NOW IT’S UP TO YOU
There is something new to be known about every animal and plant. Now it’s up to you! Careful observation will allow you to discover many other examples of special adaptation to life in the shifting dunes, and the next chapters will introduce you to some of the more common of the living things inhabiting this strange sand-world. And if you wish to read more about ecology, try these books:
Ernest Neal, Woodland Ecology. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1958. $1.75 John H. Storer, The Web of Life: A First Book of Ecology. New York: New American Library, 1956. $.35
Chapter 3
PLANTS ON THE DUNES
Plants add embellishment to the earth. For thousands of years people have valued them for their elegance and their usefulness. They may rate no more than a passing glance in fields and woods, but at the beach they stand out boldly, for here they seem almost out of place.
We have already become acquainted with some strange beach-dwelling plants; now let us examine more closely a few of the most common species.