27G 
DR. HOOKER ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF ARCTIC PLANTS 
The Proportion of largest Orders to the whole Flora. 
— 
o 
s 
o 
V2 
O 
PCS 
• 
60 
3 
g 
Arctic Flora 
M 
Europe 
J> 
Asia 
9) 
W. America. 
M 
E. America . 
»5 ^ 
Greenland.. . 
All Greenland . . 7. 
I : 561 :30-5 
1 : 5-21:38-4 
1:502 
1:56-0 
1 : 16-61 :23-3 
1 :271 
l:23'7 
1:33-1 1:100 
1:30-8.1: 12*3 
1:26-2 1:17-3 1: 24-61 : 15'0 
1 : 10-6 
1: 6-7 1:24-3 1:52-01: 33-0 1:22-71: 9'6 
1: 5-8 
1 
3-8 
1: 3-7 
1:34-2 
1:16-6 1:21-2 1: 9*61:15*5 
1:19*1 
1:210 
1:21-2 1: 30*8 
1 : 19*4 1 
1 : 27*0 1 : 76*0,1 : 34-5 1 : 237|1 : 10*5 
1:29*6 
1 :34*0|1 : 42*7 1 : 24-91 : 21-411 : 15'0 1 : 27*2 
1:51'7 ! 1: 23*0,1: 17-3 1:20-7 
1:17*2 
1:16-61: 
1 : 23-7,1 : 
1:20-70: 
1 : 19-8 1:149-6 
29-1 
28-0 
2701 
207*0 
1 :15-4 
1 : 14-5 
1 :15'9 
: 172 
1:10-3 
1:12-4 
- 
3 
C 
«« 
1:17-7 
1 : 24-6 
I :21-2 
I :14-1 
1:17-7 
1 11-6 
1:18*91: 17-3 
I: 11*9 1 : 18-9 
1:10*9,1: 23-0 
1 :12-0!l:27-2 
The great differences between these proport 
show how little confidence can he 
placed in conclusions drawn from local floras. Fricece is the only order which is more 
numerous proportionally to other plants in every province than in the entire arctic flora, 
and Cruciferce is the only one that approaches it in this respect ; and Leguminosce is the 
only one which is less numerous proportionally in them all. East and West America 
agree most closely of any two provinces ; then (excluding Leguminosce) all Greenland 
and Europe ; next Arctic Greenland an d all Greenland. 
The greatest differences are between Arctic Europe and Asia, and Arctic Asia and 
West America ; they are less between Arctic Greenland and Asia (excluding Leguminosce) ; 
they are great between Arctic Greenland and East America ; and as great between all 
Greenland and Arctic America. 
The proportion formerly deduced by Brown, &c, for the high arctic regions was a 
much smaller one ; the Monocotyledons being in comparison with the Dicotyledons 1:5; 
and this still holds for some isolated, very arctic localities, as North-east Greenland ; 
whereas Spitzbergen presents the same proportion as all the arctic regions, 1 : 2*7 ; the 
Parry Islands 1 : 2*3 ; the west coast of Baffin's Bay, from Pond's Bay to Home Bay, 
1:3-3; and the extreme arctic plants mentioned at p. 257., 1:3. Of the prevalent arcti< 
plants mentioned at p. 256, the proportion is 1 : 3*4. 
I have dwelt more at length on these numerical proportions than their slight impor 
tance seems to require ; my object being to show how little mutual dependence there h 
amongst the arctic florulas 
Each has profited but little through contiguity 
urinous districts ; though all bear the impress of being members of one northern flor 
On Grouping the Forms, Varieties, and Species of Arctic Flants for purposes of 
Comparative Study. 
Considering the limited extent of the arctic zone. 
the poverty of its flora 
hich 
almost confined to 14° of latitude in the longitudes most favourable to vegetation, and to 
only 10° in the Asiatic area, and the number of able botanists who have studied it, it 
might be supposed that the preliminary task of identifying the species, and tracing their 
distribution within and beyond the arctic circle would have been short and simple ; but 
this is not the case ; for owing to the number of local floras, voyages, travels, and scientific 
periodicals that have to be consulted, to the variability of the species, and the consequent 
difiiculty of settling their limits, and to the 
impossibility of 
.°- 
the diver 
