The Flora of Disko Island and Adjacent Coast of West Greenland. 119 
5) Nuerssorfit-branch, eastern shore at Upernavik, 67°52’ N. 519%" W. 
(Р. & Е.) and at Siküt, 67755" N. 51°10° W. as well as a locality on the peninsula 
Qeqertaussaq at nearly the same latitude. 
II. Arfersiorfik-fjord: at the head of a small islet at 68°5’ N. 5295" W. 
Northern limit? 
III. Ataneq-fjord: Kuanit near Qajuvfik on the southern shore and nearly 
opposite at Kuaninguit, somewhat west of Oqorutit. The position of both places 
unknown to us. 
IV. Environs of Agto: eastern shore of the sound behind the island of Ka- 
ngeq, 67°42’—48’; at the head of the small fjord Inuarutdligkat, east of thesettlement 
of Agto, 67°55’; (plant seen by us!). (absent however in the fjord Kangerdluarssuk 
a little northwards (E. P.)); bay of Tâterait south of the settlement of Aqigsserniaq 
67°50. 
The vegetative power of the Kvan appears to be comparatively 
uniform everywhere, perhaps it is somewhat greater on Disko than 
in the parts of the mainland treated of here. The Greenlanders often 
make a distinction between the taste of the Kvans from the different 
occurrences, and some of the place-names refer to this. In some places 
the Kvans are stated to be acrid (perhaps on account of anthocyanine 
and tannic acid?). The Eskimos greatly prefer the so-called »male« 
Kvans 1. e. flowering specimens, whilst the »female« Kvans, plants 
which have not yet attained to flowering, are despised. 
KRUUSE states (Meddelelser om Grønland 30, p. 248) that the 
Kvan in several places near Angmagssalik must be supposed to have 
become extinct through excessive gatherings in the places most easy 
of access. We have not observed any distinct analogous cases of this 
kind, but it might be permissible to conclude that it is the case in Lyng- 
marken, where there has been an extravagant cutting down of the bush 
for more than 200 years, on account of which other southern plants 
undoubtedly have suffered severely. The Kvan is here exceedingly 
scarce.. On the other hand so was also the state in 1870 according to 
BERGGREN. 
In every locality known to us the Kvan flowers abundantly and 
fruits, too. Most frequently, however, only the earliest developed um- 
bellets attains to ripening of their fruits, while all the others are over- 
taken in the autumn by the night-frost, often still in the state of flow- 
ering, and consequently killed. In winter the withered stalks of the 
Kvan are to be seen projecting above the snow, full of unripe fruits 
that have lost their power of germination. However, the numerous 
seedlings, found on every Kvan-slope, seem to indicate, that every 
year some of them attain to ripening. 
The fruits are, of course, easily dispersed by water from the spring 
and carried down to the coast; on the other hand the power of dispersal 
over land seems to be exceedingly slight, although the large winged 
fruits are relatively very light. It is very common to see two grassy 
8% 
