KENFIG BURROWS: AN ECOLOGICAL STUDY 21$ 



vegetation here and there is of the marsh type. On the opposite 

 shore, which is exposed to frequent sand-blasts from the adjoining 

 dunes, very few plants occur. Space does not permit of a detailed 

 description of the flora and its distribution, but the following list 

 of commoner species will suffice to indicate its character and 

 composition : — 



Ranunculus peltatus, Schrank. Polygofiu7n amphibiunt, Linn. 



Castalia alba, Wood. Rumex Hydrolapathum, Huds. 



Hydrocotylc vulgaris^ Linn. Iris fcetidissima, Linn. 



Menyanthes trifoliata, Linn. Alisjua ra?iu/iculoides, Linn. 



Scutellaria galericulata, Linn. Eleocharis palustris, R. & S. 



Scutellaria mi?ior, Huds. Carex leporina, Linn. 



Littorella ufiiflora, Aschers. Carex Goodenozvii, Gay. 



Limosella aquatica, var. tenuifolia, Lej., was recorded as occurring 

 in great quantities on the sandy shores of the pool in 1898, but it 

 has not been observed in this locality since 1908. Trees are 

 practically absent from the mobile dunes. On the northern limit of 

 the fixed dunes sand plantations occur, while the alder grows freely 

 on the banks of Kenfig river, and follows its course for a considerable 

 distance on the alluvium. Stunted, wind-pruned specimens of 

 Sambucus nigra are met with here and there on the " shifting " 

 dunes, usually in somewhat exposed situations. Hippophae rhamnoides, 

 which forms a dense scrub on the Norfolk dunes, and is also 

 reported by Moss as frequent on the Somerset sand hills, does not 

 occur. 



Vegetation of the Fixed Dunes. 



The transition from the associations of the " mobile " dunes to 

 those of the " fixed " dunes is gradual. Fixation by Salix, Rubus, 

 and sward-forming plants, like Festuca rubra, begins in the more 

 sheltered hollows, near the inner limit of the shifting dunes. In 

 the more exposed stations the Marram grass still holds its own, and 

 on the dune grassland, where Pteris is absent, it remains a dominant 

 type. Where dune grassland gives place to cultivated land, bush 

 vegetation and trees form a final barrier to the invasion of the sand. 



Pteris aquilina Association. 



In the more open stations of this association the following species 

 occur, in addition to many of those already mentioned : — 



Erophila verna, E. Meyer. Saxifraga tridactylites, Linn. 



Cerastium semidecattdru/n, Carduus nutans, Linn. 



Linn. Seduiti acre, Linn. 



Cerastium tetrandrum. Curt. Lycopsis arvensis, Linn. 



Stellar ia apetala, Ucria. Myosotis colli na, Hoffm. 



Sagina nodosa, Frenzl. Koeleria gracilis, Pers. 



Vicia angustifolia, Linn. Festuca rubra, Linn, and its 



different maritime forms. 



