51 



Grove-delis are veiy coinmon in Dalarne. Very typical grove- 

 delis have been examined by the author on the slopes towards the 

 river Ljusterån near the small town of Säter. Alnus incana is here 

 the most common tree. On p. 5. some species found there are men- 

 tioned. Where streams run through a pine-forest, they are bor- 

 dered by a narrow grove-dell-association. Grove-delis of this kind 

 are described by Andersson and Hesselman from the crown-forest 

 of Hamra in Dalarne. Of great interest is a grove-dell near Jo- 

 hannisholm in Vänjan, where K. P. Hägerström has found e. g. 

 Alniis glutinosa, Lonicera xylosteum and Tilia ulmifolia. Both north- 

 ern and southern species usuall}^ occur in the grove-delis. In 

 several districts of southern Norrland the elm {Ulmiis montana) and 

 other southern plants also occur in grove-delis. 



Man has modified the spruce-groves and the grove-delis by removing 

 the trees and by yearly mowing. By this the birch and other 

 deciduous trees grow more common. In this way birch-meadows 

 are formed. The most typical birch-meadows occur on somewhat 

 damp slopes. They physiognomically come very near to the wood- 

 meadows of the oak-region. But these are natural associations and 

 are characterized by some southern deciduous trees, e. g. the oak, 

 the ash, the maple, the lime, the elm, the hazel etc, which do not 

 occur in the birch-meadows of central Dalarne. Two kinds of 

 birch-meadows occur there, viz. the birch-slopes and the damp 

 birch-meadows. 



Birch-slopes near Säter are described on p. 10. They have deve- 

 loped from grove-delis. Most of the plants mentioned are southern 

 species. In central Dalarne the most luxuriant birch-slopes occur on 

 the silurian rocks in the district of the lake Siljan. Two examp- 

 les from the parishes of Boda and Ore are given on pp. 10 and 

 11. A very great number of species are characteristic of the birch- 

 slopes. None is particularly predominant, but the most charac- 

 teristic plant is Geranium silvaticum. In the silurian district of Sil- 

 jan 135 species are found. In Älfdalen (northern Dalarne) some other 

 plants occur (p. 12). 



The damp birch-meadows occur on a somewhat peaty ground. 

 Two examples are given, the one from Ore (in the silurian district), 

 on p. 13, the other from Älfdalen, on p. 14. 25 species, which have 

 not been found on the birch-slopes, are mentioned. 



On p. 15 a list of the plants of the birch-meadows, which are cha- 

 racterized by a generally southern distribution, is given. Several 



