THE PLANT ECOLOGY OF THE COAST UELT OF NATAL. 400 



The Cainpauulacea3 include Walilenbergia uiidulata 

 (37), Cyphia elata, Lightfootia corymbosa, Roella 

 glomerata and the Selag'inea3, Hebenstreitia comosa 

 (67), H. integrifolia, Selago hy ssopif olia . 



Other families, chiefly more temperate, which have numerous 

 representatives at higher altitudes, are poorly represented 

 on the coast belt, but the following isolated species occur : 

 Heliophila linearis, H. virgata, Polygala hotten- 

 totta, lonidium thymifolium, I. caff rum, Dianthus 

 prostratus, Silene thunbergii, Hypericum tethio- 

 picum, Corchorus trilocularis, Oxalis corniculata, 

 0. semiloba, Geranium ornithopodum, Monsonia 

 ovata (97), Pelargoniuin aconitiphyllum (368), P. 

 pulverulentum, Eugenia albanensis, Tryphostemma 

 Sander soni, Hermannia sandersoni, Hydrocotyle 

 asiatica, Peucedanum capense, P. cornatum, Sca- 

 biosa columbaria, Sebtea natalensis, S. acutiloba, 

 Ipomfea plantaginea (15), Cynoglossum enerve, 

 C . 1 a n c e o 1 a t u m , S e r i c o c o m a c h r 3' s u r u s . 



Some of the hygrophilous species already named as charac- 

 teristic of the zone of vlei grasses are fairly adaptable and 

 spread through the grassveld. Among the Cyperacete 

 there are a few species which are xerophytic grassveld types, 

 e. g. Bulbostylis coUina, B. cardiocarpa, Fimbri- 

 stylis monostachya, Ascolepis cap en sis. Cyperus 

 sexangularis also sometimes forms socies in the grassveld, 

 but in fairly moist situations. 



Most of the vernal aspect species flower early, from August 

 to November, though some of them flower all through the 

 summer, and a few flower late, yet nevertheless are more 

 conspicuous in spring. 



2. Autumnal Aspect Species. — As already remarked, it is 

 somewhat diflicult to separate these types from the initial 

 stages of the scrub, and it is open to question whether they 

 ought to be separated. They compete with the grasses, they 

 spread if the grass is not burned, they often grow taller than 

 the grasses and throw a dense shade. They only diflier from 



