106 



E. chloromelas, E. obtusa, E micrantha, E. chalcantha, E. 

 curvula), species of Aristida [A. congesta, A. vestita, A. 

 adscensionis), and species of Sporobolus, some of them charac- 

 teristic of, or confined to this region (e.g., S. albicans, S. 

 tenellus, S. discosporus, S. ludicigii, S. ioclados, S. indicus). 

 Cynodon itself is usually reckoned a good grazing- grass, 

 though sometimes viewed with suspicion as being possibly the 

 cause of lamziekte in stock, especially during spells of 

 drought. 



The species of Aristida are wiry and not nutritious and 

 Eragrostis species, though a few of them are good, are also, 

 as a rule, of little worth, Grassveld, therefore, at its very 

 earliest stages, is looked upon as of good grazing quality, 

 while the immediately succeeding stages may be poorer. The 

 Aristida-Eragrostis-Sporobolus associes, however, if the suc- 

 cession is not kept back by grass burning, slowly passes into 

 Anthistiria-Andropogon Yeld, which is the climax stage for 

 the most part in Eastern Grassveld. Further details of the 

 succession will be described later, but here it may be pointed 

 out that it is particularly desirable, especially in drier regions 

 such as this transitional belt, to refrain from burning the 

 grass or from overstocking, or from any of the common means 

 of interfering with the proper succession since the climax 

 stage is the one which it is most desirable that the Grassveld 

 should reach, where the Eed grass (Anthistiria imberbis), one 

 of the best grazing grasses, is dominant. Further, .the 

 earlier Erogrostis-Aristida associes should not be burned, 

 because being deep rooted species they help to bind the soil, 

 and prevent soil erosion, in addition to preparing suitable 

 conditions for the spread of Anthistiria, which is unable to 

 colonise bare areas by itself. 



The above sere of which the three stages are (1) Cynodon, 

 (2) Eragrostis-Aristida-Sporobolus, (3) Anthistiria-Andro- 

 pogon, may be taken as typical of the whole area, but there 

 are many local variations. The Cynodon stage is often 

 omitted. Practically all the species of Eragrostis, Aristida, 

 and Sporohohis are capable of acting as pioneers, and the 

 innumerable colonies or socies of one or other of the numerous 

 species named above, or of those named as characteristic of 

 the Karroo region — for they nearly all occur in the transitional 

 belt — makes this open type of Yeld appear at first sight 

 extremely confusing. Not only so, but the list of species, which 

 act as pioneers, is by no means exhausted. Oropetium 



