The government of those countries from which bromeliads are exported should be encouraged to take steps on a national level to ensure that their natural heritage is not damaged by the bromeliad trade. Encouragement should also be given to nurseries in both exporting and importing countries to develop the propagation of bromeliads by seed or by offsets.

Without rapid action as described here the prospects for survival of wild populations of bromeliads, especially of Tillundsiu, look very poor.

REFERENCES

Lineham, T.U. (1987). Once in a Lifetime Bromeliad. J . Bromeliad Sot. 37:

Rauh, W. (1979). Bromeliads f o r Home, Garden and Greenhouse. Poole, UK. 33-36.

BOTANIZING IN NORTH-EAST GREENLAND

David Simpson

Greenland is one of the world's largest islands and the north-east is undoubtedly its most remote and least-known part. Moreover, this region is still largely free from human settlement, apart from a few weather stations and military installations, so the landscape and ecology has not been subject to any great degree of human disturbance. The landscape is dramatic, being composed mainly of mountain ranges incised by fjords and deep glacial valleys, and is most spectacular in areas of igneous and metamorphic rocks. In other areas, particularly where there are sedimentary rocks, it can be somewhat gentler and often has broad river valleys. Throughout the region the mountains are often topped by ice-caps and glaciers are abundant. In comparison with the tropics, Greenland would appear to have little of interest to the botanist and, certainly, for nine months of the year the whole of the country is under snow and ice. However, between July and September, the snow in the coastal regions melts for long enough to allow a diverse range of plants to flower and set seed.

In 1976 the Danish Government designated the whole of the north-eastern area between 72" and 83"N a National Park, the world's largest. Access to the park is restricted, but each year permission is granted to a few scientific expeditions to carry out work within its

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boundary. I was fortunate enough to participate in two such expeditions during the summers of 1980 and 1985, the aim of both being to carry out floristic work in selected areas of the National Park which, in general, had not been botanized previously. The data obtained from these and other expeditions have contributed towards a long-term floristic survey of the region between 70" and 76"N, a project which is being undertaken by both British and Danish botanists.

Travel to the National Park is by no means easy. There is no scheduled air service, at least none that is advertised. The traditional way is to charter a small twin-engined aircraft from Iceland, which is definitely not the last word in luxurious air travel. There is only one point of entry into the National Park, a small airstrip called Mestersvig, located in an area popularly known as the Arctic Riviera, because of its frequency of good weather. Until the end of 1985 it was manned all year round by a group of up to 12 Danes. Since 1986 it has only been manned for a couple of months during the summer, and its future is in doubt because a new airstrip has been opened some 200 miles further south. I n its heyday, Mestersvig provided some comfort for the visiting scientist, with the luxury of an automatic washing machine and hot showers (five weeks of washing in glacial streams makes one realize how good hot water is!). There was also a small restaurant which provided voluminous five course meals for the airstrip personnel and anyone else willing to pay 50 Danish Kroner (about L5).

Travelling around the Park is as much of a problem as reaching it and the logistics need detailed attention well before the start of the expedition. Roads are non-existent apart from one or two dirt tracks in or near to the few areas of settlement. The choices are helicopter, boat or trekking on foot. Since helicopters are prohibitively expensive, many expeditions resort to the two latter methods. Boating is only possible for a short time while the fjords are ice-free and even then is subject to frequent changes in the weather. Thus long-distance walking is often the only way to get to the best botanical sites. However, the rewards far outweigh the effort in getting there.

The flora of north-east Greenland, although low in numbers of species (about 200), is nevertheless of great interest since it is composed of many plants which are often rather rare or absent from temperate regions. Silene acaulis and Saxifraga oppositzfolia are

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examples, both of which are extremely common in Greenland. In addition the flora comprises species which may otherwise occur only in Eurasia or North America, so it is a meeting place for the Arctic- alpine floras of the two land-masses. Among the plant families which are particularly well represented in Greenland are Caryophyllaceae, Cyperaceae, Ericaceae, Gramineae and Saxifragaceae.

The vegetation of most of north-east Greenland is classified as high Arctic tundra. Characteristically none of the plants usually grows more than a few centimetres in height, although Salix arctica scrub up to 50cm high may occur in a few inland valleys in the south of h e National Park. The plants have to cope with severe climatic conditions for most of the year, and the richest vegetation occurs in areas where there is deep winter snow cover, which protects the plants from the extremes of the winter climate. Indeed the tem- perature under the snow may be as much as O"C, when the outside temperature is -30°C or less. The plants have evolved to take full advantage of the short summer available to them; some species start active growth under the snow, so that when the snow has melted enough to uncover them they are almost in full flower. One of the benefits of the Arctic summer is 24 hour daylight, and most species are adapted to producing the most growth during the longest days of the season. I t also provides a novel experience for the botanist - not many can claim to have found the third ever record for a species at 03.00 hours in broad daylight!

