1026 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL MIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XX. 



Verbenacea { W A ™ cennia alba - 



*■ (6) Lippia nodijiora. 



( (3) Cyperus conylomeratus. 



~ / (14) Cyperus malaccensis. 



Cyperacece . . . . . . . . -f v 7 ^ 



■ (13) Fimbristylis diphylla. 



[_ (12) Pyereus polystachyos. 



f (4) Cynodon dactylon. 



Graminece . . . . . . ■ • -{ (15) Sporobolus glaucifolius. 



L (11) Panicum colonum. 



The nature of almost all the plants in the above group shows how severe 



and limiting was the environment. The Erythrina and Calotropis were 



very unhappy, and obviously accidents in the vegetation. Almost every one 



of the other plants is specially adapted to growth on seashores. Some of 



these plants are worthy of a little further attention. 



* Schimper, quoting St. Hilaire, informs us that Lippia rotundifolia is found 



as a part of the typical flora of the campo of Minas Gerae in South 



America, in land which is true savannah in the depressions and pure steppe 



on the heights. Its near relation Lippia, nodijiora occurs, as we have seen, 



in not very dissimilar conditions on the Bassein coast. 



The three grasses found and the sedges Cyperus conylomeratus and 



Fimbristylis diphylla are not typically littoral but are of wide distribution 



and of that adaptability displayed by so many members of these two 



orders. 



f Pyereus polystachyos is a plant of wide distribution but with a distinct 



preference for maritime regions. 



\ Cyperus malaccensis is found on brackish mud banks from Bengal 



to Singapore and distributed in Asia, Australia and Polynesia. 



The following three distinct ecological groups are noticeable :— 



f Ipomea biloba. 



Sand-binders . . . . . . . . \ Lippia nodijiora. 



[jLaunea pinnatifida. 



f Sesutium portulacastrum. 

 Succulents . . . . . . . . . . \ 



I Sueda fruticosa. 



_, ■ f Avicennia alba. 



Mangrove plants . . . . . . . . \ .... 



t Acanthus tkcifohus. 



Here then, we have three of the groups most typical of tropical seashores. 

 The habit of the sand-binders is remarkable. § Schimper makes the 

 following remarks concerning it : — 



"The advantages due to this mode of growth in such habitats are 



* Schimper : Plant Geography, 1903, p. 373. 

 f Hooker : Flora of British India, VI, p. 592. 

 t Hooker : Flora of British India, VI, p. 609. 

 § Schimper : Plant Geography, 1903, p. 182. 



