DR. LINDSAY ON THE LICHEN-FLORA OF GREENLAND. 295 



attained a much higher numerical position than that of cither of 

 these countries.* 



^o proper comparison, however, can be made between Green- 

 land and Arctic America as regards their lichenose vegetation. 

 The area of Richardson's collections — catalogued by Leighton — 

 lies between 47° and 67° N. lat., while that of the various Green- 

 land collections reaches from 60°, the southmost point of Greenland, 

 as high as 82° N. lat. Though called " Arctic," no part of the 

 so-called Arctic America f of Leighton's catalogue lies within 

 the Arctic Circle ; J while of equal importance, with mere latitu- 

 dinal difference, is the abundance of forests in America, and their 

 absence in Greenland, — a circumstance that has a similar influ- 

 ence in determining the difference between the Lichen-floras of 

 Iceland and Scandinavia. § In other words, America and Scan- 

 dinavia possess ?« large and varied Lichen-flora of corticolous || 

 species, which cannot be looked for in Greenland or Iceland. 

 This marked difference in the arboreal vegetation of the two 

 countries renders it unnecessary to contrast the Lichen-flora of 

 Greenland with that of Scandinavia. 



It is, however, both legitimate and interesting to institute a 

 comparison between the Lichen-floras of Greenland and Spitz- 

 bergen. The latter island is equally devoid of wood ; it extends 

 nearly as far to the north as Greenland (76° to 80° N. lat.) ; and 

 its Lichens have, been examined and catalogued by the same 

 distinguished Swedish botanist. Fries the younger, so that uni- 

 formity of nomenclature and classification is secured. The 

 Lichens of Spitzbergen and its islets amount, according to Fries' 

 " Lichenes Spitsbergenses," to 266, — that is, about the same as 

 those of Greenland. Considering the very much smaller area of 

 Spitzbergen, this is a large total ; but, on the other hand, that 

 Arctic island is so easily accessible from Norway that it has been 

 repeatedly visited by Scandinavian botanists specially with a 

 view to plant-collection. Its Lichen-flora has thus been much 

 more fully studied than that of Greenland. 



Prior to the publication of the " Lichenes Spitsbergenses," our 

 knowledge of the Lichen-flora of Spitzbergen consisted mainly of 

 the determinations by Sir William Hooker^ and Robert Brown ** 

 (of the British Museum) of the few Lichens collected by Sir 



* The additions that yet remain to be made will occm-, probably, in the 

 group of microscopic saxicolous Lecidea and Lecanorce, which require for 

 their collection, as well as examination and description, the eyes and the 

 special knowleds^e of a skilled Lichenologist. 

 " f See definition of the term arctic, in the author's " Arctic Cladoniae." 



j Arctic America includes also what was, till lately, known as Russian 

 America ; and its Lichen-flora ought to embrace the species collected by Dr. 

 Seemann during Beechey's Voyage in 1848 between Norton and Kotzbue 

 Sounds. 



§ " Northern Lichen-Flora," p. 402. 



II It will be observed that Richardson's collections were, in great measure, of 

 corticolous forms. 



^ In the Appendix to "Parry's Fourth Voyage," 1827. 



** In the Appendix to Scoresby's " Arctic Regions," vol. i, p. 75 ; and also 

 in Robert Brown's collected works, edited by Bennett, 1866, vol. i, p. 181. 



