ON THE BOTANY OF THE BRITISH POLAR EXPEDITION. 71 



enough to discover the beautiful Pedicularis capitata, afterwards met 

 with very sparingly in Hayes Sound and Discovery Bay. This plant 

 was hitherto believed to be confined to Arctic Asia and America, 

 and is, therefore, an addition to the flora of Greenland. Cardamine 



?-•***■■-. a mm* 



lif, 



^ 



growth here, and the masses of rose-pink flowers of Epilobium 

 latifolium near the glacier were very beautiful. SteUaria humiftua, 

 not met with further north, is also very plentiful at low levels. 

 Here, no doubt, more remains to bo found, and it was to me a source 

 of the greatest regret that on our homeward voyage we did not 

 revisit this most interesting of all our havens. 



VI. Cape Sabine, lat. 78° 45', July 29 to Aug. 4, 1875. 



From this point northward, along the western shores of Smith 

 Sound, the Phanerogamic botany has been hitherto entirely 

 unknown ; all remarks henceforward may, therefore, be viewed as 

 especially interesting. Cape Isabella, lat. 78°, had yielded a couple 

 of flowering plants to Dr. Hayes's Expedition, 1860-61. 



Cape Sabine is a barren headland with a few islands around it, 



-Che formation is chiefly red syenite, with scattered „ 



stone in many places. Empetrum nigrum, which was very common 

 here, was not met with further south ; a fair variety of species 

 (about thirty-five) was observed, but almost in all cases the plants 

 were few and stunted. Here, however, the Saxifrages seemed to 

 thrive, of which six species occurred abundantly often in close 

 proximity, S. nivalis being, as is invariably the case, the least con- 

 spicuous and plentiful. 



drift 



Hayes 



August 4 to 6, 1875. 



56', 



Here we touched and had opportunities for landing at several 

 points on the southern shore, which is for the most part low and 

 fertile, extending, as at Twin Glacier Valley, to considerable 

 plains. The rock is sedimentary and mostly sandstone ; the Flora 

 is rich and varied, some very pretty plants, as Kpilobiinn latifolium, 

 flowering profusely; Pedicularis capital was again met with in 

 small quantities. At a considerable and rather recent-looking 

 ^sqiuinaux settlement, which I have called "The Deserted 

 Village," the vegetation was, for the latitude, exceptionally 

 uxunant, Carex stmts here attaining a height of close on two 

 eet a growth which no other herbaceous plant north of Disco 

 could compare with. Ilaniinntlus aulphureus was also conspicuous. 

 -Urec ferns— < 'ystoptetisfragilds, Woodmtkyperborea and W. glabella— 

 grow here upon high ground (500 to 1000 ft.) a little way inland; 

 6 two latter I gathered nowhere else. Woodsia hyperborea is not 

 given by Hooker as occurring in East Arctic America, though it is 



2 weenland plant, while W. glabella, though an East Arctic 



menouii plant, does not appear in Greenland. Their occurrence 

 company is therefore very singular, since their Arctic range 

 ould a PPear to be widely distinct. 



