368 J. w. BEWS. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The following paper is the foui-th of a series published in 

 this Journal on the plant ecology of Natal. The first^ Avas a 

 general account of the vegetation of Natal as a Avhole, the 

 second^ gave a detailed survey of a portion of the Midlands, 

 the third^ dealt with the Drakensberg range. The general 

 topographical map published in the first paper of the series 

 will be found useful for reference, since the extent of the 

 coast-belt area is shown on it. As the study of the vegetation 

 of Natal and othei- parts of South Africa has progressed I 

 have been able to give more attention to the analysis of the 

 plant succession, and the present paper is arranged in such 

 a way as to make this as clear as possible. In a recently 

 pviblished work^ I adopted the system of nomenclature of 

 Clements in his book on " Plant Succession." I have found 

 that it can be applied equally successfully to a subtropical 

 area such as the Natal Coast belt, and I have therefore 

 continued to iise it. 



1 have to acknowledge generous assistance from Mr. J. S. 

 Henkel, avIio supplied me with a list of trees and shrubs 

 occurring at Umgababa, as well as a list of Zulu plant names, 

 and who has also brought to my notice many interesting 

 points ; and from Dr. T. R. Sim, who assisted in many difficult 

 decisions regarding the relative frequency of various species. 

 I am indebted to Miss K. Martindale for drawing text-fig. 1 

 and to Mr. R. Walker for re-drawing fig. 3. 



While the ecological study of the coast-belt has been con- 

 tinued at intervals since 1910, during this year (1919) it has 



' Bews, J. W.. " The Vegetation of Natal," ' Annals of the Natal 

 Museum,' vol. ii, p. 253, 1912. 



2 Bews, J. W., " An CEcological Survey of the Midlands of Natal," 

 ibid., vol. ii, p. 485,1913. 



^ Bews, J. W., " The Plant Ecology of the Drakensberg Range," 

 ibid., vol. iii, p. 511, 1917. 



* Bews, J. W., ' The Grasses and Grasslands of South Africa,' Pieter- 

 niaritzburg, 1918. 



