— 130 — 
which produce aerial shoots penetrate the sand easily, but 
the clay only with difficulty. Salsola Arbuscula was also more 
vigorous, its branches and leaves being less stiff when it grew 
amongst the dunes. 
7. Desert at Kis Kala on the right bank of the Amu 
Darya. June 23. 1899. This locality has previously been re- 
ferred to (p. 75). 
Kis Kalä is one of the many ruined castles along the 
Amu Darya; it stands on the summit of a table-topped moun- 
tain. (The rock, a kind of limestone, cannot unfortunately 
be determined, as the sample I collected has disappeared). 
Round the mountain itself lie great accumulations of detached 
gravel and stones. The soil of the desert is partly sand forming 
small dunes, partly gravel with coarse sand and many stones. 
Of these two soils the sand carries the richer growth, and low 
shrubs of the following species occur: Haloxylon Ammoden- 
dron (thick - stemmed 1—2 metres high) Salsola Arbuscula, 
Calligonum sp., Ephedra alata, Ammodendron sp. and Reau- 
muria oxiana (very scattered), Tamarix hispida, stunted specimens 
of Salsola subaphylla. Near the river, and only there, Lycium | 
ruthenicum is abundant and aids in the formation of dunes 
1—2 metres high. Along with it are other plants restricted to 
the river-banks such as Phragmites communis and Erianthus 
Ravennae. On the loosest sand in the desert Aristida pennata 
grows, but only a few occur and these are small and poorly 
developed; the sand-drift in this locality is very slight and 
the soil is not loose enough for it. Alhagi Camelorum, on the 
contrary, is found in great numbers, besides withered stems 
of Phelipaea. The following species were also collected: Agrio- 
phyllum latifolium, Heliotropium sogdianum, Salsola sogdiana 
and aperta, dry or thorny plants, true sand-desert plants; 
in addition we found Euphorbia Turczaninowiti, Halimocnemis 
macranthera and villosa, Aeluropus littoralis. These last species 
are characteristic for this locality as they are halophytic in 
type; the three first named are succulent-leaved plants, the 
species of Halimocnemis being very grey on account of their 
hairs, the grass Aeluropus is a characteristic plant of the salt- 
desert (p. 52). These plants indicate that the soil is shallow 
and the ground-water not deep, and with this is correlated 
