ON THE MIOCENE FLORA OF NORTH GREENLAND. 811 
The catalogue which I append to this paper ‘will give a general idea 
of the Flora of this forest of Atanekerdluk, but before we proceed to 
discuss it, I must make a few remarks. 
(1.) The fossilized plants of Atanekerdluk cannot have been drifted 
from any great distance. They must have grown on the spot where they 
are found. This is proved, 
(a) By the fact that Captain Inglefield and Dr. Rink observed 
trunks of trees standing upright. 
(6) By the great abundance of the leaves, and the perfect state of 
preservation in which they are found. Timber, hard fruits, and seeds 
may often be carried to a great distance by ocean currents ; but leaves 
always fall to pieces on such a long journey, and they are the more 
liable to suffer from wear and tear the larger they are. We find in 
Greenland very large leaves, many of which are perfect up to the very 
edge. It is, however, difficult to work them out from a stone which 
splits very irregularly, and consequently we can hardly show the entire 
leaves in a perfect condition. 
(c) By the fact that we find in the stone both fruits and seeds of 
the trees whose leaves are also found there. Thus, of Seguoia Langs- 
dorfi we see not only the twigs covered with leaves, but also cones and 
seeds, and’ even a male catkin; of Populus, Corylus, Ostrya, Paliurus, 
and Prunus, there are leaves and some remains of fruit, which could 
not be the case if the specimens had drifted from a great distance. 
(d) By our finding remains of insects with the leaves. There is 
the elytron of a small beetle, and tbe wing of a good-sized insect. 
(2. The Flora of Atanekerdiluk is Miocene. 
Of the sixty-six species of North Greenland, eighteen occur in the 
Miocene deposits of central Europe. Nine of these are very widely 
distributed both as to time and space, viz. Sequoia. Langsdorfi, Tazo- 
dium dubium, Phragmites Gningensis, Quercus Drymeia, Planera Un- 
geri, Diospyros brachysepala, Andromeda protogea, Rhamnus Eridani, 
and Juglans acuminata. These are found both in the upper and lower 
Molasse, while some species, viz. Sequoia Couttsie, Osmunda Hebrii, 
Corylus Macquarrii, and Populus Zaddachi, have not as yet been 
noticed in the upper Molasse. From these facts it seems probable 
that the fossil forest of Atanekerdluk flourished in that high northern 
latitude at the lower Miocene epoch. _ prd: 
(4) The Flora of North Greenland is very rich in species. 
