INTRODUCTION, 



The material of earth-fungi brought home by the "Danmark Ex- 

 pedition" was collected by A. Lundager between 76' and 77" 

 N. L., partly on the mainland, partly on the southern Koldewey 

 Island^, and is very scanty, as was to be expected. In all 16 

 species are represented in the collection, of which however only 

 11 can be identified with any certainty. The greater number 

 of these, 7 species namely, have been earlier noted from Greenland, 

 and of the remainder Caluatia arctica n. sp. and Caluatia cyathiformis 

 (Bosc.) Morg. have already, as will appear from the text, also been 

 found by previous collectors. The same holds good in all probabil- 

 ity for Cortinarius collinitus (Pers.) Fr. The fourth species hitherto 

 not noted from Greenland, Russula cfr. R. integrum (L.) Fr., belongs 

 to the commonest North European fungi and is also known from 

 Arctic regions. 



Russula cfr. R. nitidam Fr. is new for the east coast; on the 

 other hand, Scleroderma vulgare Fr. and Lycoperdon fauosum (Rostk.) 

 Bonord. are dropped from its flora (cfr. text). 



As was to be expected beforehand, the species found are such 

 as grow — or are able to grow — on barren and little sheltered 

 places in temperate latitudes; there is much agreement especially 

 between this small high-northern fungus-flora and that of our own 

 heaths. 



As mentioned above, it has not been possible to determine all 

 the fungi with certainty to their species; many characters namely 

 are wiped out on preserving the material — chiefly the colours, 

 next also the whole appearance of the living fungus, which is an 

 essential, sometimes indeed necessary condition for a correct deter- 

 mination of species. This is helped out somewhat for the species 



ÎO which have been drawn in colours by the artists of the Expedition; 



"■^ but we can naturally not expect to find just the mycologically im- 



^ portant characters illustrated in such sketches. A completely satis- 



O 



a^ 



1 A single, indeterminable species was collected by Dr. Lindhahd on Maroussia. 



11* 



