199 



along one or two long clefts (dykes of softer rock) in thd 

 granite. This was the only habitat of the plant observed upon 

 the island. 



Coastal Dunes. — The dune formation is of the typical 

 South Australian type, (5) but is poorly represented, and is 

 best seen in an active state at the north-eastern ends of the 

 islands, as has been noted above. The first colonist is, as is 

 usual, Spinifex hirsutus, which grows (though not abundantly) 

 at the east end of Western Franklin. The strong wind action 

 was shown by long tails of drift sand behind the Spinifex 

 clumps. The usual succession towards dune shrubland is 

 shown, Spinifex being followed by Olearia, though no thickets 

 develop. Together with the Olearia there are bushes of 

 Myoporum insular e, these especially showing wind-.shearing. 

 The dune flora exhibited is of a depauperate and shifting dune 

 type. Scaevola crassifolia, found elsewhere on the island, does 

 not enter into it, as is commonly the case on the mainland, 

 while Leucopogon Eichei and Muehlenheckia adpressa — the 

 latter very common on the mainland in the immediate vicinity 

 — were not observed. An atypical dune formation is developed 

 fairly commonly along the north coast, and merges into the fore- 

 cliff flora described above. Along this coast there is no fore-dune 

 flora, for the sand does not blow up from the sea, but is carried 

 across the island by the south or south-west winds, and is 

 deposited at the foot of the slopes. In one case a terrace 

 some 20 yards across, and raised 4 to 6 ft. above the general 

 level of the shore, has been formed. Tlie coastal face of this 

 falls steeply to the shore, and is a surface of erosion rather 

 than apposition. This factor may determine the infrequency 

 of Spinifex hirsutus, only found in one small patch, whereas 

 on the normal dune it is the pioneer plant. Shrubs of the 

 sand-dune type are represented by occasional bushes of Olearia 

 axillaris, whilst, where there are more granite boulders and 

 less sand, Myoporum, insulare, Nitraria, Galocephalus, and 

 Scaevola also come in. The greater part of this terrace is 

 covered more or less completely by M esemhryanthemum 

 aequilaterale, Threlkeldia diffusa^ and Enchylaena tomentosa, 

 which form an open association much disturbed by the burrows 

 of mutton birds and the tracks of penguins. At one end of 

 this area a small hut and shearing shed with sheep yard fenced 

 by posts and wire has been erected. The amount of disturb- 

 ance of the vegetation caused by this is exceedingly slight. 

 The most noticeable feature is the way that Tetragoma an^"' 

 Enchylaenu grow as scrambling climbers over the posts ani 

 wires, so that the fence resembles a low hedge in places. 



(5)0sborn, T. G. B., Brit. Assn. Rep., Australia, 1914, pp. 584-6. 



