The Botany of Iceland - 01.12.1945, Page 9

INTRODUCTION
The present paper records the results of botanical investigations
during four summers in the central highland of Iceland. It will be
appropriate to give here an account of the progress of these journeys
and the routes by which they were made. Fig. i shows the travelling
routes and the stations whence investigations were made.
The first joumey had for its goal the regions around Fjallabaksvegur,
the so-called Landmannaafrjettur; it lasted from July 3ist to August
i2th, 1931. On this journey I investigated all the most important oases
found along the route. The second journey was made in Möðrudals-
and Brúaröræfi (the region north of the eastern part of Vatnajökull)
from July 2ist to August 20th, 1933. On this journey I investigated
the greater number of the oases situated between the rivers Jökulsá á
Fjöllum and Jökulsá á Brú, south of the small valley Arnardalur.
The third journey took me to the highland above Fljótsdalur and
Lón, and lasted from July 2ist to August 8th, 1935. The route was laid
along Jökulsá in the northern side of Fljótsdal as far as Snæfell; thence
southward to the so-called Eyjabakkar and onwards along the north-
eastern edge of Vatnajökull to Víðidalur í Lón and the valley along the
upper course of Jökulsá í Lón.
The fourth and last journey was made from July 2 2nd to August
i2th, 1937. I travelled southward from Eyjafjörður, across the centre
of the country, first southward across Vatnahjalli to the river Geldingsá;
then southward past Laugafell near the northeastem corner of Hofs-
jökull and across Sprengisandur to Eyvindarver; I then proceeded
across Holtamannaafrjettur around Illugaver to Fiskivötn and thence.
to Fjallabaksvegur. On this trip I was not able to make as careful
investigations as in other localities, as I made only short stays along
the route. Subsequently I stayed for a fairly long time at Síðumanna-
afrjettur around Blágil and Laki. The sketch-map in Fig. 1 shows the
travelling routes and the localities in which investigations and collec-
tions were made.