RECENT LITERATURE. 



Reviews of Paleobotanical Literature. 



BY theo. holm. 



A. G. Nathorst: O^i the occurrence of fossil glacial-plants."^ 



It is nothing less than a mapping of the former distribution of the 

 Arctic flora in Europe, that the author presents in these papers. 

 They are principally based upon his own observations, and contain 

 an invaluable account of the distribution of these plants. The ac- 

 companying map gives a comprehensive view of the former extent 

 of the Ice-period in Europe, covering an area from 50° to 70° lat. , 

 besides Switzerland, a part of Hungary, Bavaria, Wiirtemberg, 

 France and the Pyrenees. 



The plants which especially indicate the presence of a former 

 Arctic flora are: Salix polaris, S. reticulata, Be tula nana. Polygo- 

 num viviparum, Azalea procumbejis, Saxifraga oppositifolia, Dryas 

 octopetala, besides some others, including mosses. The author pre- 

 sumes that several other species oi Salix will be found by closer ex- 

 amination of the considerable material he has at hand, as there are 

 some leaves which very much resemble 6". myrsi?iites, S. myrtillo- 

 ides, S. retusa, S. Lapponum and various others. 



The fragmentsof these plants are not only leaves, but also branches, 

 catkins and fruits. It will be interesting to know the conclusions 

 which the author promises will soon appear from these investiga- 

 tions, concerning the former and present distribution of the Arctic 

 plants. Some very interesting points have been given, however, 

 in the present paper, concerning the distribution of Dryas. For 

 the first time this has lately been discovered as fossil in Great Britain 

 in a single locality near Edinburgh, while it is found in the living 

 state among the mountains of Wales, Yorkshire and Scotland. 

 Polygonum viviparum was found as fossil in Switzerland, but no 

 fossil remains have ever been found of it in Sweden, although it is 

 very common in the recent flora. 



*"Ueberden gegenwiirtigen Standpunkt unserer Kenntniss von dem Vorkom- 

 men fossiler Glacialpflanzen." (Bihang K. Sv. Vet. Akad. Hdlgr. vol. 17, 1892; 

 Stockholm, pp. 1-32, with map.) and: "Den arktiska Florans forna Utbredning i 

 Landerna uster och soder om Oestergon." (Vmer, Stockholm, 1891, pp. 115-147, 

 with map.) Also, " Fresh Evidences Concerning the Distribution of Arctic Plant 

 during the Glacial Epoch." (Nature, vol.45, Jan., 1892.) 



