28 



baccifera, S. salsa, Salsola clavifolia, Ofaiston monandrum, 

 Halimocnemis villosa, H. sclerosperma , H. glauca, Halogeton 

 glomeratus, Anabasis aphylla, A. brachiata, Brachylepis (Ana- 

 basis) sa/sa, Halostachys caspica. Another important species 

 is Zygophyllum Eichwaldii. 



4. The area of the Moving-Sands. 



This stretches mainly south-east and east from the Aral 

 Sea. The vegetation is more luxuriant than in the other 

 areas, and is at the same time more interesting and richer 

 in rare and strange plant-forms. In spring it looks quite 

 like a garden. The dunes are covered with bushes of Calli- 

 gonum, Halimodendron, Saxaul, Tamarix, Salsola etc. Some 

 of these are also present in other formations, but reach here 

 their fullest development, "so that this territory may justly 

 be termed the forest of the desert-flora". 1 ) 



Of the 501 species of Phanerogams characteristic for the 

 sand-flora, 16, ie per ct. are trees and shrubs. The propor- 

 tion of perennials and biennials to annuals is as 1 : 0,?5. 

 235 species belong exclusively to the dunes. The sand-flora 

 includes: 



26, 9 per ct. of Ranunculaceae of thew hole area. 



54,si Cruciferae 



63 Papilionaceae 



65 Compositae 



61 Salsolaceae 



10 Cyperaceae 



28 Gramineae 



In addition to Cruciferae and Papilionaceae, Borragineae 

 and Polygonaceae are also plentiful. BORSZCZOW mentions 

 amongst the Cruciferae: Dontostemon (several species) Strep- 

 toloma, Spirorhynchus, Pachypterygium , Cithareloma , Lachno- 



l ) This simile has justly been contradicted by KORSCHINSKY and TAN- 

 FILJEW. Yet LIPSKY (1911) is of the opinion that some large tracts of 

 Saxaul but only of this -- may rightly be named forests, the trees 

 being big and thick and giving a considerable amount of ground-litter. 



