107 



The Færoese Flora compared with that of llie sur- 

 ro und i ng countries. We should a priori assume that the Færoese 

 species would be l'ound also in the surrounding countries and this 

 is in faet the case; none of the phanerogams or vascular 

 cryptogams are endeniic to the Færoes. Moreover it is 

 only a few of the species which occur in the Færoes that are not 

 to be found in all the surrounding countries, — a natural conce- 

 quence of the Færoes covering a small area, while the countries 

 with which they must be compared in character are larger, for they 

 can properly speaking only I)e compared with the British Isles, 

 Scandinavia and Iceland. It has been proved that only 10 (7) of 

 the species found in the Færoes are wanting in Great 

 Britain, viz: — 



Ranunciiliis glacialis. Carex cryptocarpa. 



Papaver radicatiim. Alchimilla faeroensis. 



Archangelica officinalis. — Wichnrae. 



Koenigia islandica. Epilobiiim lactiflonim. 



Salix glaiica. Taraxacum croceum. 



Of these the three last are critical species which may probably 

 be found in the Scottish Highlands, so that it is safer to reduce 

 the number to 7. It must, however, be remembered that conipa- 

 risons such as these do not give an altogether complete account of 

 the vegetation, for many of the species being common in the one 

 country and very rare in the other are not mentioned at all. This 

 is precisely the case here, as many of the Arctic species which are 

 common all over the Færoes, e. g. Saxifraga stellaris, Cerastinm 

 Edmondstonii, etc. are very rare in Great Britain and have only been 

 found on mountain heights. But viewed merely from the stand- 

 point of geographical distribution such comparisons are of interest. 



The part of Great Britain which lies nearest to the Færoes is 

 Shetland and as this group of istands has been thoroughly in- 

 vestigated with regard to its flora it is worth while comparing it 

 with the Færoes. According to the latest records^ some 375 species 



1 See W. H. Beeby: On the flora of Shetland. (The Scottish Naturalist 1887 

 p. 20, 1888 p. 209, 1889 p. 32, 1890 p. 212, 1891 p. 251; and Annals of Scottish 

 Natural History 1892). 



Th. Edmonds ton; A Flora of Shetland, comprchending a list of the flowering 

 and cryptogamic piants of the Shetland Islands, Aberdeen 1845. 



Ralph Tate; Upon the Flora of the Shetland. (.lourn. of Botany. 1866. p. 2). 



A. Craig-Christie; Notes of a Botanical excursion to Shetland in 1868. 

 (Transact. Bot. Soc. of Edinburgh, vol. X, 1870, p. 165 and p. 254). 



