236 VEGETATION 



Eaf. and Ambrosia hispida Pursh, form almost the entire covering of this 

 area. There is very little shrubbery, but in some places the peculiar beach 

 form of Erithalis fruticosa L. (Black torch) spreads its procumbent branches 

 on the ground. 



3. The Cocoa-plum Association. This occupies the rounded sandy eleva- 

 tion immediately behind the flat area of the above. It is about 25 feet wide 

 and is composed almost entirely of the two species of Chrysobalanus fellocarpus 

 Meyer (Cocoa plum) and Chrysobalanus icaco L., which for long distances 

 may be entirely pure. Scattered individuals of Coccolobis uvifera (L.) Jacq., 

 Ilex Jcrugiana Loes., Ernodea littoralis Sw., Genipa clusicefolia (Jacq.) Griseb., 

 Metopium metopium (L.) Small (Poison- wood), Reynosia septentrionalis Ur- 

 ban (Darling plum), and Eugenia confusa DC. (Stopper) appear in this 

 association, but they do not form a conspicuous part of the covering. On the 

 landward slope of this elevation the next association appears. 



4. Inodes-Lantana Association. The Inodes palmetto (Walt.) Cook 

 (Thatch palms) here form a very distinct line that may be seen in Plate XLIII, 

 Fig. 1. They are 20 to 25 feet high, and extend/somewhat into the next for- 

 mation. Among them grow Lantanas, Phyllanthus epiphyllanthus L., Chloris 

 petrcea Desv., Cenchrus tribuloides L., and a little of the half-prostrate Dal- 

 bergia ecastrophyllum (L.) Taub. 



FRESH-MARSH FORMATION. At the foot of the sand slope there is a long, 

 narrow fresh marsh, generally not over 20 or 30 feet in width. In places 

 there is standing water, but often the soil is merely damp. The palms extend 

 into this formation only in dry places, and not abundantly. In the deeper 

 pools grows Typha domingensis Pers., while in shallower water and on the wet 

 margins are dense, pure associations of Eleocharis cellulosa Torr. The deli- 

 cate little trailing Monniera monniera (L.) Britton also occurs around the 

 water, where it is often mixed with Lithophila vermicularis (L.) Uline. Scat- 

 tered here and there in this formation was a tall grass 8 or 10 feet high, which, 

 not being in flower, we have not been able to identify. At one place in the 

 marsh to the north of the town we found a black-fruited Chrysobalanus fello- 

 carpus Meyer (Cocoa plum), 25 feet high and 14 inches in diameter a size 

 most unusual for this species. 



CONOCARPDS-FLAT FORMATION. This extends backward from the marsh 

 for several hundred yards. The ground is of honeycomb rock with water in 

 the depressions, and is covered with an almost pure association of Conocarpus 

 erecta sericea Fors. This wet area slowly rises into a long, gentle slope, which 



