'IRAQ AND THE PERSIAN GULF' [‎139r] (282/862)

titivated
onunimi.
ireas,tlie
places
s of Pro.
i a small
wers and
me saline
at hand,
oile the
ms un-
Jtanic-
Syrian
s, parti-
too high
, SlllKlk
ig plants
: extends
nit a few
i solitary
;e devoid
ince the
the wet
jylonian
around
noddy,
. grass,
of two
i.
bandon-
between
sthefol-
prostrate
elydistri-
u(0-
;u t leaves
, C oniiiion
lanttn^
VEGETATION 193
hispidulus, bucks-horn plantain. (Plcmtago coyonopus^\ milkweed,
Astragalus tribuloidcs, a small prostrate herb with purplish flowers,
and Koeleria phleoides, a small tufted grass. Large flocks of sheep
are grazed over these areas in spring.
Away from the immediate vicinity of permanent watercourses, the
desert lands of the Iraq plain vary somewhat in their flora. Deserts
which have arisen on the dried-up, often saline mud of old river-
valleys support a vegetation somewhat poor in species and indivi
duals. On deserts with a substratum of calcareous soil the plant cover
tends to be richer and of a different constitution. Still another type
of flora arises in districts where sand predominates.
Generally speaking, climatic conditions become more favourable
towards the northern parts of the plain and the spring vegetation is
noticeably richer and persists for a longer period. Steppe conditions
or, at any rate, steppe communities commence to appear. Mugweed
{ArtemisiaHerba-alba), Haloxylon articulatum, and Anabasis articulata,
another member of the goosefoot family, are all common constituents
which are missing in the deserts to the south. These perennial plants
do not attain their full development till the summer and autumn
when the annual plants have dried up. In the spring, provided the
winter rains are adequate, a herbage several inches high may spring
up between the perennial bushes, composed often of the grass Poa
sinaica and a dwarf sedge, Carex stenophylla. Poa sinaica is by far the
commonest plant in these communities and may occupy up to three-
quarters of the ground surface, or even more. Associated with the
foregoing occur Astragalus tribuloides, feverfew, Leontodon hispidulus,
groundsel [Senecio coronopifolius), and others.
The vegetation cover of large areas, e.g. in the Ghurfa plain north
of Diltawa or in the plain of Khanaqin where thousands of sheep are
pastured by the beduin in the spring, consists largely of Poa sinaica
and another grass, Stipa tortilis. The latter is a small wiry annual which,
although not particularly nutritious as fodder, is nevertheless of great
value to the flocks in Iraq, since it grows over wide areas which are
too arid to support more succulent vegetation. The spear-like ‘seeds’
are armed with a sharp point and a long slender awn; the latter is
hygroscopic and assists by twisting in driving the seed down into the
soil. Other plants found in these areas include Leontodon hispidulus,
stork’s-bill, feverfew, Astragalus tribuloides, &c. (photo. 180).
An exceedingly common plant found chiefly on waste land, by
desert camping-grounds, and human habitations in general is Pega-
num harmala. It is an erect bushy herb with a strong smell, dissected
A 5195
o