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The Hydroseee. This differs even less than the xerosers' 

 from the midland Veld of I^atal. The chief difference lies 

 in the relative greater abundance of certain species, especially 

 Imferata arundinacea, Ischaemwn fasciculatwiri var. arcuatum,, 

 Rottboellia compressa var. fasciculata, Panicum interriiptum, 

 Leptocarydion vulpiastrum, Diplachne fuiea, Stenotaphrum 

 glabrum, Trichopteryx dregeana, Eragrostis namaquensis , 

 though most of the other hygrophilous species occur. Phrag- 

 mites communis lines the rivers for long distances. In Zulu- 

 land Cyperus madagascarensis, the Zululand Papyrus, is of 

 considerable importance. 



As a climax type, the Barringtonia consociation, which, 

 occurs in wet sandy soils, is of interest. 



The Halosebe. The early stages have Salicornia and 

 Chenolea diffusa, the climax Mangroves, Avicennia officinalis, 

 Bruguiera gymnorliiza, and lihizophora viucronata. This 

 occurs at the river mouths on the mud flats, and grasses hardly 

 ^nter into it, except sometimes Sporobolus pungens, but it 

 is difficult to draw any hard and fast line between the haio- 

 sere. and the psammosere as the soil water in the latter is 

 sometimes brackish, sometimes not. The psammosere also 

 merges into the hydrosere, since the sand is usually not dry, 

 but on the contrary rather moist. As a rule the climax stages 

 of the psammosere are more mesophytic than the initial stages, 

 but not always. 



MOUNTAIN TUSSOCK GRASSVELD. 



This very distinct type of grassland occurs on the slopes 

 of the Drakensberg, at altitudes of 4,000-8,000 feet, extending 

 all the way round to the Stormberg, and it is also character- 

 istic of other foothill ranges in Natal and the Eastern Cape 

 Colony. The grasses grow in densely caespitose tufts as a 

 rule, and they are rather xerophytic forms with setaceous or 

 sub-setaceous or firmly folded or convolute leaves. The old 

 leaf bases persist forming dense stools or tussocks, which 

 collect the usually red soil, and stand up a few inches above 

 the level of the rest of the ground. There are very narrow 

 bare spaces between the tussocks. 



While' there is sometimes a certain amount of mixing 

 with Anthistiria-Andropogon Veld species, the Tussock Veld 

 is on the whole very distinct in its composition also. Aristida 

 is rather poorly represented, but A. hipartita, A. angustata, 



