HF.KNT LYNGK. M.-N. Kl. 



II. The Inland Flora. 



It is natural to use the most iiiipoitani line of" separation in our flora, 

 the tree line for the subdivision of our inland lichens. 



The name alpine is given to plants that are only found higher than 

 the tree line or that are much more common on the mountains than in 

 the forest zone. Subalpine are plants that are most common in the forests 

 ot Bctiila (idorata or in the higher cf)niferous zone or on the shady side 

 of the \allcvs. 



hi OUI- northern pi'ovinces the timber line is much lower than in 

 Southern Norway and in Finmark there is no forest at all on the coast. 

 Accordingly many lichens that are alpine in Southern Norway extend to 

 the level of the sea in Northern Norway. 



North of Lofoten there are also some strand lichens which are more 

 Arctic than 'alpine'. 



The alpine and the subalpine lichens are the most important groups 

 in our flora, not so much as to the number of species as to the number 

 of individuals and the areas covered. 



All these Cladoniac on the ground in the forests, the pendulous lichens 

 on the trees in subalpine forests, the immense fields of Cladonia alpestris 

 on both sides of the tree line, the equally extensive associations of Alcctoriac , 

 Cetraria nivalis and Cladonia silvatica (sensu latiore, chiefl}' C. niitis) on 

 our mountains, and the myriads of inconspicuous crustaceous lichens that 

 give the mountains their colours, all these lichens in the first rank represent 

 the Norwegian lichen flora. Botanists who have compared our flora with 

 those of corresponding latitudes, such as South Greenland and Iceland, 

 often emphazise the presence of southern elements in Norway. These 

 elements are important and \-ery interesting, but in spite of all it should 

 be remembered that the general character of our flora is northern, subal- 

 pine and alpine. 



1. Continental lowland lichens. 



This subdivision only includes a few species: Anaptychia spcciosa, 

 some large Parmeliae: cylisphora, olivaria, and cetrarioidcs, and perhaps a 

 few other lichens. Without exception they are rare in Norway, personally 

 I have never found more than the first mentioned species in this country. 

 Species that are so rare can only with great caution be referred to special 

 geographical groups. 



Their best habitats are warm protected stations in the interior end of 

 our great valleys. They are very rare in the lowlands in front of the 

 great valleys and on the coast. 



Their distribution in foreign countries separate them from the other 

 lichens of the 'inland flora'. They are plants of a wide distribution in 



