50 



Nr. 3. C. M. OsTEMEi.u: 



inay Ix' reprcseiitod in other arctic counlries hnvin^ an 

 unl)ioken laiul-foiiiiection wifh subarctic and boreal regions. 

 Thus for inslance the jAf/nmiiiosd', of wliirli wc lind, lor 

 instance, in art-tic Anu'rica, several species ol llie genera 

 Astnufnlus, Oxijlnf/iis, Ilcfhisariun and Liipiinis. Thesc arp 

 allogelher lacking in (Ireenland, and the only Iwo Lct/iiininosd' 

 (\7(/« cracca and Ldllujriis nuirilinms) lonnd there are sup- 

 posed to have been broughl by the Norsemen {Latlujrns mari- 

 tiniiis is also a shore plant). Of the li(>rr(i(/iiuui'(r. Greenhind 

 has only the shore phmt Mcricnsia inariliiud, the fVuil oi" 

 wliich can l)e carried along hy Ihe sea waler, \vhile widely 

 distribnted circnnipohir sjiecies such as 1'. i. Mijosotis siliui- 

 tica nar. (ilpeslris are lacking. Aniong the Compositw, species 

 oi" the genns Chriisairllrcnuim etc. are absent, thongh found 

 in arctic America; these have no special etpiipnient Ibr 

 wind transport. Several other siniilar examples niight be 

 qnoted; the above will, however, sulfice to show thai the 

 sea has proved a barrier to several species which niight 

 certainly thrive in Greenland as far as climate is concerned. 



Finally, as regards aninials, lliat is to say, birds, we 

 lind only few species (11 in all: Jiinipcriis, two Ruhiis, Sor- 

 Inis, Empetnun, twi) Coriuis, Oxijcoccus, two Vacciniiiin. and 

 Streptopiifi) witli llesliy l'ruits. There are also other ways in 

 w'hich biids crossing Trom the shores of N. America to 

 (ireenland niight be supposed to aid immigration; it shonkl 

 be added, however, tliat very few sjiecies have burrs or 

 other means of attachment (Liumva, Galium, Anemone Riclutrd- 

 sonii). 



Altogether then, I do not think tliat there is any necd 

 to have reconrse to land-connections in order lo explain the 

 immigration oi piants into (ireenland. Thai part ol the llora 

 which has come in since the glacial maximum canie eitlier 



