The Botany of Iceland - 01.12.1945, Side 140

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STEINDÓR STEINDÓRSSON
iderable sizc, and in addition lichens of the genera Cladonia, Platysma,
and Alectoria. “Das Ganze bildet eine Híigellandschaft en miniature,
in deren gewundenen Thálem ein Fussgánger sich bewegt ohne von
den Seiten her gesehen werden zu können” (1. c. p. 11). Among the
Kills there occur especially hydrophilous Sphagna with scattered
Carices.
F r i e s’s description of “die Palsenmoore” in northern Sweden is
on the whole identical with this, he says, however, (1913, p. 191)
that in the Jukkasjárvi and Karesuando parishes “mangelt es indessen
an den hydrophilen Sphagnum-Arten sehr oft, und diese werden hier
durch sehr hydrophile Carex oder EriophorumCslcdcxmoorc ersetzt”.
Furthermore Fries disputes the contention put forward by Kihl-
m a n that all “Palsen” in the same locality “in einer gemeinsamen
Ebene gelegen seien” (1. c. p. 191). The height of the “Palsen” was
measured by F r i e s to be up to 7 m, but 4-5 m is common. In ad-
dition F r i e s observed that “die Randzone um die Basalteile der
Palsen bedeutend nasser als die ubrige Moorfláche ist. Besonders
deutlich ist dies um die grossen Palsen, wo Eriophorum polystachyum
und Carex aqudtilis gewöhnlich innerhalb der feuchteren Randzone
vertreten sind” (1. c. p. 199). The character association on the
“Palsenríicken” is the Cladonia deformis—Lecanora tartarea—Cetraria
niyalir-association (1. c. p. 201).
If we compare these descriptions with what has been written about
the flá, it will be obvious that we are concerned with descriptions of
very closely related formations. The physiognomy of the landscape is
the same, but the vegetation presents some difference, thus Sphagnum
is much more abundant in the tundra described by K i h 1 m a n than
in the Icelandic flá; however, in this connection it should be pointed
out that Sphagnum is much less distributed in Iceland than for instance
in Fennoskandia and that in Sweden the tundra may be poor in
Sphagnum. Moreover the lichen vegetation in the flás investigated by
me is less conspicuous than it seems to be in the tundra; however, ac-
cording to the aforementioned descriptions by Sveinn Pálsson
and Stefánsson lichens are abundant in some Icelandic flás.
In P o h 1 e’s description from Kanin it is said i. a.: “Characteris-
tisch fiir das Tundramoor in seiner Oberfláchengestaltung ist die Aus-
bildung von Torfriicken und Wasserlachen... Die Torfriicken ragen
entweder als isolierte Hiigel mit schroffer Böschung aus den sie um-
gebenden Wasserlachen hervor, oder aber sie ziehen sich in gebrochenen
und verzweigten Linien als zusammenhángende Dámme durch die