 lasma scabrum, M. capensis, Sopubia cana, S. 



