Floristik, Geographie, Systematik etc. 29 



his help in finding English equivalents for Danisch ecological terms. 



Chapter I is a historical review of literature relating to the 

 Vegetation of the Faröes. 



Chap. II treats of the influence of external factors on 

 the Vegetation. 1. Climatic factors. The climate is decidedly 

 insular; December-March has an average temperature of 3°3 — 3°2C, 

 i.e. comparatively high; the coldest period extends into the middle 

 of the spring. July- August are the hottest months, the averages are 

 10°8 C, and the temp. very seldom rises above 20° C. The rainfall 

 is considerable (1570 mm. annually); the mean annual number of 

 rainy days is about 280, which leaves only 85 days without rain. 

 The mean relative humidity of the atmosphere is 82 p.cent. The 

 snow-covering plays quite a subordinate part in protecting the Ve- 

 getation against the cold of the winter, as the snow is never allowed 

 to stay long, frequent and rapid changes between snow, thaw and 

 black-frost taking place. As to the wind the Faröes have earned a 

 well-deserved reputation for their stormy climate. In accordance with 

 the frequent rain is that the sky is mostly cloudy. 2. Edaphic 

 factors. The islands consist entirely of basalt with thin layers of 

 tuff and clay; an analysis of Faeröese basalt gives 10,2 p.cent CaO. 

 The moistness of the soil is usually great, therefore peaty soil plays 

 an important role, while mould is much more confined in its occur- 

 rence. 3. The influence of man and animals on the Vegeta- 

 tion. Only upon the small cultivated areas man has greater influence 

 with regard to the Vegetation; the characters and the features of 

 the Vegetation outside the enclosures in the lower zones are in a 

 high degree due to the grazing of sheep. The sea-fowl cliffs bear a 

 special Vegetation, owing to the manure. 



Chapt. III. Some biological features. This chapter begins 

 with an alphabetical list of the Faröese vascular plants, in which 

 there is added to each species: 1° its „biological type" in Raun- 

 kiaer's acceptation, 2° its duration of life and, if perennial, its 

 vegetative propagation, 3° its distribution in altitude. 1. Duration 

 of life. 90 p.cent of the vascular plants are perennial, 10 p.ct. he- 

 paxanthic (7 p.ct. summer annual -|- 3 p.ct. wintering annual and 

 biennial). Only one Single summer annual {Koenigia islandica) is an 

 inhabitant of the natural land-vegetation (the sea-shore-plants and 

 the Rinantheae excepted). 2. Biological types in Raunkiaer's 

 acceptation. The statistics of the biological types show that the 

 plant-climate of the Faröes is characterised by the absence of Pha- 

 nerophytes, the predominance of Hemicryptophytes, the relative 

 abundance of the Chamaephytes and the scarcity of the Thero- 

 phytes. 3. Vegetative propagation and structure of the 

 shoots. The perennial species have been arranged in three cate- 

 gories: spot-bound (sedentary) species (56 p.ct), wandering species 

 with epiterranean (above-ground) runners (16 p.ct.), and wandering 

 species with subterranean shoots (28 p.ct). 4. Time of flowering. 

 A number of different Observation» are given. 5. Maturation of 

 fruit 36 species of the Faeröese Vegetation have never been found 

 with mature fruits, some of them are only known sterile, this is due 

 partly to climatic conditions (low summer temperature, incessant 

 rain); partly to lack of the insects necessary for the pollination 

 (bees, humble-bees and diurnal lepidoptera are entirely absent). 6. 

 Distribution in altitude. Nearly all the more common moun- 

 tain plants are also found in the lowland, which is in accordance 

 with the insular climate. 



