1898-1902. No. 2.] VASCULAR PLA NTS OF ELLESMERELAND. 109 



the fact, that so many authors have not recognised R. sulphureus as 

 a species. 



About the relation to R. altaicus, Laxman, L c, p. 533, Malmgren 

 says: "Ban. frigidus Willd. (R. altaicus Laxm.) petalis obcordatis 

 carpelhs stylo subduplo longioribus a R. sulphureo differt". I have 

 also seen such forms with somewhat emarginate petals, and even with 

 3-cleft ones (n. 2849 and 3328), which makes me still less inclined to 

 accept R. altaicus as a separate species, at the most it may stand as 

 a variety. The shape of the petals as well as the length of the beak 

 is variable both in R. sulphureus and in R. nivalis, so that no spe- 

 cific characters can be taken from them. I have also seen specimens 

 of R. altaicus in the Copenhagen herbarium, collected in the Altai, and 

 communicated by Ledebour, which are hardly different from arctic ones. 

 The figure of Laxman, 1. c, is rather good and might perhaps be an 

 inducement to give the preference to his name, which is from the same 

 year as that of Solander, but I have retained, the latter as being the 

 one more commonly used. 



The principal habitat of R. sulphureus was in swamps and along 

 brooks often in the water, sometimes, however, it would also occur in 

 somewhat drier mossy places where R. nivalis generally grew. The 

 resemblance between them may have caused some wrong classifications 

 in the field, and therefore I only enumerate such localities where spe- 

 cimens were taken or where I am certain that R. sulphureus appeared. 

 Flowers from the middle of June and fruits abundantly. 



Occurrence. Grinnell Land, Discovery Harbour (Greely). Hayes 

 Sound territory: Skraling Island (1369), Gape Rutherford (316, 1152), 

 Fram Harbour (1095, 1127). South coast: Fram Fjord (1661); Harbour 

 Fjord, here and there, specimens from Sir Inglis Peak (2449); Muskox 

 Fjord (2118, 2145); Goo.se Fjord, several places in the interior, specimens 

 from Bottom valley (3265), Gallows Point (2993), table land on the 

 West side (3328), East of 3rd winter quarters (3180, 3354, 4225), Mid- 

 day Knoll (3648), Yellow Hill (3593), 4th winter qarters (3931), valley 

 inside the Castle Rock (3949). West coast: Lands End (2849). 



Distribution: Northern East and West Greenland, Arctic Ame- 

 rican Archipelago, Arctic America, Rocky Mountains, Pribilof Islands, 

 Arctic Siberia, Baical Mountains, Altai, Novaja Semlja, Spitsbergen, 

 Franz Joseph Land, Finmark. 



