446 THE EAKLIEST RECORD OF ARCTIC PLANTS. 



ten thousand whales. I have not been able to find any record of 

 the Arctic flora prior to the period named, so that Martens is 

 believed to have been the first writer on the Arctic flora. 



His descriptions of Arctic plants are given in the third part of 

 his book (page 41), Vo7i den Pjlanzen so ich in Spitsberf/ni gefunden. 

 The descriptions are accompanied by four plates, illustrating in all 

 fourteen species. Although the diagnoses are somewhat puzzling, 

 they certainly are much more accurate than those given by the 

 learned English botanist ; and his drawings, as a supplement, will 

 enable the reader to identify the phanerogams and one of the two 

 algse. 



The first plant which Martens describes is " Kraut mit Aloe- 

 bliittern" (table G, fig. a), which Kay named '^Aloefolia Jiurum 

 capitulis rctwidis." This plant, judging from the illustration, is 

 undoubtedly Saxifmrja stellaris L., forma couiosa Poir. The state- 

 ment that the flowers form small, flesh-coloured heads ("nudo 

 oculo vix discernendi ") would seem to indicate that this plant is 

 the Arctic forma comosa, the flowers of which are transformed into 

 small bulblets. Besides this, the basal leaves of the drawing agree 

 better with this than with S. nivalis L. 



" Eingekerbtes Kleinhauswurtz " (table F, fig. a) is well drawn, 

 and represents Saxifraga nivalis L. The " Hauswurz " of the 

 Germans is now the popular name for Semperviinim tectorum, so 

 that the identification is not so far wrong. Eay has described this 

 plant under the name " Sedum minus dentatuin, capitulis squamosis." 

 The flowers are described in this species as having five petals, so 

 that Martens would surely have seen the single flowers of the fore- 

 going species, if there had been any, instead of simply speaking 

 about their forming small heads, a fact which seems to favour the 

 supposition that he meant the bulblets, as I have mentioned above. 



Eour species of " Hanen-Fiissen" (" Crowfoot ") are also fully 

 described and accurately figured. One of these, however, is Saxi- 

 fraga rivularis L. (table H [G] , fig. c). The others are: Ranuncuhis 

 hyperboreus Rottb. (table H, tig. c), R. pygmams Wahlbg. (table G, 

 g. e), and 11. sidphureus boland. (table I, fig. d). The Saxifraga he 

 describes as liaving white petals, and the figure given is a good 

 illustration of this species. Kay has named these " lianunculi 

 Spitzbergenses.'" 



" Loffel-Kraut" is a species of Cochlearia, and this name is still 

 the popular one for the plant. It was undoubtedly C. fenestrata 

 R. Br., which is so far the only known species from Spitzbergen. 

 Ray, it appears, accepted Martens' identification, but, although he 

 did not find any difierence between this and C. Britanica, he never- 

 theless called it C. Spitzbergensis. 



The "Kraut als Mauer Pfeffer" (table F, fig. o) is Saxifraga 

 oppositifolia L. " Mauerpfefler " is now the German name for 

 some Sedum, to which the plant shows great resemblance. The 

 flowers are described as purple, which agrees well with this species 

 of Saxifraga. Ray called it " Sedum minimum vermiculatum pur- 

 pur eum Spitzhergense.'^ 



" Natter-Wurtz " (table I, fig. a) agrees well with Polygonum 



