1898-1902. No. 2.] VASCULAR PLANTS OF ELLESMERELAND. 81 



the only way which is, in my opinion, possible to take, viz., to throw 

 together a great many species distinguished by different authors, but 

 impossible to keep apart by the characters given for them. Indeed it 

 may be possible, that some of the reduced species may really be con- 

 stant forms, but that can hardly be decided without a systematic culture 

 under natural conditions, such as is possible only in an arctic biologic 

 station; most forms doubtless, are due to some difference or other in 

 the natural conditions under which the plant grows, and will alter with 

 them. At present, I think, the arrangement of Gelert is by far the 

 best, even if I differ from him in a few points. One of these has refe- 

 rence to D. alpina; Gelert has namely retained D. glacialis, Adams 

 as a separate species, but so far as I have been able to find, there are 

 no characters to define it from D. alpina- 



Fig. 1. Typical hairsforms from the leaves of Draba alpina. 



D. alpina likewise with all other arctic species of the genus, or at 

 least with most of them, is very variable as to shape of the leaves, 

 hair-covering of different parts, form of the pod, &c. As I have had 

 no opportunity of seeing authentic specimens of the many species that 

 Gelert has reduced to this, I think it best not to enter into their rela- 

 tive positions to the main species, or into synonyms at all; for these I 

 only refer to Gelert's paper. Only where I have had, in my own 

 material, specimens of the varieties for examination, I must enter into 

 some details about their systematic value and position. 



Var. oblongata,, (R. Br.) Gelert. 



D. oblongata, R. Brown, List of pi.; Decandolle, Prodr. 1; Hooker, F1. Bor.Amer. 



Fig. Gelert. 1. c, fig. 12. 



Gelert, who has in his treatment of this form, principally followed 

 Th. M. Fries (Till. Spetb. Fan. Fl., and Nov. Semi. Veg.), does not hesi- 

 tate to claim the species of Brown as a variety of D. alpina, even if 

 it is rather difficult to decide what the author has understood by his 

 name, which is published (1. c.) without any description. Fries, who 

 has seen the original specimens in the Nat. Hist. Mus., has, however, 

 transferred the plant from the Leucodrabae, where it stands in Decan- 

 dolle, 1. c, p. 168-169, to the Chrysodrabae. He had, already before 

 seeing the specimens, distinguished the plant in question (Till. Spetsb. 



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