THE FLOWERS OF KOLGUEV 413 
APETAL A: 
POLYGONE 
Rumex domesticus Hartm. Dock. 
This dock was pretty generally distributed ; but in single plants, not 
in clumps or masses. 
R. Acetosa L. Sorrel. 
The common sorrel was abundant, growing finest by the sides of the 
streams. But even here it was of a much reduced character. We 
found this, until the cloudberry ripened, a very useful form of vegetable 
food, as we had no other, and it was often difficult to find a leaf more 
than an inch long. It never seemed to me to be nearly so acid as in 
England. 
Oxyria reniformis Hook. 
This unpretending little plant was exceedingly common on the dry 
mud-banks at the sides of the creeks. By the end of August the flower 
had given place to seed; and the plant was then more noticeable and 
very beautiful, as each seed was surrounded by a broad thin scale, 
varying in colour from yellow to crimson. 
Polygonum viviparum L. 
This in Kolguev was a very insignificant little plant seldom more 
than three inches high. Only the flowers at the extreme tip of the 
flower-head were developed. The place of the lower ones was taken 
by little brownish bulbs. 
BETULACE: 
Betula nana L. Dwarf Birch. 
This creeping birch was widely spread on all the higher stony or 
sandy ground. Wherever a wide patch appeared in the distance 
coloured in brightest emerald, it was found on a nearer view to be 
covered with this plant. 
