198 FLOWERING PLANTS OF THE RIVIERA 



Tribe IV. ZOSTEREvE. Marine herbs. Flowers sessile on a flattened spadix, 

 i-sexual. Perianth o. Anthers sessile. Carpels solitary, sessile, ovules 

 solitary, pendulous. 



Flowers hermaphrodite. Stamen i ................................................................ ZOSTERA. 



Flowers polygamous. Stamens 3 ................................................................ POSIDONIA. 



Flowers dioecious. Anthers 4-celled .......................................... ................. CYMODOCEA < 



TRIQLOCHIN L. ARROW-GRASS. 



T. barrelieri Loisel. Root-stock bulbous, covered with fibres. Scape 

 stiff, longer than the linear though succulent leaves. Stigmas 3. Flowers 

 very small in a dense greenish spike. Plant 4-10 in. high. Ripe fruit separate 

 from the axis, 6 mm. long. Carpels 3. 



Damp, sandy places (in the Var), near the sea. February- May. Often in 

 great quantities, as on the marshes below Hyeres. 



T. maritimum L. is rare and only recorded from near Toulon. May- 

 August. 



T. palustre L. grows in damp, grassy places in the mountain region. 

 June-August. 



POTAMOGETON L. POND-WEED. 



The following species have been recorded from the littoral, viz. P. densus 

 L., P. pectinatusL., P. pusillus L., P. crispus L., P. perfoliatus L., 

 P. lucens L., P. rufescens Schrad., P. co\oratusHorn., P. iluitans Roth., 

 and P. natans L. They all grow in ponds, canals, or ditches, and several of 

 them in running water. They flower in the south from May or June to July 

 and August. 



* RUPPIA L. 



R. maritima L. and R. rostellata K. are not uncommon near Toulon 

 and below Hyeres in the salt marshes, also more rarely at Golfe Jouan in 

 Alpes-Marit. R. brachypus J. Gay has been found at Castigneaux near 

 Toulon. These curious plants grow in brackish water and flower from June to 

 August. 



Zannichellia palustris L. and Z. dentata Willd. grow in brackish water 

 of ditches and ponds near the coast. 



Zostera nana Roth, and Z. marina L. grow in the sea and in salt-water 

 ditches near the sea in the Toulon district and also near Antibes. 



Cymodocea eequorea Kcenig grows in the sea at Toulon roadstead, and 

 near Antibes, where it forms submarine fields like Posidonia. 



POSIDONIA Kcenig. 



P. OCeanica Delile = P. Caulini Kcenig (Plate III). A submarine flower- 

 ing-plant with big scaly root-stock covered with brown fibres, the remains of old 

 leaves. Leaves green, linear strap-shaped, obtuse, entire. Flowers greenish, 

 2-4 in spadices, grouped in a dichotomous cyme. Perianth o. Stamens 3. 

 Fruit fleshy, as large as an olive, ripening in April. Flowers in October, but 

 not every year. It grows in the sea and is very abundant in the Mediterranean. 

 The ribbon-shaped leaves get broken and washed up by the waves, and eventu- 

 ally form banks 3-8 ft. high in certain places on the coast. When quite dry the 

 leaves are used for bedding, etc. 



DIOSCOREACE^E. 



TAMUS L. 



T. communis L. Black Bryony. A pretty climber, with shining, heart- 

 shaped entire leaves with a tapering point. Flowers small, greenish-yellow ; 

 males in slender racemes, females in much shorter and closer racemes. Berries 

 scarlet. 



