3H THE JOURNAL OF INDIAN BOTANY. 



margin of damp soil between the water of pools and the extensive 

 dry meadows that characterize the plains. It is perhaps the most 

 difficult stage of all to unravel, because its green vegetation forms such 

 an attractive grazing ground, and because it shifts position with the 

 change of seasons. During the rainy season it encroaches on the dry 

 meadow, and during the hot season it recedes far toward the center 

 of the pools, or disappears entirely. I have found just one place 

 where the water relations are sufficiently constant that the wet 

 meadow is permanent enough to study in detail (Fig. 10). By sup- 

 plementing this small area with observations on other places, it is 

 possible to give a fairly consistent account of the wet meadow stage. 



The typical association is characterized by a large development 

 of Cyperaceae and Cynodon dactylon Pers. About the pools that are 

 subject to extreme fluctuation in water level there is also intensive 

 cultivation and grazing (Fig. 9), and the Cyperaceae and Cynodon are 

 about the only plants of consequence that can survive from year ot 

 year. Many of these plants are able to adapt themselves to a wide 

 range of conditions, from shallow water to relatively dry banks. 

 Cynodon dactylon, for example, is specially typical of later stages of 

 the wet meadow, yet it can grow fairly well when completely sub- 

 merged, and persists in many places into all but the dryest of the dry 

 meadows. The following is a list of the common plants of the wet 

 meadow is arranged approximately in the order of succession : Scirpus 

 maritimus, S. quinquefarius Ham., Cijperus difformis L., Fimbristylis 

 diphylla Vahl,, Amniannia baccifera L., Ranunculus sceleratus L., 

 Cynodon dactylon, and Eragrostis tenella R. and S. Usually Scirpus 

 quinquefarius, Fimbristylis and Cynodon determine the general aspect 

 of this stage (Fig. 10). 



Where the wet meadow zone shifts back and forth with the change 

 of season, where erosion produces fresh soil surfaces, and where the 

 human factors are very intensive, perennial plants are replaced by an 

 association of short-lived annuals. These come up from seed where- 

 ever conditions are favorable, and persist as long as there is suffi- 

 cient moisture. This group of wet meadow annuals reaches its 

 greatest development during the late cold season and early hot season. 

 It is such plants as these that make the seasonal succession so 

 conspicuous. They are for the most part small plants, and contribute 

 little toward the development of the permanent flora : Jimcellus 

 pygmacus Clarke, Scirpus michelianus L,. Potentilla supina L., Gnaph- 

 alium indicum L., Grangea madcraspatana Poir., Bumex dentatus 

 L., Ranunculus sceleratus, Polygonum plebsjum Br., Alternanthera 

 scssilis Br., Bergia ammannioides Robx., Biccia sanguinca, Hydrolea 

 zeylanica Vahl., and Glossostigma spathulatum Arn. 



