— Ill — 



The larger plants given above reappear almost everywhere. 

 In many places the thickets are formed by Tamarisks alone. 

 Thus flat banks of clay left by the river may be covered 

 uniformly by small plants of Tamarisks about 0,5 — 0,? metres 

 high. These uniform thickets are partly artificial as they are 

 cut down close to the ground every third or fourth year and 

 taken away for firewood. 



In the true thicket the Tamarisks attain a height of about 

 3 metres. There are two species (perhaps more, as Litwinow 

 has in recent years described a number of species) : Tamarix 



* ■■///' 4 Jf' ' 





.'■J 



^ ^ ... ._ '<■< ^ 



4-K * 



*k;' .. 





Fig. 18. Growth of Erianthus Ravennae in tlie river-valley of Amu Darya 

 at Chasarasp. In the foreground, scrub of Lycium and Tamarisks. August. 



hispida with its somewhat bluish green foliage and T. laxa a 

 glabrous species. T. elongata is also met with here. 



Erianthus Ravennae is a huge tussock-grass, with grey 

 hairy tops rising 4 — 5 metres above the ground, and long 

 narrow leaves bent outwards in all directions. This plant 

 sometimes forms pure or almost pure thickets (fig. 18), open 

 forests of high grass-shoots, but dense enough below amongst 

 the huge tussocks with their long leaves. On the ground 



