ECOLOGICAL NOTES 215 



amongst them are Helichrysunt ,siiJ)(jlomeratum, H. riigti- 

 losnnt. H. calUcomunij H. ericaefolium. On the damp 

 i'lay soil of the valleys Curculigo plicata occurs. 



To summarize: the veld is chiefly grassland. Amongst 

 tlie other plants one tinds many with Xerophytic modi- 

 tications. A lai'ge number have very hairy leaves, such 

 as the helichrysums, on which account the Helichrysum 

 associations have a whitish blue appearance. Plants of 

 an ericoid habit occur largely, Among them are ^elago 

 sp., Lightfootia sp., Ifloga polycnonoides, etc. There are 

 numerous tuberous plants, such as Dicoma anomala, 

 Ipomoea ovata^ various Asclepiadac.cae, etc. 



Succulents are very rare, the only ones on the ^eld 

 being probably a few species of Mesemhrianthemmn and 

 Crassula. In winter the weather is cold and usually dry, 

 and most of the aerial organs of the grasses and other 

 plants die down. Deciduous plants are very rare, but some 

 species ot'Rhiis shed their leaves. In Nasturtium^ Sal- 

 via and other plants, lateral shoots sprout from the un- 

 derground organs in June or July, and form rosettes of 

 leaves close to the ground, the inflorescences spring up 

 in summer. There are not many annuals except in the 

 Changed Veld, in cultivated or denuded soil. Some of 

 the plants are evergreens and even flower through the 

 winter. A species of Androcyrnhium is one of the earliest 

 spring flowers. Later on numbers of flowers of Bruns- 

 mgia sp. appear. Moraea flower about the same time, 

 and the orchids and gladioluses a little later — in Janu- 

 ary or February. Most of the Dicotjdedons flower 

 through the summer. 



The veld in amongst the mountains, being damper, 

 more shady and more protected than the open veld, has 

 some additional species, including heaths. Some of the 

 plants of this region are Erica sp. (Alb. Mus. 303), vrhich 

 often covers considerable areas. Erica sp (146), Erica 

 alopecurtis, Dierama pendula, and various gladioluses 

 Selago Galpinii is in places very abundant. Among the 

 grasses Eragrostis cacsia and Eragrostis brizoides are 

 common. Sehaea Tiymenosepala occurs in the grassland. 



