THE FLORA OF SOUTH GREENLAND. 101 



in myriad species. Never before had I seen such a profusion 

 of fungi as on those cold Greenland rocks. In the pools 

 of the valleys mosses thrive most luxuriantly. Especially 

 beautiful is the sphagnum, with its lighter tints, growing 

 witli dark-red varieties in the crystal pools of mountain 

 streams. 



But the phanerogams are the most interesting to the or- 

 dinary visitor. Nowhere can the persistence of life be more 

 closely studied than in these bleak regions. Wherever there 

 is an inch of soil, in every crack or crevice, thrives a plant. 

 From the deep valley to the snow-line, nature has prepared a 

 succession of surprises for the flower-lover. In the lowlands, 

 pink saxifrages and yellow buttercups thrire with our own 

 dwarf cornel (Cornus canadensis) and the pretty gold-foil 

 (Coptis trifolia). The grass plots are dotted with the golden 

 Arctic dandelion (Taraxacum arcticum). Fringing the hill- 

 sides, grow the forests of willows and birches (Betula nara). 

 The willow is the largest Arctic shrub. Several varieties 

 abound, all common, all trailing around the ground or over 

 rocks. The largest one I measured was three-quarters of an 

 inch in diameter and seven feet high, including four feet of 

 roots. With the willows and dandelions grows the common 

 polygonum, perhaps the most abundant of Arctic plants, and 

 the banks of the streams are lined with chickweed ( Cerastiun ) 

 which, in all of its several varieties, has exceptionally large 

 flowers. 



Farther up the mountain-side, in the lighter soil, beauti- 

 ful red primroses and delicate bluebells greet one, while in 

 sandy spots the gorgeous red stonecrop (Sedum rhodiola] 

 presents a startling contrast to the usual blues and whites. 

 This stonecrop is the most extravagantly colored flower of the 

 North. It is often seen clinging to the perpendicular rocks, 

 hundreds of feet above the water-line, as you row along the 

 fiords. 



