A wild pony roaming amid the cordgrass 

 is a descendant of domesticated horses 

 first allowed to graze on Assateague 

 Island centuries ago. 



fleshy, succulent leaves. These include 

 seaside goldenrod, sea oxeye (a species of 

 daisy), and narrow-leaved aster Despite 

 their thicker leaves, these species have 

 flower heads that look very much like 

 those of their more common relatives. 



Some plants have very small leaves so 

 that httle delicate leaf tissue is exposed to 

 the caustic action of saltwater One ex- 

 ample is sea lavender, a small, somewhat 

 wiry wildflower with equal branching and 

 tiny leaves. Its small lavender flowers 

 have paperlike petals, which retain their 

 shape and color for many weeks. 



At the edge of flie salt marsh farthest 

 from open water, where the sand is dry for 

 most of the year, the cover consists of 



Chincoteague Refuge 



For visitor information write: 



Refuge Manager 



Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge 



Chincoteague, Virginia 23336 



(804)336-6122 



colonies of red fescue, interspersed with a 

 few other species, such as sand evening 

 primrose and a surface-hugging sand 

 spurge. Red fescue is the grass species that 

 has given rise to several popular strains of 

 lawn grass, but the original variety is this 

 sand-loving plant that inhabits the edges of 

 salt marshes. If the sand in fliis dry zone 

 gets too salty, the fescue is replaced by 

 better-adapted grass species, wildflowers, 

 and such shrubs as groundsel tree and salt 

 marsh elder 



A special attraction at Chincoteague 

 National Wildlife Refuge are the wild 

 ponies that may be ghmpsed as one drives 

 or hikes along. About 1 30 of these ponies, 

 owned by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire 



Company, are allowed to graze by permit 

 on the refuge, while another 40 live on the 

 Maryland side of Assateague Island. They 

 are the descendants of domesticated 

 horses that were aUowed to graze on the is- 

 land perhaps three hundred years ago. 

 Slightly smaller tiian a typical horse, they 

 have exceptionally fiirry coats, which no 

 doubt help them survive the winter 

 weather and hordes of summer insects. 



Robert H. Mohlenbrock, professor emeri- 

 tus of plant biology at Southern Illinois 

 University, Carbondale, explores the bio- 

 logical and geological highlights of nat- 

 ural areas, especially the 156 U.S. na- 

 tional forests. 



CHINCOTEAGUE 

 NATIONAL 

 WILDLIFE 

 REFUGE 



3 Miles 



Joe LeMonnier 



94 Natural History 6/94 



