THE PLANT ECOLOGY OF THE COAST BELT OF NATAL. 405 



considerable period of years and then is burnt the gi-ound is 

 to be seen ngain carpeted with a profusion of spring flowers. 



The autumnal plants differ from the vernal, not only in 

 being more prominent in autumn, but in entering into more 

 direct competition with the grasses. They ai-e usually shrubby 

 species, which grow as tall as or taller than the grasses. 

 They are not favoured by the burning of the grass, but, on 

 the contrary, tend to be killed out by it, the necessity of 

 killing them being one of the reasons given for the practice 

 of grass burning. The Tambookie associes of grasses (Andro- 

 pogon spp.), in so far as it occurs in the grassveld, may be 

 reckoned as autumnal. All the autumnal aspect plants are 

 similar to the types which are transitional to scrulj, witli which 

 they might be included. 



1. Vernal Aspect Species. — The familj- Leguminosae 

 includes a large number. Several of them, e.g. the species 

 of Crotalaria, are known to be the cause of diseases of stock, 

 and that the spread of such species is shown to be favoured 

 by grass-burning is one of the important economic results of 

 the study of plant ecology in Natal. The following species 

 are common on the coast belt: Lotononis corymbosa 

 (235), L. carinata, L. cytisoides, L. dichiloides (509), 

 Aspalathus spinosa, A. laricifolia (238), Crotalaria 

 burkeana, C. striata (532), C. globifera (234), C. 

 lanceolata (291), C. macrocarpa, Argyrolobium 

 rupestre, A. longif olium, A. uuiflorum (227), A. 

 stipulaceum (274), Trifolium africanum, Lotus dis- 

 color (230), Indigofera fastigiata, I. liilaris, Teph- 

 rosia longipes, ^schynomene mi c rant ha, Sesbania 

 segyptiaca, Yigna tenuis, V. triloba, Zornia brac- 

 teata, Desmodium liirtum (212), Pseudarthria hookeri 

 (219), Rhynchosia adenodes, R. gibba, R. hirsuta, 

 R. orthodanum (220), R. pilosa, R. quadrata, R. 

 sigmoides, R. memnomia (349), R. totta, Eriosema 

 kraussianum, E. parviflorum (91), E. salignum (337). 



Of equal importance is the family Compo sitae, some of 

 which are again under suspicion of being the cause of stock 



