— 109 — 
similar type as the ones of the Clay-desert. There Poa bul- 
bosa was the most important species, and in the Sand-desert 
it occurs locally in great quantities on stationary soil, but 
Carex physodes (and C. stenophylla) are here the chief species; 
the horizontal rhizomes of these species are well adapted for 
growth on a stationary sandy soil. 
Other hemicryptophytes in the Spring-aspect of the Sand- 
desert are Rheum tataricum (see p. 56), Eremostachys - spe- 
cies, Scorzonera pusilla, Astragalus ammotrophus, chiwensis, 
orbiculatus. The species of Astragalus have multipinnate leaves 
as in the Clay-desert, the leaflets are hairy and elliptical or 
ovale. 
A number of geophytes are recorded for the Sand-desert 
in spring: Tulipa biflora and Androssowii, Allium caspicum 
and sabulosum, Rhinopetalum Karelini (all Liliaceae), Eminium 
Ledebouri (Araceae), Iris falcifolia, Linaria odora, and the para- 
sites Phelipaea flava and trivalvis, the former with an in- 
florescence which almost attains the height of a metre’). 
By comparing the plants mentioned, it will be seen that 
the spring-perennials of the Sand-desert are formed after the 
same type as those of the Clay-desert. It is possible that 
at any rate all the ephemeral species are common to both. 
CHAPTER 10 
The Riverside Thickets (Bushland). 
My own observations on the Riverside Thickets only extend 
to those on the lower part of the Amu Darya, but thickets 
also occur along the rivers Tedshen and Murghab, etc. (An- 
TONOW, KORSHINSKY). 
My knowledge of the Amu Darya was acquired during a 
boat-journey made by the expedition from Tshardshui to 
Chiwa and Kunja Urgentsh, a trip described by O. OLUFSEN 
in "Geografisk Tidsskrift” vol. 15. 
") Figured by O. FEDTSCHENKO in Bull. Jard. Bot. de St. Pétersbourg 
VI 1906. 
