DISCOVERY 



229 



Manv of the Grt-enland flowers are familiar Britisli 

 or European species ; others come from the New 

 ^^'orld ; botanicallv as well as geologically Greenland 

 has many features in common with both the eastern 

 and western hen>isphere. It is a noteworthy fact that 

 among- the flowering plants recorded from the country 

 as a whole, about four hundred, only one or two are 

 peculiar to Greenland. On rocky slopes, often tucked 

 away in crevices, the cushions of the Moss Campion 

 {Silene acaulis), anchored by a strong tap root like an 

 elongated rat's tail burrowing far into the covering 

 of earth, represent a well-known architectural tvpe 

 in Alpine and Arctic countries. 



In the neighbourhood of Godhavn, especially in the 

 exceptionally favourable locality known as English- 

 man's Harbour, so called because an English Captain 

 mistook it for the main harbour and wrecked his ship 

 there, the abundance of southern types is a striking 

 feature. The sheltered bay faces south, and has the 

 added advantage given by the warm springs, 

 reminiscent of the days of volcanic activitv in this 

 part of Greenland, which issue along the irregular 

 boundary between the old granitic foundation rocks 

 and the much more modern superstructure of basalt 

 and beds of ash. Here can be seen in profusion, in 

 company with a host of other plants, yard-high stems 

 of Archangelica clasped by the large and handsome 

 leaves and bearing candelabra-like umbels of small 

 jellow-green flowers, a plant familiar to us from its 

 use as a sweetmeat and highly prized bv the Eskimo 

 as an article of food ; also the large and almost 

 circular bright green leaves, four inches or more in 

 breadth, and inconspicuous flowers of a northern 

 species closely related to our Lady's Mantel ; the tall 

 flowering spikes of the Orchid Habenaria (Fig. 2), 

 akin to the Frog Orchis of Britain ; also smaller 

 plants of the Tway Blade Orchis, and the delicate 

 mauve tasselled flowers of an .\lpine Meadow Rue. 

 The Butterwort (Pinguicula) was found in full bloom 

 in the boggy ground. .A. few Ferns mix their grace- 

 ful fronds with the foliage of the flowering plants, 

 and other, generally smaller ferns, pass their life 

 hanging on the vertical faces or in the fissures of 

 rocks. The occurrence at Englishman's Harbour 

 and at other localities on Disko Island of plants 

 characteristic of the more southern parts of Green- 

 land is consistent with an Eskimo legend, according 

 to w-hich Disko Island once lay much farther south. 

 In its original home the island was a hindrance to 

 navigation, and an Eskimo Sorcerer towed it behind 

 his kayak to its present situation. 



Despite the shortness of the season and the hard 

 conditions inseparable from an Arctic climate, the 

 vegetation competes successfully in the show it makes 

 with that of warmer countries, and is in some respects 

 superior. How , it may be asked, does the vegetation 

 of Greenland compare with that of the tropics? Sun- 



light, air, and water are c\ery where tlie dri\ing 

 forces of the li\ ing plant. In Arctic lands cold and 

 drv winds and winter snow set limits to the upward 

 growth of shoots and compel them to hug the ground 

 and to exercise a strict economy in the production of 

 vertical stems. A large proportion of the energy 

 available is expended upon the formation of repro- 

 ductive organs. Tropical conditions induce length of 

 stem and leaves on a lavish scale, the formation of 

 dense jungles in which the competing trees make 

 every effort to obtain a place in the sun. By com- 

 parison with the variegated carpet of flowers that 



Fig. 2.— orchids. POLVGG.NUM, D.WDELIO.NS, FERN'S, Eic. 

 EXGLISHM.\N'S HARBOUR. 



[R. E. HOLTTUM, photo. 



brightens an Arctic landscape, the groLuid in a 

 tropical forest is intensely gloomy ; the flowering 

 shoots of climbers are festooned over the branches of 

 crow'ded trees often blossoming far above the reach 

 of man or even beyond his vision, while the smaller 

 plants pass their life attached to the sunlit boughs 

 of supporting trees in the topmost region of thi; 

 jungle. Arctic conditions demand a concentration of 

 eftort, and the result is a " rush of flowers " when 

 once the winter is passed. Timely preparation is 



