t898-1902. No. 2.] VASCULAR PLANTS OF ELLESMERELAND. 9 



water supply during the time of vegetation, and the exposure. South- 

 ward slopes with water enough, always held the best developed vege- 

 tation. 



Tbe system followed in the special treatment of the Ellesmereland 

 plants is that of Engler & P.rantl, Planzenfam. The order of the 

 families is reversed, because I had to begin with the vascular plants, 

 the lower cryptogamae will follow in other papers. In many cases, 

 rather wide limits have been drawn for the species; it may be, that 

 sometimes they are even too wide, but I have thought it better to use 

 a collective species name than to sepai'ale as species forms which I 

 could not with certainty look upon as constant. Indeed I do not doubt 

 that in several genera there are such collective species, that will some 

 time or other be separated into several species of a narrower limit. 

 But for that a closer study is necessary than that which I could bestow 

 upon them when working in the field, and to make such a separation 

 in a number of herbarium specimens I do not think is advisable. In 

 many cases, I think experimental culture such as is possible only in 

 an arctic biological station will be required before a definite treatment 

 is possible. 



As for the synonymic, I have always tried to go back to the oldest 

 work in which the plant in question is described. Besides I have quoted 

 the principal synoptic, floristic works about different parts of the Arctic 

 Regions, papers including the new additions to a district, or treating the 

 distinction or synonymic of the species in question. Under "occurrence" 

 are mentioned all places where the plant is collected (with the numbers 

 from my catalogue of collections added, which will be used in the labels 

 of the specimens) or noted. For very common species no special loca- 

 hties are recorded. As for the collections of others, "!" signifies that I 

 have seen specimens. 



The Ellesmereland flora as it is known at present, includes 115 

 vascular plants; 10 species more I have taken up in the list as doubt- 

 ful even though I should have been most inclined, for reasons staled 

 in each case, to exclude them altogether; however I have not thought 

 myself entitled to do so, as I have had no opportunity of proving that 

 a mistake has been made. In many other cases, I have seen the speci- 

 mens which have given rise to a wrong statement and have put the 

 plant in its right place. 



The 115 species belong to the following families represented by the 

 numbers of species added : 



