Observations on the vegetation of the 

 Antarctic Sea 



CARL SK()TTSBER(i. 



With map and plates \'II- IX. 



Until the last few years the Antarctic resjjion has been, in a bota- 

 nical respect, quite an unknown territory. Concernint; the land flora, 

 we have now. b}- the work of the latest ex|)eclitions — es|)ecially the 

 Belgian ' — obtained an idea of its systematic composition and general 

 life-conditions. In comparison with this, the marine vegetation has been 

 treated very slighth'. Occasional finds of marine alga^ were made even 

 in old times, and the last explorations ha\'e increased their number 

 very much. Hut if we do stud)' the present literature on this subject, 

 we must admit that one cannot gather more out of it than that marine 

 algai really occur in the Antarctic sea. Xo attempt has ever been 

 made to put them in connection with the j^hysical conditions, under 

 w^hich they live, nor to arrange them from physiognomical points of 

 view. 



The purpose of this small paj^er is to give a short description of 

 the meteorological and hydrograj)hical conditions which rule the ant- 

 arctic marine flora, as well as a general survey of the appearance of 

 the latter, and a rough sketch of its systematic com])()sition, based 



' Resultats du voyage du S. Y. Belgica en 1897 — 1H99. Rapports scientifiques. 

 Anvers. 



