294 PLANT SOCIOLOGY 



7; Chamaephyta graminidea (hard grasses): permanently assimilating, tall, 

 tussock grasses and pseudo-grasses such as Stipa tenacissima and Lygaeum 

 spartum. 



8. Chamaephyta velantia (trailing shrubs. Fig. 150): creeping shrubs and 

 semishrubs of the cold climates often carpeting the soil. The trailing 

 shrubs {Spalierstrducher) utilize the soil warmth and defy the onslaught 

 of wind by tightly clinging to the ground. In part they are evergreens 



Fig. 150. — Trailing shrubs. Loiseleuria procumbens, as pioneer in the Alps. (Photo by 



Heller.) 



like Dryas, Loiseleuria, Teucrium montanum, Globularia cordifolia, and G; 

 nana and in part deciduous hke Salix retusa, S. reticulata, and Rhamnus 

 pumila. 

 9. Chamaephyta suffrutescentia (semishrubs): especially common in the dry, 

 warm regions of the subtropics. While the upper part of the shoots dries 

 up, the lower parts remain alive and bear the renewal buds. The regions 

 with Mediterranean climate especially rich in semishrubs are: southern 

 Europe, northern Africa, western Asia, southwestern Australia, Cape 

 Colony, and California; 



