162 A. K. PoKsiLi). 



canescens, Erigcron compositus iuid besides the very rare, liii,di-arctic 

 Poa ahbreviata. 



A small tributary to tho river of Qaersuarssiik flows in a slight 

 depression through this plain and has given rise to a boggy stretcli ol' 

 humniocks where Arclagroslis, and Carices aboiind. On sniall hiiiiunocks 

 covered with nioss I found for the second time tlie rare Eutrcma. The 

 piants were scattered and had finished flowering. Dnring one hour's 

 eager seareh I only found a dozen specimcns of whieh none ^ve^e so 

 vigorous as the specimens describcd by Porsild (19, p. 376j. 



At a place named Agiussuit we stopped two days to collect fossils 

 and during the whole trip I never saw a place so barren and devoid 

 of vegetation. Un the sandy slope near the inlet of a small ravine the 

 total flora observed comprised 8 vascular j)lants: Festiica brevifolia, Poa 

 abbreviata, Cerastium alpiniim var., Salixglauca^ Papaver radicatum, Pohj- 

 gonum viviparum, Chamaenerium latifolium, Taraxacum phymalocarpum, 

 and some Lichens. It was therefore rather astonishing to see a butterfly 

 resting on one of the prostrate twigs of a Salix ^vhich had already 

 finished fruiting. 



At Niaqornat we only stopped a few hours to replenish our stock 

 of coffee and water and I therefore could not make extended excursions. 



Across the sheltered bay to the eastward of the jirotriiding headland 

 of Niaqornat the strong current has deposited a narrow strip of sand 

 which has caused the formation of a shallow lagoon apparently without 

 vegetation except some Algae whidi have coloured Ihc water of tlie 

 lagoon light green. 



The Settlement seen from the low hills to the South, situated 

 between the low tufa hummocks behind the headland covered with the 

 vermilion-coloured Lichen, Xanthoria elegans, and rcflceted in llie green 

 lagoon, made a very picturcsque scene. 



From Niaqornat we visited the trading j)larc of Iho same name 

 as the peninsula, and, for the second time, called at Hare before 

 we landed at Alianaitsuiigiiak on Aug. 41 h for the night. The coast 

 is here formed by tufa strewn with glacial boulders. Some sixty meters 

 above sea-level some springs had formed a verdant slope. Amongst tall 

 grasses large specimens of Cochlcaria abounded. As a rule CochJrnrias 

 are seldom met with outside the halophilous vegetation belt dt I he 

 strand and on bird-cliffs. 



At Atå and Pal fif we spent several days in seareh of fossils. At 

 Påtut, together with Mr. Holttum, I climbed to the uppermost sedi- 

 mentary strata and there, on a 100 m. broad terrace 670 — 770 m. above 

 sea-level, compiled a list of piants as complete as possiblc. Hartz (4, 

 p, 49) describes the vegetation of the mountain slope at this locality 



