Canadian Eastern Arctic

Unpaginated      |      Vol_VI-0007                                                                                                                  
(EA-Plant Sciences. Nicholas Polunin)

CANADIAN EASTERN ARCTIC

       

CONTENTS

	Page
Introduction	1
The Flora	3
The Vegetation	13
Ellesmere Island	14
Devon, Cornwallis, and Somerset Islands	25
Northern Baffin Island	32
Central Baffin Island	39
Southern Baffin Island	46
Melville Peninsula	58
Northernmost Labrador	65
Northernmost Quebec	75
Islands in Hudson and Ungava Bays	95
West Coast of Hudson Bay	115
Bibliography	130

Unpaginated      |      Vol_VI-0008                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

       

PHOTOGRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS

        With the manuscript of this article, the author submitted 99

photographs for possible use as illustrations. Because of the high

cost of reproducing them as halftones in the printed volume, only a

small proportion of the photographs submitted by contributors to

Encyclopedia Arctica can be used, at most one or two with each paper;

in some cases none. The number and selection must be determined later

by the publisher and editors of Encyclopedia Arctica . Meantime all

photographs are being held at The Stefansson Library.

001      |      Vol_VI-0009                                                                                                                  
EA-Plant Sciences

(Nicholas Polunin)

       

CANADIAN EASTERN ARCTIC

       

Introduction

        The area to be considered here includes the land and adjacent waters of

Canada lying north of the 60th parallel of latitude and east of the 95th

meridian, with the exception of Axel Heiberg Island, Boothia Peninsula, and

some inland parts of Keewatin. To the east lies Greenland. The land adjacent

to the west of the area thus delimited will for the present purpose be con–

sidered as belonging to the Canadian Western Arctic, whereas that lying im–

mediately to the south in Ungava and Labrador is treated separately. This

delimitation was a mere arbitrary one of temporary convenience, as is the

subdivision of the resulting “Eastern Arctic” area into the following ten

“major districts” (see Fig. 1 and cf. ref. 46, pp. 1-11):

1. Ellesmere Island
   
   
2. Devon, Cornwallis, and Somerset Islands
   
   
3. Northern Baffin Island
   
   
4. Central Baffin Island
   
   
5. Southern Baffin Island
   
   
6. Melville Peninsula
   
   
7. Northernmost Labrador
   
   
8. Northernmost Quebec
   
   
9. Islands in Hudson and Ungava Bays
   
   
10. West Coast of Hudson Bay (Keewatin)
    
    

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EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

        The total land area involved (including freshwater lakes) is of the order of

half a million square miles. To this should now be added as belonging to

the Arctic proper, the Kogaluk and Payne River regions as delimited in the

article “Flora and Vegetation in Quebec and Labrador between 55° and 60° N.”

and also part of the Labrador Peninsula, lying immediately south of the

60th parallel as described in the introductory article “General Botany.”

        Both the flora (45; 55) and the vegetation (46) of the Canadian Eastern

Arctic have been treated recently in some detail, so the present account

will be for the most part a resume of more extensive works published elsewhere,

although with the addition of data accumulated since they were written (42;

44). The area concerned will for brevity henceforth be styled “our” or “the”

area; the photographs were all taken by the author, but acknowledgement for

their re-use in many cases is due to the National Museum of Canada and in some

to the Journal of Ecology. The more extensive works, cited fully in the bib–

liography, are widely available and can of course be referred to if further

details are desired — for example, about the geographical delimitation and

climate as well as the physiographic features and geology of the major dis–

tricts, the position and character of various “stations,” the ecology and

distribution of individual plant species, or the habitat and composition of

the main plant communities.

        Among abbreviations and symbols it may be noted that “agg.” stands

for aggregate and “s.l.” for sensu lato , i.e., in the wide sense. The fol–

lowing frequency degrees are commonly used: d = dominant, cod = codominant,

subd = subdominant, a = abundant, f = frequent, o = occasional, r = rare,

v = very, and l = local.

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EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

       

THE FLORA

        In spite of the long line of investigators, the flora of our area,

especially of the “lower” groups of plants, is still very imperfectly known.

