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Bassia sedifolia, Heliotropium Radula, Elymus sabulosus, Suæda 
dendroides, Salsola sclerantha and other species of Salsola, Ce- 
ratocarpus arenarius, Cressa cretica, Haplophyllum sp., Arte- 
misia, perennial Astragalus spp., and the species of Convol- 
vulus already mentioned. What was said about Carex phy- 
sodes under hummock-desert also holds good here, namely 
that, although a spring-flowering plant, it plays a part during 
summer in binding the sand by its rhizomes and roots. 
The vegetation of the desert of the sand-plains may be 
comparatively dense (see fig. 16), but in other places, the 
plants are much more scattered; the plain may indeed be so 
bare that one must search for the plants. In spring, how- 
ever, there is always a richer vegetation. 
The majority of the species are the same asin the other 
forms of Sand-desert (sub-formations) and so are the growth- 
forms. In addition to small shrubs, the following types of herbs 
are found: thorny species (Alhagi, some species of Salsola, Cera- 
tocarpus), hairy species (Goebelia, Kochia, Bassia, Heliotropium, 
Salsola sclerantha, Artemisia, Convolvulus), the succulent spe- 
cies are of minor importance (Suæda, Salsola). Most of the 
species are perennials or undershrubs; the latter include 
Kochia prostrata, Suæda dendroides (?), Artemisia and some 
species of Convolvulus. Kochia stellaris, Bassia, species of Sal- 
sola and Ceratocarpus are annual summer-plants. 
If a survey is made of the distribution of the growth- 
forms, more especially that of the annual summer-plants of 
the Sand-desert, it will be found that the annuals constitute 
the majority of the plants in the Shifting-desert, and a much 
smaller proportion in the Desert-plains. Of the herbaceous 
plant-species given above for each sub-formation, 62 per ct. 
in the shifting Sand-desert, 44 per ct. in the Hummock-desert 
and 25 per ct. in the Desert-plains are annuals. Though no 
very great importance can be attached to these figures owing 
to incompleteness of the plant-lists, yet they have a certain 
value because they confirm the results of direct observation. 
The latter has taught me, that in the shifting desert such 
herbaceous plants as are present are generally annuals, 
