— 115 — 
internodes were no longer than usual. Eurotia is a suffrutex, 
or here, under milder climatic conditions, preferably, a dwarf- 
bush, whose branches for the most part survive the winter. 
On Eurotia-dunes I have found Phragmites communis var. 
pumila, a cespitose dwarf-form, with short closely-packed 
leaves. It contributed but little to the formation of the dune. 
There were also Inula ammophila, Cirsium arvense, Calama- 
grostis pseudophragmites and small tamarisks and willows 
about !/2 mètre tall. 
The latter was perhaps “antecedent”, possibly Cirsium 
also, — there may have been fields here, formerly, but they 
are just as apt to have been brought out with seeds from the 
open country. I am inclined to believe that Eurotia, too, 
was “antecedent’’, for it is by no means rare in the Wakhan- 
valley. It is difficult to imagine that, after germinating in 
the sand dunes, it would be able to live in the dunes and 
attain any great age, — for the broad totally woody stems 
must be several years old, — without being overcome by the 
sand and killed, while yet young and weak. It is probable 
that old Eurotia growths have recently been covered with 
sand which they have only partially resisted. 
With the exception of the fact that fewer of the shoots 
above ground were dead, — those sanded over are not counted 
in this connection, — and that the plants were one-sided in 
their growth, Eurotia looked here very much as up in Pamir. 
One would fancy that its short shoots and the limited 
possibilities for growth would make it but little adapted to 
dune-vegetation; yet it is a remarkably plastic species. I saw 
a specimen near Langarkish in the form of a bush 1 métre 
tall, with branches bent and twisted, climbing about a rose- 
bush almost as if it were a semi-liana. Near Sermut it ap- 
peared as a little tree with a crown and a cylindrical trunk, 
about one inch in diameter. 
4. Tamarisk-dunes. These have been seen in many 
places in Wakhan. They attain a height of 4—6 mètres; 
they are circular or elongated with the longest axis east- 
west, — the direction of the river valley. They were rather 
closely covered with tamarisks 1—2 mètres tall; Calamagrostis 
sf 
