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account 1 the fell-fields in eastern Greenland, mentions also those of Iceland, 2 of 
South America, and of the European Alps, and then gives in considerable detail 
the results of his own observations on the fell-fields of some of the higher peaks 
of the eastern part of the United States. 
On Mt. Marcy, in the Adirondacks: 
“The fell-field occupies the immediate summit and roughly covers several 
acres of rocky ground. . . . On this circumscribed alpine fell-field of Mt. 
Marcy grow several interesting lichens. The soil-inhabiting ones are Tham- 
nolia vermicularis with its white, frequently curled, quill-like thalli. The rounded 
cushions of the reindeer lichen, Cladonia rangiferina, are found; as is also Iceland 
moss, Cetraria islandica. The alpine club moss, Lycopodium Selago, is a fell- 
field plant; as also are such flowering plants as Arenaria groenlandica, Potentilla 
tridentata, Cornus canadensis , Vaccinium pennsylvanicum var. angustifolium, 
Nabalus Boottii, and Ledum groenlandicum. In the lee of rock ledges Diapensia 
lapponica was found growing in its characteristic cushion-form. Salix uva-ursi 
is a dwarf prostrate willow. The alpine rattlebox, Rhinanthus crista-galli, was 
found in flower at the summit, along with other plants which live protected in 
the soil pockets on rock ledges or in the crannies and crevices of the rough angular 
boulders or slabs of crystalline rock which lie in confusion on the dome-shaped 
top. Photographs of Mt. Whiteface (4,872 feet), 16 miles north of Mt. Marcy, 
show similar conditions of fell-field, while Giant Mountain (4,622 feet) is not 
bare at the summit except where shelving rocks occur.” 
On Mt. Katahdin 3 Harshberger says, in part: 
“The slopes south from the two chief peaks are covered with loose, angular 
fragments as far down as the (so-called) tree line. The wind-swept balsam grows 
in the clefts between the confused, loosely piled blocks. . . . The rocks of 
this fell-field formation are covered with the crustaceous lichen Lecidea geo - 
graphica, whose thallus, alternately black and yellow, resembling a colored map, 
gives them a yellowish-green tone. Other crustaceous lichens begin as small 
patches and expand into mats and carpets which cover the boulders. Tripe-de- 
roche, Umbilicaria sp., as a rock lichen, accompanies the preceding form, as also 
several lithophytic mosses, such as Andreaea petrophila , Rhacomitrium sudeticum, 
and R. aciculare. The detritus produced by the wash, decay, and disintegration 
of the rocks, along with the organic remains of lichens and mosses, prepares a 
soil suitable for the reindeer lichen, Cladonia rangiferina , and Iceland moss, 
Cetraria islandica. 
“Accompanying the growth of these lichens, more material is accumulated 
to form a soil sufficient for the plants which characterize the alpine tundra. Here 
are such grasses, according to Harvey, as Hierochloe alpina , Agrostis rubra, Des- 
champsia flexuosa; such sedges as Carex vulgaris hyperborea and rushes as Juncus 
trifidus, accompanied by mosses such as Mielichhoferia nitida elongata, Poly- 
trichum commune, P. juniperinum, and P. ohioense. In the ecologic succession 
of plants on this alpine fell-field, Lycopodium annotinum var. pungens, L. Selago, 
Arenaria groenlandica, and Potentilla tridentata appear or live side by side with 
the lichens and mosses above mentioned. This is explained by different summit 
1 Kruuse, Chr. Rejser og Botaniske Undersogelser i Ost-Gronland mellem 65° 30' og 67° 20' i 
Aarne 1898-1902, samt Angmagsalik-Egnens Vegetation. Meddelelser om Gronland 49: 1-304. 
1912. 
2 Thoroddsen, Th. An Account of the Physical Geography of Iceland, with Special Reference 
to the Plant Life (the Botany of Iceland. 1:2). 1914. 
3 For a detailed account of the hepatics of this mountain see Lorenz, Annie. Notes on the 
Hepaticae of Mt. Ktaadn. Bryologist 20: 41-46. May, 1917- [Editor.] 
