114 ON THE BOTANY OF THE BRITISH POLAR EXPEDITION. 



coast north of it, upon the opposite shore. But this is only due 

 to the poverty of the flora of the extreme north of Greenland 

 the paucity of materials for it to modify; indeed this flora, as well 

 as that of the whole of Grinnell Land, would almost appear to be 

 derived from Discovery Bay. 



XIII. Floeberg Beach, lat. 82° 27' ; Cape Joseph Henry, lat. 82° 50', 



Sept. 1, 1875, to July 31, 1876 (H.M.S. 'Alert'). 



For the following remarks upon Floeberg Beach and other 

 points north of those visited by me, I am indebted to my friend 

 Captain Feilden, naturalist to H.M.S. ' Alert.' 



Northward of Cape Union (lat. 82° 15'), the coast of Grinnell 

 Land trends in a N.N.W. direction to Cape Joseph Henry 

 (lat. 82° 50'). The appearance of this coast-line differs very 

 considerably from the western shore of Kobeson Channel, which 

 is bounded by precipitous cliffs or frowning headlands rising to an 

 altitude of 1200 to 1500 feet, with a steep talus stretching to the 

 ice-foot. Beyond Cape Union the coast-line at many points is 

 made up of gravel ridges or slopes of mud, old sea-bottoms in fact, 

 stretching landwards to the first range of hills, which rise to a 

 height of 600 or 700 feet. Inland of this old coast-line, many 

 elevations rise to a height of 1200 or 1500 feet ; whilst still further 

 may be seen in the distance a sea of snowy peaks, attaining an 

 estimated altitude of 5000 feet. 



In the northern portion of Grinnell Land, around Floeberg 

 Beach, plants were most plentiful along the shore-line and in the 

 valleys up to an elevation of 300 feet ; but in some favoured spots 

 we found luxuriant patches of sorrel and grasses even at 600 or 

 700 feet. The richest vegetation occurred on the northern slopes, 

 as these obtain the greatest amount of the sun's rays during the warm 

 months. The most northern point I visited was the neighbourhood 

 of Cape Joseph Henry (lat. 82° 50') in the end of May and beginning 

 of June; at that season the winter snows had scarcely begun to thaw, 

 but the action of the winds exposed here and there withered remains 

 of prior season's growth ; Salle arctica was here quite as large and 

 abundant as at Floeberg Beach, a specimen gathered near Cape 

 Joseph Henry in lat. 82° 46' had a stem seven-tenths of an inch 

 in diameter ; withered stems of Paparer nwlicaule, Draba alpina, 

 Cerastiiun. alpuium, L'ntentWa nivea, Dn/as integrifoUa, Saxifnvja 



opposititoli't ^ and two grasses were gathered here. My impression 

 is that in this locality the plant growth scarcely differs from that 

 in the neighbourhood of Floeberg Beach. 



On the 6th June, at Floeberg Beach, I obtained a single 

 blossom of Samfraga opposUifolia, the first flower observed ; by the 

 lzm it was m full flower, and so abundant that some of the 

 northern slopes near the sea-shore were suffused with a purplish 

 glow when seen at a distance. Lychnis apetala I have noted as 

 the latest plant to flower; I first saw it blossoming on the 25th 



ot July, w^h the exception of CochUaria o//icinalis, of which I 

 only found two or three stunted plants north of Cape Union, I 

 did not observe that any of the other species collected by me at 



