600 ZONES AND REGIONS [Pt. Ill, Sect. II 



stems are hidden by the tall forms of other plants; Spiraea crenata shares the 

 same fate. The entire absence of Cyperaceae is also very characteristic of this 

 vegetation.' 



Gruner l has given a detailed description of the high-steppe in the district 

 of Alcxandrovsk : — 



The spring flora of the high-steppe is very poor and uniform, and this is partly 

 due to the fact that the species which occur in great numbers together are frequently 

 confined to areas of small extent, and furthermore their flowers are either yellow or 

 inconspicuous. The first spring flora from March to the middle of April is repre- 

 sented by only a few families, of which the following play the chief part in number 

 of species and individuals : Liliaceae (Gagea, Tulipa, Hyacinthus, Bulbocodium), 

 Ranunculaceae (Ceratocephalus), Cruciferae (Alyssum minimum, Draba verna, 

 Sisymbrium Thalianum), Rosaceae (Potentilla opaca), Scrophulariaceae (Veronica 

 triphyllos, V. praecox, V. verna, V. agrestis), and Cyperaceae (Carex stenophylla, 

 C. Schreberi). The transition to a later spring flora is effected by Amygdalus nana, 

 Valeriana tuberosa, Androsace elongata and A. maxima, Vinca herbacea, and Iris 

 pumila. Late spring, including the month of May and about one-third of June, is 

 the season of the most luxuriant plant-growth in the high-steppe. 



The appearance presented by the high-steppe during this season depends chiefly 

 on the following species : Ranunculus illyricus, Glaucium corniculatum, Erysimum 

 canescens, Lepidium perfoliatum, Coronilla varia, Achillea Millefolium, Carduus 

 hamulosus, Echinospermum Lappula and E. patulum, Thymus Marschallianus, 

 Ajuga genevensis, Euphorbia Gerardiana, E. nicaeensis, and numerous Gramineae, 

 especially Stipa Lessingiana, Poa bulbosa, Bromus squarrosus and B. tectorum, 

 Koeleria cristata. 



In June, on the prevailing higher places, all the vegetation disappears, except 

 species of Euphorbia and the tufts of Stipa ; most of the summer plants appear only in 

 the less parched situations, especially in furrows and ravines (' balkas ') made by rain- 

 water. Several of the spring plants still appear during summer (Glaucium, Isatis 

 tinctoria, Coronilla, Achillea Millefolium). Of the plants that are limited to the 

 summer season those that commonly occur are : Malva borealis, Melilotus alba 

 and M. officinalis, Portulaca oleracea, Centaurea diffusa, Onopordum Acanthium, 

 Lactuca Scariola, Taraxacum serotinum, Verbascum Lychnitis, Linaria vulgaris and 

 L. genistaefolia, Marrubium vulgare, Teucrium Polium, Statice scoparia, Polygonum 

 Convolvulus, Ceratocarpus arenarius, Triticum cristatum, Eragrostis poaeoides, 

 Stipa capillata, Setaria viridis. 



Finally, the autumnal flora is characterized by the hairy nature of most of the 

 species, the vegetation of the steppe being thus mantled in grey : 



' From amongst the dismembered plants of the summer flora that still retain a few 

 flowering stalks, and their shrivelled remains, there springs up a fresh vegetation, the 

 chief representatives of which are Salsolaceae, Artemisiae, Polygonum Bellardi and 

 P. aviculare, Amaranthus retroflexus, and Xanthium spinosum. Belonging to the 

 first of these, Salsola Kali, Atriplex laciniata, Chenopodium album, Ceratocarpus 

 arenarius, and Echinopsilon sedoides appear in such enormous numbers, that if they 



1 Gruner, op. cit, p. 106. 



