1898-1902. No. 2.] VASCULAR PLANTS OF ELLESMERELAND. 63 



Greenland and Arctic American ones; whereas it can, on the other 

 hand as well be applied to some Spitsbergen and North Asiatic speci- 

 mens. The characters "caulis subuniflorus" cannot have any deciding 

 value, as naturally a plant gets a smaller number of flowers towards 

 the northern limit of its area, especially wben it, as in the present case, 

 seldom or never develops ripe fruit, but spreads by vegetative propaga- 

 tion. Still it is found with three flowers, as far north as Discovery 

 Harbour 81° 42'. The variety of Engler, therefore, is to be cancelled 

 as well as the species of Pursh. 



The rosulae of S. flagellaris usually get loosened during the winter, 

 when the mother-plant dies after having flowered, and then, as a rule, 

 they attain to flowering in the following summer: the plant thus be- 

 comes biennial. I have, however, sometimes seen great, vigorous rosu- 

 lae that had developed no flower but only flagellae with daughter-rosulae. 

 Such probably live over another winter and flower at the same time 

 as the next generation. I. have also seen specimens, where a daughter- 

 plant had arrived at developing a flower, which was however sessile, 

 already in the same year as that in which it was developed. After the 

 flowering, the mother-plant dies and becomes loosened from the ground, 

 but the dried flagellae still hold the daugther-individuals bound fast to 

 it, and so it can easily come to pass, that the whole conplex is torn 

 up (if the young plants are not yet strongly rooted) and driven away 

 over the snow in winter time. This probably is the manner in which 

 the plant usually spreads, as the fruit seems hardly ever to ripen in 

 these parts. 



S. flagellaris generally grows in rather wet, sandy or clayey plains, 

 sometimes also among moss, but as a rule, not in a denser vegetation 

 of higher plants. The flowers began to show at the end of June, or 

 begiiming of July, and then it flowered until the beginning of the 

 winter. 



Occurrence. Northern coast: Floeberg Beach (Hart). Grinnell 

 Land : Shift Rudder Bay and Discovery Harbour (Hart, Greely). East 

 cost, rare, only found at Cape Sabine (Bedford Pim Island) by Hart, 

 by me on the south side of the same island, abundantly in a limited space 

 (1200), and by Hayes at Gale Point (Durand). South coast: Fram Fjord 

 (1659), Muskox Fjord (2144); common in the Goose Fjord, specimens from 

 east side of 3rd winterquarters (2744, 3308), Ptarmigan Gorge (3388). West 

 coast: common at least along the Hell Gate and at Lands End, also found 

 at Nordstrand (leg. Fosheim) and most probably spread further northward 

 as it was found by Schei in Heiberg Land. 