Considerable tracts remain unvisited by civilized man, and vast areas have

never been seen by a trained botanist. Nevertheless we now know the con–

siderably more than three hundred species and almost a hundred additional

intraspecific entities (i.e., delimitable subspecies, varieties, and formae )

of vascular plants from the area as a whole. This complement of species

includes a few that are reported on good authority but needful of final con–

firmation, but excludes several that are considered more doubtful either as

reports or as claimants to specific rank. It also excludes, as previously

explained, a number of species that are known to occur in arctic areas south

of the 60th parallel.

        The total number of families of vascular plants so far known from the

Canadian Eastern Arctic north of the 60th parallel is 37, as indicated in

the following paragraphs which list the recorded species and, after each, the

major districts (by numbers) in which it is known to occur. Such generalize–

tions as “all districts” mean what they say, but not necessarily that the

species is really ubiquitous, any more than occurrence in a district indicates

that the species concerned is found throughout that district. The names of

additional intraspecific entities recognized from anywhere in the area are given

in parentheses after the species concerned; their taxonomy is discussed and

their range indicated in more detailed works — especially Botany of the Can–

adian Eastern Arctic, Part I (ref. 45, and a projected new edition) on which

the order and nomenclature of the following list are primarily based.

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EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

Artificial keys to and brief descriptions of, the families and genera repre–

sented, and sufficient details of the individual species for their delimita–

tions (with illustrations in representative cases), are given in the article

on “Vascular Plants.”

        POLYPODIACEAE: Woodsia ilvensis , ?4,5,7; W. alpina , 1,4,9; W. glabella ,

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8; Cystopteris fragilis (s.l.), 1,3,4,5,7,8,9; Dryopteris

phegopteris , 7; D. fragrans , all except 2; total 6.

        EQUISETACEAE: Equisetum arvense , all districts; E. variegatum , 1,3,4,5,6,7,

8,9; E. scirpoides , 5,7,9; total 3.

        LYCOPODIACEAE: Lycopodium selago , all districts; L. annotinum var. alpestre ,

4,5,10; total 2.

        POTAMOGETONACEAE: Zostera marina , 10; Potamogeton filiformis (and var.

borealis), 8,10; total 2.

        SCHEUCHZERIACEAE: Triglochin palustre , 10; only 1.

        GRAMINEAE: Hierochloe odorata , 7; H. alpina (and f. soperi ), all districts;

H. pauciflora , 2,3,?4,5,6,8,9,10; Alopecurus alpinus , all districts;

Arctagrostis latifolia (and f. aristata and var. longiglumis ), all dis–

tricts; Agrostis borealis , 4,5,7,8,10; Calamagrostis deschampsioides ,

10; C. purpurascens (and var. maltei ), 3; C. canadensis var. scabra ,

?2,5,7,8; C. neglecta var. borealis , 2,4,7,8,9,10; C. inexpansa , ?8;

Deschampsia brevifolia , 1,2,3,6,9; D. alpina , 5,7; D. pumila , 1,2,4,5,

8,10; D. flexuosa var. montana , 7; D. caespitosa var. littoralis (agg.),

1,4,5,7,8,9,10; Vahlodea atropurpurea , ?2,8; Trisetum spicatum (and var.

maidenii and var. molle ), all districts; Phippsia algida (and f. vestita ),

1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9; Pleuropogon sabinii , 1,2,3,4,5,6,?7,8,9; Poa abbreviata ,

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EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

1,2,3,6,9; P. nascopieana , 4; P. laxa (s.l.), 8; P. glauca (and var.

tenuior ), all districts; P. hartzii (and var. vivipara ), 1, ?2; P. arc –

tica (and var. vivipara ), all districts; P. pratensis (s.l.) (and f.

prolifera ), 1,?2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10; P. alpina (and f. brevifolia ), ?3,4,5,?6,

7,8,9; P. labradorica , 7; Colpodium fulvum (and f. aristatum and var.

effusum and var. effusum f. depauperatum ), 4,5,8,9,10; Dupontia fisheri

(and f. psilosantha and f. micrantha and var. aristata ), all districts;

Puccinellia phryganodes , all except 6; P. paupercula , 2,3,4,5,?6,7,8,9,

10; P. angustata (agg.), all districts; P. vahliana , 1,2,3,5,7,9;

Festuca rubra (and var. arenaria and var. mutica ), 7,8,9; F. vivipara

var. hirsuta , 8; F. brachyphylla (and f. flavida ), all districts;

F. baffinensis , 1,3,5,6,8,9; Agropyron violaceum var. hyperarcticum ,

1,3,?8; Elymus arenarius var. villosus (and var. villosissimus ), all

except 1; total 41.

