22 VEGETATION OF BLAKENEY POINT. 



mixed with drift and the controls with shingle only. All were 

 then sown with approximately equal quantities of seed of 

 Rumex trigranulatus. Unfortunately, of the control cultures 

 the seeds germinated in one case only, suggesting that the 

 drift may be necessary to prevent the seeds in the first instance 

 from being washed too far down into the shingle. Those 

 plants which were grown in shingle and drift were both large 

 and vigorous, whereas those in the single control were com- 

 paratively small. 



Other moderately common species are Festuca rubra, 

 Sonchus oleraceus and littoralis, and Senecio vulgaris ; the 

 last, as one might surmise from its ephemeral character, is 

 fairly common throughout the whole length of the bank ; 

 Sonchus littoralis is almost invariably found either on the lee 

 side of the bushes of Suceda, or else growing out of the turf- 

 like patches of other plants, such as Arenaria, Silene or 

 Festuca. As has been already mentioned, the last-named 

 species is usually on the sheltered side of the Suceda bushes 

 between their ranks ; it and also Triticum junceum are 

 especially characteristic of the most stable portions. 

 Plants of the Depressions. 



A few plants are found chiefly in the troughs and shallow 

 depressions, towards the landward edge. Of these, the most 

 characteristic and abundant is Poa annua, whilst Sedum acre 

 is also fairly common and possibly in part owes its situation to 

 the frequency with which plants that have passed the flowering 

 stage become uprooted and get blown along by the wind, finally 

 coming to rest in one of these hollows where the seed is 

 probably shed. Aira prceccx also occurs. 



Two other grasses of the depressions are Desrnazeria 

 loliacea, which is local, and the second, Lepturus filiformis, 

 rather rare and much commoner on the lateral hooks. 

 These depressions, however temporary, are obviously for the 

 time being regions of greater surface stability, and besides 

 giving shelter, the shingle is usually finer here than on the bank 

 around, and is consequently more retentive of water. As the 

 characteristic species above mentioned are all shallow-rooting 



