240 
ELEMENTS OF GEOLOGY. 
and has determined that they are of Miocene age and indi¬ 
cate a teinjDerate climate.* Including the collections recent¬ 
ly brought from Greenland by Mr. Whymper, the Arctic 
Miocene flora now comprises 194 species, and that of Green¬ 
land 137 species, of which 46, or exactly one-third, are iden¬ 
tical with plants found in the Miocene beds of Central Eu¬ 
rope. Considerably more than half the number are trees, 
which is the more remarkable since, at the present day, 
trees do not exist in any part of Greenland even 10° farther 
south. 
More than thirty species of Coniferae have been found, in¬ 
cluding several Sequoias (allied to the gigantic Wellingtonia 
of California), with species of Thujopsis and Salisburia now 
peculiar to Japan. There are also beeches, oaks, planes, pop¬ 
lars, maples, walnuts, limes, and even a magnolia, t wo cones 
of which have recently been obtained, proving that this 
splendid evergreen not only lived but ripened its fruit within 
the Arctic circle. Many of the limes, planes, and oaks were 
large-leaved species, and both flowers and fruit, besides im¬ 
mense quantities of leaves, are in many cases preserved. 
Among the shrubs were many evergreens, as Andromeda^ 
and two extinct Daphnogene and M ^ Clintoekia^ with 
fine leathery leaves, together with hazel, blackthorn, holly, 
logwood, and hawthorn. A species of Zaniia (Zmnites) grew 
in the swamps, lih. Potamogeton^ Sparganium^ w^di Menyan- 
thes^ while ivy and vines twined around the forest trees and 
broad-leaved ferns grew beneath their shade. Even in Spitz- 
bergen, as far north as lat. 78° 56', no less than ninety-five 
species of fossil plants have been obtained, including Taxo- 
diimi of two species, hazel, poplar, alder, beech, plane-tree, 
and lime. Such a vigorous growth of trees within 12° of the 
pole, where now a dwarf willow and a few herbaceous plants 
form the only vegetation, and where the ground is covered 
with almost perpetual snow and ice, is truly remarkable. 
The identity of so many of the fossils with Miocene species 
of Central Europe and Italy not only proves that the climate 
of Greenland was much warmer than it is now, but also ren¬ 
ders it probable that a much more uniform climate prevailed 
over the entire northern hemisphere. This is also indicated 
by the whole character of the Upper Miocene flora of Central 
Europe, which does not necessitate a mean temperature very 
much greater than exists at present, if we suppose such ab¬ 
sence of winter cold as is proper to insular climates. Pro¬ 
fessor Heer believes that the mean temperature of North 
Greenland must have been at least 30° higher than at pres- 
* Heer, ‘‘Miocene baltischeFlora,’’and “Fossil-flora von Alaska,” 1861), 
