Arctic Plants: Morphology and Synonymy 39 B 



SAXIFRAGACEAE. 



Chrysosplenium alternifolium L. var. tetrandrum Lund. [C. tetrandrum 

 Th. Fries.] 



This is a very small perennial herb. With respeCt to the morphological 

 structure, the variety agrees with the typical plant, as described by Irmisch.i 

 The almost filiform primary axis consists of long internodes and bears small, 

 scale-like leaves with a minute, rudimentary blade. At the apical part of the 

 stem the leaves are green, long-petioled, and bearing a roundish, reniform 

 blade.' Secondary roots develop freely from the internodes. Flowering as well 

 as purely vegetative shoots may develop from the axils of the lowermost green 

 leaves; more frequently, however, stolons, are developed from the axils of 

 these leaves. The stolons have long internodes, and the leaves are scale-like 

 or, towards apex, green and of the typical shape; axillary stolons develop some- 

 times from the leaf -axils of the mother-stolon; thus the plant shows quite a 

 compact mass of shoots, of which the stolons gradually become separated from 

 the mother-axis and develop new, independent individuals. 



Parnassia Kotz^buei Cham, et Schl. 



The species is caespitose with a very short, erect, subterranean stem from 

 which numerous long, slender, secondary roots are developed. There are no 

 scale-like leaves, and the foliage forms a small rosette from the centre of which 

 the flower-bearing stems arise. Judging from the structure of some young 

 specimens, it appears as if the first flower-bearing stem terminates the primary 

 shoot, and the vegetative reproduction is secured by means of one or several 

 buds developed in the axils of the rosette leaves. These buds may be purely 

 vegetative for a season or so and they may be separated from the mother plant 

 and give rise to new individuals. Beside these vegetative buds there are also 

 some others which are floral and develop' during the succeeding year. No 

 distinction was to be observed with regard to the external structure of these 

 buds; they were not protected by scale-like leaves and their position in the 

 rosette was not the same; thus flowers and vegetative shoots may be seen in 

 the same specimen to have developed in no particular order. The species thus 

 agrees with P. palustris L., according to the description given by Hj. Nilsson 

 (Dikotyla jordst. I.e., p. 168). 



Saxifraga [Tourn.] L. 



The fifteen species collected by the expedition represent the following 

 sections according to Engler:^ Nephrophyllum Gaud., Hir cuius Tausch., 

 Boraphila Engl., Dactyloides Tausch., Trachyphyllum Gaud., and Porphy- 

 rion Tausch. The number of species enumerated and described by Engler (I.e.) 

 aggregates 166, and many of these exhibit a geographical distribution of 

 enormous extent, throughout the northern hemisphere, and to the highest eleva- 

 tions in the mountains. 



Owing to this very wide distribution the genus naturally exhibits quite a num- 

 ber of morphological structures which may well be looked upon as epharmonic 

 characters. Nearly all the species are herbs, and they are generally small plants, 

 but with the flowers quite conspicuous and of delicate structure; very character- 

 istic of the genus is the immense variation in leaf -outline; we have a number of 

 species that exhibit the same leaf-shape as various genera of other families. 

 For instance, there is a species called "aconitifolia," and among others may be 

 mentioned "ajugaefolia," "cortusaefolia" "hederacea," "hieraciifolia," "heuckeri- 

 folia," "juniperifoUa," "leucanthemifolia," "parnassifolia," "ranunculifolia," 

 etc. — As stated above, the habit is extremely different, and regardless of the 



1 Zur Morphologie der monoootylischen Knollen und Z wiebelgewachse. Berlin, 1850, p. 192. 

 » Monographie der Gattung Saxifraga. Breslau, 1872. 



