EKMAN, NOMENCLATURE OF SOME NORTH-EUROPEAN DRAB^. 3 



I cannot but consider this splittning up of the species 

 as both unnatural and irrational. As the kind of covering, and 

 not the density of it, is the most constant characteristic in the 

 genus of Draba, (as prooved by culture) it is on the former that 

 the determination of the species must be mainly based. 



In Dovre in Norway where I have bad the opportunity 

 of studying the species D. arctica from nature for several 

 successive years, both the specimens with very dense cover- 

 ing and more glabrous ones are found, the former on rocks 

 exposed to hard wind, the latter in shady or moist localities. 

 In dark valleys the plant often becomes taller, with its 

 style somewhat longer, on poor soil it becomes slender with 

 scanty flowers, /. paucijlora Lange. (Conspectus Florae Groen- 

 landiae p. 44 in Meddelelser om Groenland III 1880). 



D. arctica is a capital name, but has the fault of beeing 

 too young. I have not seen the type of Draba dasycarpa 



C. A. Met. (Flora Altaica 1821 p. 79) but from the excellent 

 illustration of it in Icones Plantarum Flor. Rossic. tab. 264 

 one may conclude with certainty that it is identical with 



D. arctica. Draba subamplexicaule C. A. Mey. 1. 1. c. c. p. 

 77 and tab. 265, is a very glabrous form of it, probably from 

 a watery locality. 



I do not venture to say that Draba cineria Adams (in 

 Memoire des naturalistes de Moscou t. V (1817) p. 103) is 

 the same plant, though there are many reasons for believ- 

 ing so. There is in British Museum, Natural History, a 

 typical D. arctica with the designation: D. cineria Adams!» 

 Nor does the description of D. cineria 1. c. run counter 

 to this. 



However, neither the name of D. dasycarpa nor that of 

 D. cineria is the oldest one for our plant. Strange to say, 

 the name w^iich rightly belongs to D. arctica was first assign- 

 ed to an Antarctic plant viz. Draba magellanica Lam. In 

 the collection at Kew I have seen a specimen of D. magel- 

 lanica from the herbarium of the late J. D. Hooker, the 

 author of Flora Antarctica. In this work part 2 p. 233, where 

 Hooker refers D. magellanica Lam. to Draba incana L. 

 under which name he also includes »Draba confusa Erh.», 

 he mentions that he has only seen one specimen of this 

 plant, which was derived from the herbarium of »Mr Gouan» 

 (probably A. Gouan, professor in Montpellier, born 1733, 



