CHAPTER IX 
THE ANTARCTIC 
THE idea of an Antarctic flora, that is, of a series of 
plants which occur in the southerly ends of all the 
Continents, from New Zealand to South America, is by 
no means novel. 
The great classical work of Hooker? deals in great 
detail with these interesting forms, and it was published 
a very long time ago, But during the last few years 
there have been many expeditions towards the Southern 
Pole, of which the English and Scotch were perhaps the 
most important of all. But it is unfortunately true that 
the results of all this modern work, so far as flowers are 
interested, have not yet been explained in such a way that 
one could take refuge behind some great authority and 
quote his conclusions. Unfortunately Graham Island 
and the South Shetlands, which are quite close to the Ant- 
arctic, only possess one flowering plant, which is a grass, 
Quite a large number of alge, lichen, and mosses 
occur in the Antarctic regions. There are many alge 
which are found both in the Antarctic and also in the 
Arctic regions, so that they seem to have crossed in some 
way the whole of the tropical and subtropical ocean, 
Certain lichens also occur in the Arctic, in the Alps, 
and other mrountains, and again in the Antarctic, without 
being found anywhere in the lowland country between 
them. This fact can only be explained on the theory that 
their minute dust-like spores are easily blown by the wind. 
Those Antarctic mosses which were collected by 
Hooker, Borchgrevink, and Rudmose Brown have re- 
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