        CYPERACEAE: Eriophorum scheuchzeri , all districts; E. chamissonis (s.l.)

f. albidum 3,?4,5,?9,10; E. spissum , 3,4,5,6,7,8,8,10; E. callitrix ,

3,4,5,7,8,9,10; E. angustifolium (and var. alpinum and var. triste ), all

districts; Scirpus caespitosus var. callosus , 5,8; Heleocharis acicularis

(and f. submersa ), 5,8,10; Kobresia myosuroides , 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9; K. sim –

pliciuscula , 1,2,3,5,7,8,9,10; Carex nardina (and var. hepburnii ), all

districts; C. capitata (s.l.), 5; C. maritima (s.l.) (and f. inflata and

var. setina ), all except 7; C. gynocrates , 5,?6,7; C. chordorrhiza ,

5,8,9,10; C. ursina , all districts; C. lachenalii , ?1,?2,3,4,5,6,7,8,

9,10; C. glareosa (and var. amphigena ), ?1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10; C. mac –

kenziei , 10; C. canescens , 8; C. macloviana , 8; C. supina , 3,5,9,10;

C. rupestris , all except 4; C. scirpoidea (s.l.), all except 1;

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EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

C. glacialis , 1,4,5,7,8,9; C. bicolor , 7,8,9,10; C. vaginata , 5,?6,7,8,

9,10; C. capillaris (and f. minima and var. porsildiana ), 1,4,5,6,7,8,

9,10; C. williamsii , 8,9,10; C. atrofusca , all districts; C. misandra

(and f. flavida ), all districts; C. rariflora (and f. erecta ), 4,5,6,7,8,

9,10; C. norvegica , 4,5,7,8,10; C. holostoma , 4,5,?6,8,9,10; C. bige –

lowii , all except 1; C. aquatilis (and var. stans ), all except 7;

C. paleacea , 8; C. salina (and var. subspathacea ), 2,3,4,5,?6,7,8,9,10;

C. microglochin , 4,5,8,10; C. saxatilis (and var. miliaris ), 5,8,9,10;

C. physocarpa , 5,?6,?7,9,10; C. membranacea , all districts; total 41.

        JUNCACEAE: Luzula spadicea (and var. wahlenbergii ), 4,5,8,9,10; L. nivalis

(and f. nana ), all districts; L. confusa , all districts; L. spicata ,

4,5,7,8; L. suedetica , 8,10; Juncus trifidus , 5,7,8; J. arcticus ,

?4,5,7,8,9,10; J. biglumis , all districts; J. albescens , all except 6;

J. castaneus , 2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10; total 10.

        LILIACEAE: Tofieldia pusilla , ?4,5,7,8,9,10; T. coccinea , 2,3,8; total 2.

        ORCHIDACEAE: Habenaria obtusata var. collectanea , 8; Corallorrhiza trifida ,

10; total 2.

        SALICACEAE: Salix reticulata (and f. oblongifolia ), all except 1; S. vestita ,

9; S. uva-ursi , ?4,5,7,8; S. herbacea , all except 1; S. arctica (s.l.)

(and var. kophophylla ), all districts; S. arctophila , 1,3,4,5,7,8,9,10;

S. hudsonensis , 8,9,10; S. fullertonensis , 8,?9,10; S. glauca (s.l.)

(and var. stenolepis ), 4,5,?7,8,9,10; S. cordifolia (and var. callicarpaea

and f. tonsa and var. macounii ), ?2,4,5,7,8,?9,10; S. richardsoni var.

mckeandii , 3,4,?5,6,?7,?8,9,10; S. calcicola (and var. nicholsiana ), 4,5,

7,8,9,10; S. alaxensis , 6,8,9,10; S. planifolia (agg.) 5,?9,10;

total 14.

