46 ERIC hult6n 



that they belong to the native flora. If, for instance, a European species is 

 introduced to Newfoundland and the climate there is suitable, it might well be 

 able to compete with the native vegetation and become a member of the 

 natural plant societies after some centuries. Personally, I believe that not a few 

 of the European plants in Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland fit into this 

 category, as for instance, some of the species occurring around Reykjavik 

 only. 



As plants occurring in central Europe must have a different history from 

 those not reaching south of Scandinavia, they have here been referred to 

 other groups. The Circumpolar plants lacking in Greenland, for instance, 

 have been divided into two sets, those occurring in central Europe (Fig. 1), 

 and those not reaching that far south (Fig. 2). 



A review of the groups represented by the maps follows. 



In Fig. 1 are shown the ranges of those Circumpolar, or nearly Circumpolar, 

 plants which do not occur in Greenland, nor in central Europe: 27 species. 

 Only one of them. Ranunculus pallasii, exists in Spitsbergen but not in Iceland. 



Figure 2 includes Circumpolar plants not occurring in Greenland, but 

 found in central Europe: 64 species. They are of a more southern affinity but 

 16 of them have reached Iceland. 



Figures 3, 4, and 5 correspond to Figs. 1 and 2, but include species occurring 

 also in Greenland. Figure 3, comprising those species not occurring in central 

 Europe, has an Arctic or Arctic-montane character. Species found also in 

 central Europe have been divided into two groups, namely one with an Arctic- 

 montane character (Fig. 4) and another with a more boreal character (Fig. 5). 

 No sharp line of demarcation can be drawn between Figs. 4 and 5, but as their 

 areas are quite different it is impractical to include them in the same map. 



These three groups (Figs. 3, 4, 5) comprise altogether 197 species, all of a 

 more or less Circumpolar character and all found in Greenland or on the 

 Atlantic islands. They form the main element of the Atlantic flora. It should 

 be noted that all of them have northern ranges around the Pole with 131 of 

 them occurring on Iceland, 98 on Spitsbergen, 22 on Bear Island, 24 on Jan 

 Mayen, and 58 on the Faeroe Islands. 



Figures 6 and 7 consist of nearly Circumpolar plants which show the same 

 behavior in the Atlantic sector as the other Circumpolar plants but have a 

 peculiar gap in their total range in northern Asia, as for instance, Silene 

 acaulis, Loiseleuria procumbens, and Rhododendron lapponicum. Here they are 

 treated separately only because it can be suspected that they have a different 

 history from those with more or less continuous distribution all around the 

 Pole. The total area of some of them approaches that of the Amphi-Atlantic 

 plants. As seen from the maps illustrating their total ranges, they are Arctic- 

 montane species, but sometimes with very split-up areas. They seem to have 

 had an earlier continuous connection also in northern Asia, but at a later 

 stage have lost part of their area owing to changes in the climate. From an 



