Tin-. si:a-co.\st 



-4' 



of inl.iiii.1 oiiijiii which an' widespread and 

 able lo t;io\v ahm>>t anywhere. 



The salt marsh varies considerably in rej^ard 

 to the desjrce ol' moisture. In some cases 

 there are few or no pools, in others these are 

 ijeneral. In some cases there is a strujjijle 

 between inland types and salt-marsh plants, 

 in others the latter are entirely dominant. 



The Habits of Sea-coast Plants. — The special 

 factors of the maritime habitats cause the 

 plants in each zone to have marked character- 

 istics, (jenerally the sandy coast ves^et.ition 

 is composed of tleshy herbaceous types havinjf 

 a branched or pyramidal habit. In many 

 cases tile upriijhl erect habit, s'vinjj the plants 

 a strict appearance, is developed. Others are 

 trailers, as some Oraches, Sea Bindweed, .Sea 

 Purslane, &c., and Sea Heath is a shrubby 

 type of trailer. Some are rosette plants, as 

 Thrift, Buckshorn Plantain (and these are 

 most general on rocky coasts). The ijrass 

 liabit is adopted by a few, as Centaury, Woad, 

 and the number of Sedijes and (jrasses is larije. 

 .\ lew are shrubs, as Sea Buckthorn, Tama- 

 risk (the latter with ericaceous habit), Coto- 

 neaster, the first spinose. 



On the shin.nle the habit is trailini^, and the 

 plants produce restinij shoots or hibernacula, 

 as in Sea Purslane, Sea Campion (procum- 

 bent). .\ few are pyramidal, and all are 

 tiesliv, with the Sea Kale type of h.ibit, as in 

 Sea Holly, Yellow Horned Poppy, &c. 



On the dunes the habit is trailintf, as in 

 Seaside Bindweed, with subterrane.m stolons, 

 and the sjrasses produce lonjj rhizomes, deeply 

 rooting. The grass habit is the dominant one. 

 In the salt marshes the habit is largely the 

 grass habit of the rushes, sedges, and grasses. 

 Tin- shrub type is represented by .Sea Blite. .\ 

 few have the rosette habit, as in Sea Lavender, 

 Thrit't, Buckshorn Plantain. The trailing 

 habit is adopted by Sandwort, Sea Milkwort, 

 Procumbent Sea Blite. .Arrowgrass and Sea 

 Plantain also have a grasslike habit. The 

 bulk of the plants are fleshy, except the 

 grasses, &c. , and the shrubby types. Samphire 

 has a very marked strict habit. 



The Height of Maritime Plants. — .Most ol 

 the- maritime plants are herbaceous perennials. 

 Only a few attain the size of shrubs, and these 

 are quite local. Trees .is a whole are absent. 

 The factors which regulate the height of mari- 

 time plants are chiefly wind, and the various 

 wavs in which they are subjected to I'xposure. 

 The manner in which the few trees that grow 

 bv the sea-coast are affected by wind and 

 dwarfed has been shown. The shrubs, as 

 Tamarisk and Sea Buckthorn, are alTccted in 

 much the same way. Many of the plants, 

 especially those that grow next to the sea in 



the lirsl or second zone, are trailing or pro- 

 cumbent plants, as .Sea Bindweed, .Sea Purs- 

 lane, Sea Campion, &e. 



The succulent character of so many of the 

 maritime plants prevents lh<-m from attaining 

 any great height, apart from the loregoing 

 factors. Tlnir increase by growth is thus 

 lateral, not upward. The softni's-. or loo.seiiess 

 of the soil also favours a low shrubby habit, 

 even amongst those that are more dilVuse, as 

 in the case of Yellow Horned Poppy .ind .Sea 

 Kale. Plants with the erect habit l'ri'i|uenlly 

 also h.ive a procumbent habit in some sltu- 

 .'ilions, .and there are some plants again, of 

 which there are several specii-s. In which one 

 is erect .md others .ire procumbiMit, showing 

 that the latter is of adv.mtage to the ()lant, and 

 ;in adaptation to maritime conditions. Of such 

 tvpe are Shrubby Sea Blite, which has an 

 allied species. Procumbent Sea Blit<-, and 

 Samphire, of which there .ire numerous specii'S 

 (recently dellned by Dr. C. K. .Moss), In w hicli 

 all stages iVom the erect lo ihe prostr.ite habit 

 are represented. These tacts lend to sln)W that 

 the height of m.iritime pl.mls is generally low, 

 since a low height is most favourable in such 

 habitats. 



The Flowering Seasons of Maritime Plants. — 

 Maritime plants labour under disadvantages. 

 Thev are subjected toconlinual wind-l'orce :ind 

 exposure, and where sim mi>ts are constant, 

 a reduction in temperature (otherwise normal 

 at the coast) occurs, and frequent moisture, so 

 that they are as a whole late In flowering. 

 The radiation iVom s.ind and shingle Is very 

 rapid, and theret'ore the ground temperature 

 is relatively high, with rapid cooling as a 

 result. But the plants are subjected to a 

 physiological drought, and the necessity of 

 developing long .and far-n-aching rhizomes 

 and thick and long roots, with, as a rule, 

 enormously developed vegetative organs, may 

 have much to do with this feature. 



The insects that pollinate the maritime 

 plants are largely drawn I'rom tin- order 

 Coleoplera or Beetles, and as a whole these 

 insects are late in appearing. This may be 

 In part the reason. 



The earliest flowering plants .amongst those 

 described in detail do not put lorth so gre.-it a 

 number of leafy shoots, or develop rhizomes 

 on a large sciile, and are shrubs, tr.iiliTs, or 

 rosette plants, as, in May, Sea Milkwort, Scurvy 

 Grass, Sea Purslane, Tamarisk, .Sea Lavender, 

 Thrift, Sea Buckthorn. In the next month, 

 June, Yellow Horned Poppy, Se.-i Kali-, .Se.i 

 Rocket, Seaside Bindweed, .S.ind Sedge, 

 Squirrel Tall Gniss commence to flower. July 

 is, however, essentially the- month when mari- 

 time plants are generally blooming, as Woad, 



