393 



a Limnae-bogvegetation; but of such 1 have not seen any 

 vestige. That the „Stensletter" have had water over them is, 

 however, plainly seen in the adjacent, somewhat higher tracts 

 of sand-drift, which towards the "Stensletter" have 10 — 30 cm 

 high bluffs with distinct marks of water-erosion. The water, 

 being so shallow, can quickly evaporate or sink into the sand, 

 when the supply ceases. The existence of outlets with distinct 

 watermarks I could not estabhsh. 



The vegetation on the "Stensletter" is exceedingly scarce. 

 I noted: 



Dryas odopetala f. minor and argentea, Potentilla nivea, 

 Chamœnerium latifolium, Silène acaulis, Melandrium trifiorumj 

 Cerastium. alpinum f. lanatum, Arenaria ciliata v. humifusa, 

 Braya purpurascens, Lesquerella arctica, Arabis arenicola, 

 Papaver radicatum, Armeria vulgaris v. sibirica, Polygonum 

 viviparum f. alpina, Salix arctica v. groenlandica^ Elyna Bel- 

 lardi^ Carex nardina^ Trisetum subspicatum, Poa pratensis, 

 Poa glauca v. arenaria and Festuca rubra. 



These are plants with a vigorous taproot and closely 

 adpressed tuft-shaped growth or, with regard to the monocoty- 

 ledons, tunicate growth. It is clear that the wind has only a 

 limited time of display, for the hemicryplophytes (Radnkiær: 

 Planterigets Livsformer og deres Betydning for Geografien) such 

 as Braya ^ Lesquerella (flg. 17) and Arabis arenicola form 

 round, hemispherical individuals showing no wind-wear whatever, 

 although sometimes some covering with gravel. On the other 

 hand, those which have wintering, epiterranean organs are highly 

 injured on the north side. The monocotyledons, as a rule, 

 manage best; they become, no doubt, rather crumpled, but they 

 have an excellent defence in their old leaf-sheaths, which long 

 resist the sand-wear. The dicotyledons, on the other hand, 

 get very much injured on the north side; any stem, branch or 

 root protruding is stripped of bark, dried up, weathered, bleached 

 and killed. The northern side of a tuft is often an entangled 



XXX. 27 



