119 



developed because near water. Tamarix alone forms a dense 

 fringe round the riverside thickets and stretches away from 

 the river, far into the desert as low bushes bearing a scanty 

 foliage. Scattered bushes may still be found 2 3 Verst 1 ) 

 from the river-bank, but w r hat a difference between these 

 poor stunted bushes no higher than 2 Arshin 1 ) and the 

 vigorous little trees of 2 3 Sashen l ) ! The occurrence of this 

 bush in the loess-desert (or plain) is the sign that there is 

 probably a river in the neighbourhood, so constant are the 

 conditions of distribution of this species." 



In connection with the riverside thickets, a brief reference 

 ought to be made to the aquatic and marsh-vegetation along 

 the Amu Darya. 



Beyond the thickets, in the water or on the very wet 

 muddy soil, there are dense reed-swamps, up to 3 metres 

 high, of Phragmites, (Phragmiteta) or of Typha (Typheta) 

 including T. angustifolia , T. Laxmanni, T. stenophylla. The 

 two last are small and narrow-leaved forms. T. Laxmanni 

 seems to occur most frequently of the three; as already 

 stated, it may also invade some parts ol the land which is 

 dry during summer and mingle with the plants of the thickets, 

 but in relation to these it always plays a subordinate role. 

 Calamagrostis pseudophrag mites which is also a wet-soil plant 

 with horizontal subterranean runners, prefers a somewhat 

 drier soil than Typha, and when it occurs along with the 

 latter it is subordinate; so also in the thickets, it is generally 

 subordinate to the plants of the thickets. Calamagrostis how- 

 ever, may form a pure association on submerged soil. 



In the irrigation-canals and ditches, the following plants 

 were observed: Scirpns Tabernaemontani and S. maritimus, 

 Zanichellia pedicellata, Potamogeton perfoliatus var. Mtilleri. 



At Giaur Kala, I saw a deserted branch of a river ("Stariza," 

 see p. 33) now a lake, and in this the following plants were 

 growing: Phragmites communis, Polygonum amphibium, Pota- 

 mogeton perfoliatus and lucens. 



These are the only notes taken on the aquatic and marsh 

 vegetation of the Amu Darya, but they can be supplemented 



*) See note page 118. 



