The Flora of Disko Island and Adjacent Coast of West Greenland. 115 



5) Nuerssorfit-branch, eastern shore at Upernavik, G7°52' N. 51°7' W. 

 (P. & E.) and at Sikut, 67°55' N. 51°10' W. as well as a locality on the peninsula 

 Qeqertaussaq at nearly the same latitude. 



II. Arfersiorfik-fjord: at the head of a small islet at 68°5' N. 52°5' VV. 

 Xorthern limit? 



III. Ataneq-fjord : Kuånit near Qajuvfik on the southern shore and nearly 

 opposite at Kuåninguit, somewhat west of Oqorutit. The position of both piaces 

 unknown to us. 



IV. En vir o ns of Agto: eastern shore of the sound behind the island of Ka- 

 ngeq, 67°42'- — -48'; at the head of the small fjord Inuarutdligkat, east of the settlement 

 of Agto, 67°55'; (plant seen by us!). (absent however in the fjord Kangerdluarssuk 

 a little northwards (E.P.)); bay of Tåterait south of the settlement ofAqigsserniaq 

 67^50'. 



The vegetative power of the Kvan appears to be comparatively 

 uniform everywhere, perhaps it is somewhat greater on Disko than 

 in the parts of the mainland treated of here. The Greenlanders often 

 make a distinction betvi^een the taste of the Kvans from the different 

 occurrences, and some of the place-names refer to this. In some piaces 

 the Kvans are stated to be acrid (perhaps on account of anthocyanine 

 and tannic acid?). The Eskimos greatly prefer the so-called »male« 

 Kvans i. e. flowering specimens, whilst the »female« Kvans, piants 

 which have not yet attained to flowering, are despised. 



Kruuse states (Meddelelser om Grønland 30, p. 248) that the 

 Kvan in several piaces near Angmagssalik must be supposed to have 

 become extinct through excessive gatherings in the piaces most easy 

 of access. We have not observed any distinct analogous cases of this 

 kind, but it might be permissible to conclude that it is the case in Lyng- 

 marken, where there has been an extravagant cutting down of the bush 

 for more than 200 years, on account of which other southern piants 

 undoubtedly have sufYered severely. The Kvan is here exceedingly 

 scarce. On the other hånd so was also the state in 1870 according to 

 Berggren. 



In every locality known to us the Kvan flowers abundantly and 

 fruits, too. Most frequently, however, only the earliest developed um- 

 bellets attains to ripening of their fruits, while all the others are over- 

 taken in the autumn by the night-frost, often still in the state of flow- 

 ering, and consequently killed. In winter the withered stalks of the 

 Kvan are to be seen projecting above the snow, full of unripe fruits 

 that have lost their power of germination. However, the numerous 

 seedlings, found on every Kvan-slope, seem to indicate, that every 

 year some of them attain to ripening. 



The fruits are, of course, easily dispersed by water from the spring 

 and carried down to the coast; on the other band the power of dispersal 

 over land seems to be exceedingly slight, although the large winged 

 fruits are relatively very light. It is very common to see two grassy 



8* 



