919 



IV. Species found on the mountain plateaux and also j 



exceptionally in lower regions 12 34 



V. Species only found on the mountain-plateaux 22 ) 



If \ve take the sum of groups I and II as comprising the low- 

 land flora, then this amounts to something like Iwo-thirds (206:298) 

 of the entire flora. The true mountain piants (groups IV and V) 

 only amount to ahout one-ninth (34:298), a very small proportion, 

 which loses still further in importance, in that most of the species 

 occur only in a few localities and in scanty numbers. Only 9 moun- 

 tain species can be regarded as common, viz: Alchimilla acntidens, 

 A. alpina, A. faeroensis, Arabis petraea, Carex rigida, Cerastium Ed- 

 mondstonii, Poa alpina, Saxifraga oppositifolia and Sibbaldia; 7 of 

 these belong to group IV, which means that they approach group 

 III (the species found on the mountain-plateaux and in the lowland). 

 Group III includes about one-fifth (58:298) of the flora, but on 

 closer examination it will be found that a large proportion of the 

 species are characteristic Færoese piants with a general distribution. 

 Certain of these are regarded as mountain piants, the commoner 

 being 16 in number: Aira alpina, Epilobium alsinifolium, E. ladi- 

 flornm, Jnnciis trifidiis, Koenigia, Lycopodinm alpiniim, Oxyria, 

 Polygomim viviparum, Salix herbacea, Saxifraga caespitosa, S. hyp- 

 noides, S. stellaris, Sednm rhodiola, S. villosum, Selaginella, Thalic- 

 trum alpinnm. The majority of group III are lowland (temperate) 

 species, of which the following merit particular mention: Agrostis 

 canina, Aira caespitosa, A. flexuosa, Alchimilla filicaulis, Armeria, 

 Blechnum, Cardamine pratensis, Carex Goodenoughii, Cochlearia offi- 

 cinalis, Empetrum, Eriophorum polystachyum, Juncus sqiiarrosus, 

 Nardns, Plantago maritima, Potentilla erecta, Ranuncuhis acer, Rumex 

 acetosa, Scirpns caespitosns, Vaccininm myrtilhis, Veronica officinalis 

 and V. serpyllifolia. Most of these are species with a wide distri- 

 bution in all temperate and to some extent in subarctic regions 

 of the Northern Hemisphere. They might be added to groups I 

 and II, the lowland piants, and would still further increase the pre- 

 dominance of these. On the other band, the addition of these 

 species of group III, which we have named as mountain piants, 

 would somewhat increase groups IV and V. Even with this addi- 

 tion it would still be the case, as already indicated, that nearly 

 all the more common mountain piants on the Færoes 

 are also found in the lo w^ land; in other words, that the Færoese 



