REVIEWS 
THE NORWAY FLORA.* 
T HE Flora of Norway is so far similar to that of the British Islands as 
may he broadly expressed by the general statements, that fully three- 
quarters of the species of vascular plants of the former are contained in the 
latter, and that the latter is richer to the extent of about 10 per cent, more 
than the former. The area of Norway, moreover, is but in'a small proportion 
larger than that of Great Britain and Ireland. The difference between the 
two floras is, therefore, by no means considerable, nor are they unsuitable 
for comparison. England, no doubt, enjoys a larger share of the Continental 
flora than does Norway, and the West of England in particular produces 
some species of the north-west coast of France which are absent from 
Norway; while Norway, being partly within the Arctic circle, obtains 
many Arctic species which do not extend so far south as Scotland ; Norway 
also includes a few species of the Alpine and North German floras which 
do not reach our country. u Blytt’s Flora of Norway ” may, therefore, be 
expected to prove highly interesting to us, especially since the descriptions 
of the critical species and sub-species appear to have been elaborated with 
much care and skill. 
A few examples will suffice to illustrate the principal contrasting features 
of the two floras, so far as the volumes quoted above have permitted the 
necessary details. Of ferns we find in 11 Blytt’s Flora ” thirty-five species, 
of which only two are absent from us ; while we have forty-five species as 
given by Professor C. C. Babington, or thirty-nine as given by Dr. J. D. 
Hooker. In sedges Norway is peculiarly rich, having, according to the 
u Flora,” the large number of 102 species, against 70 as a full estimate of 
our species given by Babington. In grasses the two floras are nearly 
equal in number. In orchids Norway has thirty-one species, against forty- 
two in Britain. 
The willows for “ Blytt’s Flora ” have been specially monographed by 
Dr. N. J. Andersson, the principal authority on this difficult genus, who 
gives forty-four species, including crosses, while in Britain Babington gives 
only thirty-one. 
In accordance with a common practice in local floras, and with the per- 
missive rule laid down by Mr. Bentham, the descriptions of the plants in 
* 11 Norges Flora; Forste Deel, afM. N. Blytt.” Christiania, 1861. 
a 2 den Del. lste Hefte, af Axel Blytt.” 1874. 
