099 Notes on tlie Sproadlug- of some Cypriau Phiiits. 



It is a striking feature in the spreading-biology of the vegetation of the Mediterranean, that the 

 epizoic seed-spreading plays here a far greater part than is the case in northern Europe. Above 

 all this applies to most of the steppe- and maquis-societies, where a great part of the most common 

 herbaceous plants have fruits which are supplied with hooks, prickles or othei' adaptations, which make 

 it easy for them to fasten to the hair-cover of animals. As instances may be mentioned various Medicayo- 

 species and other Leguminosae, species of Caucalis, Orlaya, Torilis, Daucus and othei' UmhelU ferae, species 

 of Baiiuncuhis, Erodium, Stipa, various Compositae, a. o. In the months of April— June, 19U5. I had 

 often the opportunity of examining the wool of the sheep, which in great flocks are found pasturing 

 nearly all over Cyprus, and on most of the animals I found numerous fruits of the above mentioned 

 and othei' plants fastened to the wool. Often the fruits may be so entangled in the wool, that it 

 is not possible to loosen them without force; with regard to the sharp fruits of Stipa tortiUs, Post 

 mentions, that they penetrate into the very skin of the sheep.') The greatest pai-t of the fruits we usually 

 tind in the wool under the abdomen, to which they easily fasten when the animals lie down, but they may 

 also be found on all the other parts of their bodies, thus often in quantities on the long and thick tail which 

 is characteristical to the kind of sheep occurring on the island. Flocks of sheep and goats, which often 

 number hundreds of animals, roam far about, and may often on a single day pass over 5 or 10 Engl, miles, 

 or more; in the evening they usually are gathered in enclosures made for that purpose, to be let out to 

 their pastures again the next day. They do their pasturing so thoroughly that -beyond the fenced areas- 

 no accessible spot in the field will escape their visit. Fruits which fasten to the wool of the animals may 

 again in different ways be loosened, f. inst. when the animals push through the stiff maquis-copses, and 

 it is, therefoie, obvious that these domestic animals, under the present conditions on the island, are a 

 factor of very great importance as spreadei-s of plant-seeds. 



A question which I have not seen discussed in literature, but which has often suggested itself 

 during my excursions on Cypiu.s, is the following: Is it of any importance for the efticicncy of the spreading 

 on which part of the body of an animal the seeds (resp. the fruits) fasten? The observations I had the 

 opportunity of making, especially with my own donkeys, but also with sheep, seem to show, that this is a factor 

 which there is good reason for paying attention to. When the animals roam about freely, the seeds and similar 

 most readily fasten to the abdomen, to the sides and breast, but there is also here the greatest chance 

 for their being shortly swept off through the movements of the animals. Seeds which fasten to the backs 

 of the animals and above all to the heads or manes, have quite another prospect of remaining there for some 

 time; when the animals roam about in the copse-woods and the forests, they endeavour to avoid pushing 

 their heads, and especially the part near to their eyes, against branches or similar, which they pass on 

 their way. When I had only given my servant orders not to remove the fruits of Medicago and Caucalis, 

 which had fastened to the manes of my donkeys, they might remain there for up to 2 å 3 weeks, 

 undisturbed by the movements of the animals through copses and woods. Thus they had a far greater 

 chance of being transported far off, than if they had fastened themselves on the lower parts of the 

 bodies of the donkeys. 



By the term of synzoic spreading H. Sernander has comprised all spreading of plants through 

 the labours and social life of animals. Among the different kinds of synzoic spreading on Cypius chiefly 

 the seed-transportation by the ants comes into consideration. Seenander has in 1906 in an extensive 

 woik put forth his investigations on the activity of the ants in this regard; also in the Mediterranean 

 counti-ies he has in pait had the opportunity of making observations on the subject.'-) In the low-lands 

 on Cyprus we often see that certain species of ants, which have subterranean dwellings, make ring-shaped 

 ramparts of plant- fragments round their entrance-openings; amongst these parts of plants are great quantities 



') G. E. Post, Flora of Syria, Palestine and Sinai, p. 861. 



2) R. Sernander, Versnch einer Monographie der europaisclieu Myrniekoclioren (Kol. Sv. Vet. Åkad. Handl. Bd. 41, 

 Nr. 7. Uppsala n. Stocd<holm 1906). 



