69 



Natal, where it is common on the coast sand dunes. Eh. 

 erecta, which is often ruderal, has even a wider range extend- 

 ing all through the Central districts to Natal and up through 

 tropical East Africa to Abyssinia, and (probably introduced) 

 into Arabia and very rarely in India. Stapf points out the* 

 similar interesting distribution of its nearest relatives in 

 Australasia. The Australian genera Microlaena and Tetrar- 

 rhcna are hardlv more than dimerous modifications of' 





Fig. 13. — Transverse- Section of a stem of Ehrharta aphylla (x about 80). 



Ehrharta. Tetrarrhena like the majority of the species of 

 Ehrharta in South Africa is confined to the extreme south, 

 in Tasmania and West Australia. Microlaena, on the other 

 hand, extends from Tasmania over Australia and New Zealand' 

 up to the Highlands of New Guinea. 



The species of Elirharta in South Africa, with the excep- 

 tion of the few, which, as mentioned above, grow sociallv or - 



