404 LABRADOR 



All of these influences together, the most important of 

 which are evidently the amount of available moisture and 

 the length of the season of temperatures favourable to 

 growth, determine the characteristics of vegetation on the 

 coast of Labrador. The prominent features that result 

 have most of them been already described. A few others, 

 however, still remain to be considered. One of them is 

 the great variability of the flowers. I observed it myself 

 markedly in several species. In Rubus Chamcemorus and 

 R. arcticus, the petals and calyx lobes ranged in number 

 almost indiscriminately between four and six; and in the 

 former the ends of the calyx lobes were sometimes single- 

 pointed and sometimes toothed, the number of teeth vary- 

 ing, and its leaves were often spotted or even entirely 

 coloured with deep purple. In Ledum palustre, var. dilata- 

 tum, flowers of the same cluster showed no constancy in the 

 number of their stamens, any number from five to eleven 

 being present. Sedum Rhodiola is very variable. In 

 flowers of the same plant I found petals ranging in number 

 from three to seven, sepals from three to five, scales from 

 two to four, stamens from five to thirteen, and pistils from 

 two to nine. In Cornus Canadensis, I noticed one variety 

 with six upper leaves arranged in a whorl, with each side 

 of the four-sided stem grooved, and with greenish white 

 flowers; another with three pairs of opposite leaves, only 

 two of the sides grooved, and flowers dark purple or maroon, 

 both calyx and corolla; and a third with characteristics 

 between these two. Pedicularis also, to my inexpert bo- 

 tanical eye, seemed to present a greater variability than 

 could be accounted for by the number of already reported 

 species. 