By far the most widespread plant community in the National Park is dwarf shrub heath in which the dominant plant species belong mainly to the Ericaceae. One of the commonest heath-forming plants is Cassiope tetragona, with its erect stems densely covered by scale-like leaves and bell-shaped flowers typical of many ericaceous species. It is pleasantly aromatic, and gives the heath a charac- teristic, but indescribable odour which lingers in the memory long after leaving Greenland. A close relative, Harrimanella hypnoides (syn. Cassiope hypnoides) may occur in more open, sunny parts of the heath, and is recognized by its smaller size, creeping habit and lighter green leaves. Also common is the Arctic blueberry or bog whortleberry, Vaccinium ulipinosum, the fruit of which provides a welcome relief from the usual expedition fare of dried and tinned food. Other ericaceous heath plants include the Arctic rhododendron, Rhododendron lapponicum, a miniature species with pinkish red flowers. There is also the beautiful, but rather rare PhylZodoce caeruleu which has bell-

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Dryas integriflia

shaped flowers borne on the tip of erect, dark red pedicels, the corolla being pink at first but turning bluish as it matures.

The composition of the heathland depends on whether it is located around the coast or in the drier inland valleys. I n coastal areas Vaccinium uliginosum and crowberry, Empetrum hermaphroditum, may be common while further inland the dwarf birch, Betula nana, is frequent. Among the smaller herbaceous plants to be seen are members of the genus Pedicularis, including the fine, pink-flowered, Pedicularis hirsuta, which has the unappealing common name of hairy lousewort. This species is characterized by the dense, woolly hairs which clothe the stem and upper leaves. I t is also a semi-parasite of Salix species. An Arctic relative of Armeria maritima is also found, namely A . scabra, an altogether more attractive plant than the familiar species with larger, richer, pinkish red flowers and dark reddish leaves. On very dry heaths, both on the coast and inland, Dryas occurs in profusion. At first glance it appears that only one species is present, this being the well-known mountain avens, D. octopetala. However, a closer examination of the plants will reveal that some have almost entire leaf margins compared to the distinctly

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toothed margin of D. octopetala; these plants with entire leaf margins are D. integrifolia, a species confined to the New World. The two species readily hybridize with each other and hybrid swarms are frequent. Dryas species are also remarkable in that they use their flowers to trap radiant energy from the sun, thus increasing the temperature within the flower significantly above that of the sur- rounding air.

One of the rarest plants to be found in the heath is Potentilla stipularis var. groenlandica. Potentilla stipularis is essentially an Asiatic species, but var. groenlandica occurs in a few localities in north-east Greenland. It is probably the most distinct member of the genus in Greenland, and is easily identified by its large stipules and large yellow flowers.

As might be expected in a land where water is abundant, wetland communities are frequent. Such communities range from bogs to small lakes, and the families Cyperaceae, Gramineae and Juncaceae,

cm

Luzula wahlenbergii, p. 34

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as well as many mosses, tend to dominate. I n the Juncaceae, one of the most interesting is Luzula wahlenbergii, a little plant resembling L.pilosa, a common European species. Up to 1980, L. wahlenbergii was known from only a single locality in the National Park around 74"N. During our 1980 expedition we managed to increase the records for this plant five times. So, at least in that part of Greenland it is not as rare as was originally believed. However, it is easily overlooked, especially in moss-rich bogs which are its favoured habitat. One of the most distinct members of the Cyperaceae is Carex saxatilis with shiny, black spikelets. This species is usually found around the margins of ponds or lakes, where it can be the dominant species, and dense stands of C. saxatilis often have the appearance of a miniature Phragmites marsh. Marshy soil is also the preferred habitat of an endemic saxifrage, Saxifraga nathorstii. This plant is present only in central-east and north-east Greenland, and is most frequent in the National Park. I t is believed to have arisen as an alloploid derivative of a hybrid between S.oppositiflia and S. aizoides. I t is closer to S. oppositifolia in general appearance, but in common with S. aizoides it flowers later in the summer, the flowers showing a range of coloration from pink to dull yellow, with the most usual form being a very attractive salmon-pink.

