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ART. XVI. — Plants Kanean^e Groenlandic^e. Enumeration of Plants collected by 

 Dr. K K. Kane, U.S.N., in his first and second expeditions to the Polar Regions, witli 

 descriptions and remarks. 



By Elias Durand. 



I have brought together in the following enumeration all the plants collected by Dr- 

 Kane at the stations of his two voyages, the whole belonging to the western coast of 

 Greenland, and nearty to the same geographical zone. 



These stations were, for the first voyage, (1850 and 1851,) Sukkertoppen, Holstein- 

 borg, Egedesminde, Disko, Upernavik, and Wolstenholm, between the 64th and 76th 

 north parallels ; and for the second, Fiske Fiord, Sukkertoppen, N. Proven, Uper- 

 navik and the different stations of Smith's Sound as far as 81° N. latitude. 



The first collection was in pretty good order, but the second had suffered much from 

 the peculiar hardships attending the last period of this eventful expedition, in which 

 Dr. Kane's fortitude and devotion to science were so signally manifested. Surrounded 

 with difficulties of every sort, and threatened by the impending danger of starvation 

 and death, amid the drifts, disruptions and other impediments of a hyperborean cli- 

 mate, he did not hesitate sacrificing the useful articles of comfort and self-preservation, 

 to make room in his luggage boxes for as many of his scientific collections as he could 

 pack in them. 



Thus was the best portion of his botanical specimens preserved to science, after suf- 

 fering much, as it may be imagined, from the inclemency of the weather, and the 

 hardships of a long and perilous voyage back to the United States. But for the zeal 

 and self-denial of his comrades, and especially of his surgeon, Dr. I. I. Hayes, his co- 

 laborer in the scientific field, Dr. Kane is pleased to acknoAvledge that he could never 

 have undertaken their transportation. 



Under these circumstances I have experienced great difficulty in determining seve- 

 ral specimens, — difficulty arising not only from their damaged state, but also from 

 their occasional incompleteness, some being just blooming, others in a fruiting condi- 

 tion, others again wanting some of the essential characters. To these disadvantages 

 I must add the want, in several instances, of books of reference, and of authentic spe- 

 cimens for comparison. 



When I attempted the task of determining these collections, I relied much, I con- 

 fess, on the assistance of a learned and more experienced friend, Professor Asa Gray ; 

 but, owing to the pressure of his occupations, I have not been able to secure his val- 

 uable services to the extent of my anticipations. I am, however, greatly indebted to 

 him for hints and remarks that have been very useful to me. I am under peculiar 



