98 B 



Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-18 



By considering the table (Table 3), it appears as if Caucasus and the Altai 

 mountains constitute a most important centre for the development and dis- 

 tribution of the Caryophyllaceae, especially the genera Silene, Alsine, and 

 Cerastium; however, only so far as concerns the mountainous species, for the 

 majority of the members of the family are lowland species indigenous to the 

 temperate zones of Europe and Asia. 



\ Among the Ranunculaceae, Caltha palustris is in the arctic regions nearly 

 always represented by the variety radiicans (Fr.) Hn., and is circumpolar, being 

 absent only from Greenland and Spitzbergen; it is not by Ledebour credited to 

 arctic Siberia, but Kjellman collected the plant at Irkajpi, Long. 179° 25' W., 

 on Preobrascheni island. Long. 113° 10' E., and at Dickson's harbour. Long. 80° 

 58' E. Being by far more abundant and typically developed in the temperate 

 regions of both Worlds, and especially in the lowlands, the geographical centre 

 must be sought in these regions, in Europe or Asia. 



The genus Anemone is in the polar regions represented by the sections: 

 Pulsatilla, Preonanthus, Anemonanthea, Anemonospermos, and Omalocarpus- 

 no other sections are represented on this continent. However the distribution 

 is so extremely scattered in the arctic regions that it seems necessary briefly to 

 discuss the distribution of the genus farther south before outlining the occurrence 



