Vol. XXVIII. 

 1911 



] Sutton ; Notes on the Sandringhani Flora. 



the tiny little " Sand Club-rush," Scirpus arenarini^, of the 

 Cyperaces, occasionally makes its appearance. 



Turning now from the rocks, we find in the loose sand another 

 association — psammophilous halophytes — in which the Sal- 

 solaceae is again well represented by the " Grey Saltbush," 

 Atriplcx cinereum, with glaucous foliage and purplish flower 

 masses ; the " Prickly Glasswort," Salsola kali, another real 

 cosmopolite ; the " Saloop Saltbush," Rhagodia hastata ; the 

 " Fat Hen." Cheno podium album ; and the " Oak-leaved Goose- 

 foot," C. glaucum. With these is frequently found a crucifer, 

 the " Sand Rocket," Cakile maritima. again of world-wide 

 range. The most striking grass is the curious sprawling 

 Spinifcx hirsiUus, the " Hairy Spinifex," patches of which, 

 bearing flowers of different sex, may be founcl widely separated. 

 It is, however, much more abundant in the sand hummocks 

 near Brighton Beach. Two noticeable introduced plants are 

 just here making themselves very much' at home — the " Horned 

 Poppy," Glaucium litteum, in particular, with its handsome 

 hoary foliage, bright yellow flowers, and inordinately long 

 fruits, is spreading widely, while the other, Nolana prostrata, 

 a succulent prostrate plant of the Campanulacea, with bluish 

 bell-shaped flowers, is more slowly extending its influence. 



Many other plants venture from the cliff base a little distance, 

 where the sand has been bound by material washed from the 

 cliffs above, and more widely where the " Salt-grass," Distichlis 

 maritima, the " Couch-grass," Cynodon dactylon, the " Spinifex," 

 the " Curved Snake-tail Grass," Lepturus incurvatus, and 

 especially the introduced " Sea-lime Grass," Elymiis arenarius, 

 have reduced the shifting grains to stability, and so paved the 

 way for their coming. Of the species found in this debatable 

 ground, which is only rarely flooded, may be first mentioned 

 the umbelliferous, lush green " Sea Celery," Apiiim prostratum, 

 corresponding to the garden celery, A. graveolens, wild on old- 

 world coasts. It is the first halophil, except the Glaucium, 

 met with, having divided leaves. The " Coast White-bush," 

 Calocephalus Brownii, is often noticed here, less often the grey 

 " Coast Aster," Aster axillaris, not infrequently the little 

 " Grass Daisy," Brachycome graminea ; Stuartiana Muelleri ; 

 the " Jersey Cudweed," Gnaphalium Inteoalbum ; the coast 

 form of the " Sow Thistle," Sonchiis oleraceiis, coarser and more 

 succulent than in the inland form, and several other introduced 

 composites. Lobelia anceps is also here, and the " Swampweed," 

 Selliera radians, the " Rayed Carrot," Dauciis brachiatus, the 

 " Kidney Weed," Dichondra repens, and even the " Water Dock," 

 Rumex bidens, and the " Spreading Flax-lily," Dianella re- 

 valuta. Now and again, too, the big brother of the " Austral 

 Pigface," M ese mbryanthemum aqiiilateyale, " the Angled Pig- 



