232 HALOPHYTES sect, vii 



wide distribution ; not only does, for example, the halophytic flora of 

 North America agree throughout in many points with that of Europe, 

 but even in New Zealand a number of genera, including plants occurring 

 in European saline meadows, are found, and are represented by the 

 same or by different species. Among the genera are Apium, Atriplex 

 (A. patula) Carex, Chenopodium (C. glaucum), Eryngium, Glyceria, 

 Lepidium, Samolus (S. Utoralis), Scirpus, and Triglochin. 



c, Salt-bushland 



On mud and clay soils bounding the Mediterranean Sea, for example 

 at Montpellier,! there occurs a dense, dark-green vegetation, which is from 

 one-third to one-half of a metre in height, and consists of the shrubby 

 Salicornia fruticosa^, intermingled with Atriplex portulacoides, Statice 

 Limonium, S. bellidifolia and other species, and Scirpus Holoschoenus. In 

 the shade of the shrubs often grow felted masses of the cyanophyceous 

 Lyngbya aestuarii. This community differs from those European ones 

 already described as occurring on clay shores in containing shrubby 

 species, and must be set apart from them as a separate formation that 

 of salt-bushland which may be compared with saline steppe on clay 

 soil. 



On coasts bounding the Caribbean Sea one finds along the shores 

 of lagoons flat expanses of clay, which maintain vegetation that is 

 obviously nearly related oecologically to the South-European community 

 just described. Among the shrubs present are Batis maritima (usually 

 half a metre in height), Salicornia ambigua, Sesuvium Portulacastrum 

 (which may be social and may clothe extensive tracts with often low, 

 lush, glaucous vegetation), also species of Portulaca and Heliotropium, 

 including H. curassavicum.^ 



In the Argentine Andes is found a Lepidophyllum-association ^ which 

 should perhaps be placed under this category : it consists of shrubby 

 Compositae, a metre in height, including species of Lepidophyllum as 

 well as other plants. 



d. Salt-steppe. 



This occurs in many central, continental parts of countries, including 

 Spain, Hungary, south-eastern Russia, Asia, North America, Argentine 

 Pampas, and Australia.^ As a rule it is met with in depressions into which 

 water from the higher environs flows. In the centre often lies a small salt- 

 lake, or a swamp that dries up completely in summer. Some salt-steppes 

 are oecologically in close alliance with the outermost zones of clay shores, 

 namely, with the Salicornia zone and Glyceria zone in saline meadow,** 

 but others are oecologically related to the shrub vegetation already 

 described as occurring on Mediterranean and American shores. The soil 

 is more or less clayey, and is incompletely stocked with vegetation ; 

 the constituent species, which are not numerous, form on the grey or 

 white ground scattered tufts, which stand out as dark patches and 



* Flahault et Combres, 1894. Duval- Jouve, 1868. 



^ Borgesen and Poulsen, 1900. * R. Fries, 1905, 



' See p. 219 and Chap. LXXIV. 

 " Regarding Hungarian halophilous vegetation, see Bernatzky, 1905. 



