165 
insignificant. They occur on small drawf-shoots in the axils 
of the leaves, usually singly, but sometimes 2—3 together. 
Only when a large number occur, clustered near the apex of 
the vegetative shoots (they are found both upon the creeping 
and the erect shoots), are they conspicuous, especially on 
account of their purple anthers. 
While in North and Central Europe it is a fact that 
bisexual flowers are met with only quite by chance, and also 
that the staminate flowers appear to be more numerous than 
the pistillate, yet, judging from the material to hand and the 
information contained in the literature dealing with the subject, ' 
it must be assumed that the flowers in Arctic regions are 
more frequently hermaphrodite than unisexual. 
As might be expected, flowering commences considerably 
later in the Arctic regions than in the cold temperate zones. 
While, in Denmark, it takes place during March or April, — 
the time differing somewhat according to the weather, and 
especially according to the amount of exposure, — we find it 
occurs later, the further northwards we proceed. In the Ferées, 
flowering is from April to the middle of May; in Iceland, at 
the end of May or the beginning of June; and in Greenland, 
at earliest and in the southern part, at the end of May, although 
no doubt usually during June; for, as might be expected, the 
time of flowering varies in the different districts of so large 
an area. There are some notes in the literature dealing with 
the subject, upon the time of flowering, especially in Greenland ; 
and the above observations are based upon these notes as 
well as upon the material to hand, viz. spirit-collections and 
herbarium specimens. There are notes from other Arctic regions 
on the times of flowering which illustrate this retardation, al- 
though otherwise they differ fairly widely as regards the time; 
1 See especially SKOTTSBERG (16, p. 12). In addition to the authors given 
by SKOTTSBERG, may further be mentioned the following : — ABROMEIT (1), 
ANDERSSON and HESSELMAN (2), DuSEN (5). 
