1919.] Notes on the Vegetation of Seistan. 275 
which the cement-like surface is absolutely barren. Further 
south, near Lutak, the vegetation is more varied and several 
fodder-plants are abundant, including dhub grass (Cynodon 
dactylon), which attains an unusually luxuriant growth. Here, 
and also to some extent round Nasratabad, a still more impor- 
tant fodder plant is a species of Suaeda, which is dried into a 
kind of hay and stacked with camelthorn for winter consumption. 
Yet further south, as one approaches the Shelagh river, the 
clay supports a vegetation of sparse scrub consisting mainly of 
more or less widely scattered Chenopodiaceous bushes. Thi 
flora is hardly represented in our collection, but Suaeda is one 
of the most abundant if not the dominant genus In this 
Still further south, between the Shelagh river and Hurmuk,. 
il composed mainly of alluvial clay but containing scat- 
tered pebbles, there are what may almost be described as open 
woods of Haloxylon salicornicum, which has the dimensions of 
a small tree. 
This plant, which we did not observe elsewhere, was the 
of much larger size. but these grow close to an artificial water- 
channel and are carefully protected, as it is believed that any 
Here again, it must be remembered in considering what 
we say about the vegetation of the alluvium of Seistan, that our 
observations were made in winter. In spring the country is 
said to be green. 
IV. Tue VEGETATION OF SAND DUNES. 
The vegetation of sand dunes, in those parts of Seistan 
visited, is a very poor one. In many places it consists exclu- 
sively of Tamarix stricta, the essentials for the flourishing of 
which are a friable soil, abundant subsoil water (salt or fresh), 
protection from wind and remoteness from human habitations. 
