Polunin • Aspects of Arctic Botany 



have reason to believe that many plants 

 can, and through parts at least of the 

 Pleistocene ice-age did, persist on vari- 

 ous unglaciatcd areas. But, in this con- 

 nection, I cannot help recalling how 

 plants of supposed isolation or dis- 

 rupted distribution have frequently ap- 

 peared in intermediate positions, where 

 their supposed absence was their pre- 

 vious claim to fame! Also, it is to be 

 noted how many of these so-called 

 lelict plants have exacting habitat re- 



63 



quirements— for example, in being 

 markedly lime-loving or, very fre- 

 quentlv, open soil plants, for which 

 suitable situations are lacking between 

 their known stations. 



I shall not deal here with more of 

 the subjects that spring to mind under 

 the general theme of arctic botany, 

 hoping only to have given in proper 

 perspective some idea of its develop- 

 ment and scope, and of what is being 

 done at this stage of its evolution. 



QUESTIONS 



1. How may the "flora" of a country be 3. What feeling is expressed here re- 

 distinguished from its "vegetation"? garding the lumping versus the split- 



„ , . , . , , , tine of species? 



2. \Vliat does Polunm thmk about the ^ ^ 



relative importance of heredity and 

 environment? 



