. Discovery. Science. DISCOVERY 229 Manv of the Grt-enland flowers are familiar Britisli or European species; others come from the New ^^'orld ; botanicallv as well as geologically Greenland has many features in common with both the eastern and western hen>isphere. It is a noteworthy fact that among- the flowering plants recorded from the country as a whole, about four hundred, only one or two are peculiar to Greenland. On rocky slopes, often tucked away in crevices, the cushions of the Moss Campion {Silene acaulis), anchored by a strong tap root like an elongated rat's tail burrowing far i


. Discovery. Science. DISCOVERY 229 Manv of the Grt-enland flowers are familiar Britisli or European species; others come from the New ^^'orld ; botanicallv as well as geologically Greenland has many features in common with both the eastern and western hen>isphere. It is a noteworthy fact that among- the flowering plants recorded from the country as a whole, about four hundred, only one or two are peculiar to Greenland. On rocky slopes, often tucked away in crevices, the cushions of the Moss Campion {Silene acaulis), anchored by a strong tap root like an elongated rat's tail burrowing far into the covering of earth, represent a well-known architectural tvpe in Alpine and Arctic countries. In the neighbourhood of Godhavn, especially in the exceptionally favourable locality known as English- man's Harbour, so called because an English Captain mistook it for the main harbour and wrecked his ship there, the abundance of southern types is a striking feature. The sheltered bay faces south, and has the added advantage given by the warm springs, reminiscent of the days of volcanic activitv in this part of Greenland, which issue along the irregular boundary between the old granitic foundation rocks and the much more modern superstructure of basalt and beds of ash. Here can be seen in profusion, in company with a host of other plants, yard-high stems of Archangelica clasped by the large and handsome leaves and bearing candelabra-like umbels of small jellow-green flowers, a plant familiar to us from its use as a sweetmeat and highly prized bv the Eskimo as an article of food; also the large and almost circular bright green leaves, four inches or more in breadth, and inconspicuous flowers of a northern species closely related to our Lady's Mantel; the tall flowering spikes of the Orchid Habenaria (Fig. 2), akin to the Frog Orchis of Britain; also smaller plants of the Tway Blade Orchis, and the delicate mauve tasselled flowers of an .\lpine Meadow Rue. The Butterwort (Pingui


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