One of the most specialized of the wetland communities is that which occurs in the runoff from melting snow patches. The plants within this community tend to flower later in the summer, when water from the melting snowpatch is in full flow. Some of the plant families which are characteristic here include the Ranunculaceae and Saxifragaceae. One of the most attractive is Ranunculus glacialis, which has petals aging from white to red and often delicately scalloped at the apex. Also present is the tiny R.pygmaeus, which has inconspicuous yellow flowers. Amongst the saxifrages, Saxifraga hyperborea, again a very small plant, is distinguished by its dark red radical leaves and pinkish red flowers. Another saxifrage worthy of note is S. cernua which has solitary, large (in saxifrage terms), funnel- shaped, white flowers. I t reproduces not by setting seed but by producing dark red bulbils in its leaf-axils.

O n the floodplains of most rivers, conditions may be too harsh for many species to grow. One species which seems particularly adapted to this habitat is Chamaenerion latifolium (syn. Epilobium latifolium) . This willowherb has pinkish red flowers that are larger than those of its better-known relative C. angustzfolium (which occurs in south

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Chamaenerion latifolium

Greenland), although generally it is a much smaller plant. I t has a special significance to the people of Greenland, since it was chosen as their national flower - undoubtedly a very suitable choice.

A similar habitat to the above-mentioned but even more extreme is that known as fellfield, which occurs at both low and high altitudes. At low altitude it is present where there is little snow cover in winter, and little moisture or fertility is retained in the soil during the summer. At higher altitudes it occurs on unstable solifluction soils or in rocky ravines. Relatively few plants can survive here and those which do tend to be cushion-forming, or in the case of grasses and sedges, densely tufted. Such plants are usually found in the shelter of rocks or large stones thus avoiding the desiccating winds. Saxgraga cespitosa is one of the commonest species on the fellfield, and also frequent is Papaver radicatum. The flowers of the latter species show a range of colour variation from pure white to deep lemon yellow and, in common with Dryas, they trap the sun’s radiant energy. As one

35

Salix arctica

gains in altitude the plants become progressively less frequent. Yet even up to 1,000 m or more, where snow can fall at any time during the summer and temperatures are generally lower, a few plants can be seen. Some of these may be specialities of this type of habitat, such as Erigeron cornpositus or Potentilla nivea. However, here and there in very sheltered pockets, some of the familiar heathland plants such as Salix arctica and Cassiope tetragona may occur. In these conditions they must be at the limit of their ecological tolerance. Occasionally one may come across small patches on the fellfield where the vegetation is decidedly taller and richer than in the surrounding area. If one looks more closely (but not too close!) there is always a large number of bird droppings and pellets associated with these patches, together with a bright red lichen. They are, in fact, feeding and observation posts used by the two birds of prey which occur in the Park, the Gyr Falcon and Snowy Owl. Their droppings enrich the soil and allow plants to grow more vigorously than is usual on the fellfield. One of

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the characteristic species of this habitat is Potentilla chamissonis, which is distinguished by its digitate, white tomentose leaves.

Back at lower altitudes, perhaps the most delightful of the plant communities in the Park are the herbslopes. These occur on the sunny south-facing slopes which are covered by snow throughout the winter and have a constant supply of moisture during the summer months. In terms of species diversity they are probably the richest of the plant communities in the tundra and have by far the most attractive plants. Among the most characteristic species are Arnica alpina and the roseroot, Rhodiola rosea (syn. Sedum roseum), the latter often being dominant in the community. A range of potentillas can be found including Potentidla cruntzii and P. hyperarctica. Other common species include Thalictrum alpinum, Veronica alpina and Euphrasia frigida. There is even a white dandelion, 'Taraxacum arcticum and Greenland's own version of the harebell, Campanula gieseckima, which has somewhat darker blue flowers than the common European species. However, the real gems of the herbslopes are undoubtedly the two small gentians, G . nivalis and G . tenella. These minute plants are difficult to spot at first, and indeed, if the sun is not shining they are unlikely to be recognized at all, since the flowers only open in full sun. If the conditions are right, however, they appear to the eye in ever-increasing numbers. Gentiana nivalis, usually the smaller of the two, has an intense dark blue flower characteristic of many gentians, while G . tenella has flowers which are light blue or more of a pinkish blue. The herbslopes are indeed, an ideal place to rest for a while and take in the ambience!

By the middle of August, autumn has arrived in the National Park, and autumn in Greenland is as beautiful as anywhere. The weather is usually good and the days are still long, although the sun is now dipping well below the horizon. However, perhaps of greatest interest is the speed at which the vegetation changes to its autumn coloration, which may take place in less than a week. The colours produced.by the vegetation are no less dramatic, and may range from the bright golden yellow of Dryas species to the rich deep red of Arctustaphylos alpina. It is a fitting end to a summer which, although short, is full of botanical interest.

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