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EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

        BETULACEAE: Betula glandulosa var. sibirica , ?2,4,5,7,8,9,10; B. nana , 4;

total 2.

        POLYGONACEAE: Koenigia islandica , 2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10; Oxyria digyna , all

districts; Polygonum viviparum (and f. alpinum ), all district; total 3.

        PORTULACACEAE: Montia lamprosperma , 4,5,7,8,?9,10; only 1.

        CARYOPHYLLACEAE: Silene acaulis var. escapa , all districts; Lychnis affinis

(s.l.), all districts; L. triflora , 4; L. apetala (and f. palea ), all

districts; L. alpina , 7; Cerastium alpinum (s.l.), all districts;

C. berringianum , ?3,?5,9,10; C. regelii , 1,2,?3,?4,6; C. arvense , 8;

C. cerastoides , 7,8,9; Stellaria longipes (s.l.) (and f. humilis and var.

subvestita ), all districts; S. calycantha , 8; S. crassifolia , 5,7,8,9,10;

S. humifusa , all districts; Arenaria peploides (and var. diffusa ), 3,4,5,

7,8,9,10; A. humifusa , 1,3,5,8,9; A. rubella (and f. epilis ), all dis–

tricts; A. rossii (and var. daethiana ), 1,2,3,6,9; A. uliginosa (and f.

albina ), 3,5,8,9,10; A. sajanensis , 4,5,6,7,8,9; Sagina nodosa f. bul –

billosa , 5; S. saginoides , ?6,7,9,10; S. caespitosa , ?3,4,5,7,8,9;

S. intermedia , all except 6; total 24.

        RANUNCULACEAE: Anemone parviflora var. grandiflora , 7,8; A. richardsoni , 8;

Ranunculus trichophyllus var. eradicatus , 3,5,7,8,9,10; R. pallasii , 5,8;

R. hyperboreus (and var. turquetilianus ), all districts; R. lapponicus ,

4,5,?6,8,10; R. reptans , 10; R. nivalis (and f. subglobosus ), all except

10; R. sulphureus , 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,?8,9; R. pygmaeus , all except 10;

R. sabinii , 1,2,4; R. allenii , 7,9; R. pedatifidus var. leiocarpus , 1,3,

4,5,?6,7,8,9,10; Thalictrum alpinum , 7; Coptis groenlandica , 5; total 15.

        PAPAVERACEAE: Papaver radicatum (and var. albiflorum ), all districts; only 1.

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EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

        CRUCIFERAE; Cochlearia officinalis (s.l.) var. groenlandica (and var. oblongi –

folia and var. arctica ), all districts; Eutrema edwardsii , all districts;

Cardamine bellidifolia (and f. laxa ), all districts; C. pratensis var.

angustiofolia (and var. palustris ), all districts; C. richardsonii , 10;

Lesquerella arctica , 1,2,3,5,6,9; Draba alpine (s.l.) (and var. nana and

inflatisiliqua and var. gracilescens ), 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,?10; D. sub –

capitata , 1,2,3,6,9; D. fladnizensis (s.l.) (and f. glabrata ), all dis–

tricts; D. fernaldiana , 9; D. crassifolia , ?4,5,7,8,?9; D. nivalis ,

all districts; D. norvegica var. hebecarpa , ?5,7,?9; D. glabella (and

var. brachycarpa ), 2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10; D. cinerea , 1,2,3,5,6,9,10’ Arabis

arenicola (and var. pubescens ), 1,5,6,8,9,10; A. alpine , ?2,4,5,7,8,9;

Erysimum pellasii (and f. himilum ), 1,2,3; Braya purpurascens (and var.

dubia ), all except 10; Parrya arctica , 2,6,9; total 20.

        Crassulaceae: Sedum rosea , 4,7,?8; only 1.

        Saxifragaceae: Saxifraga rivularis , all districts; S. cernua (and var. exil –

ioides and f. latibracteata and f. bulbillosa and f. ramosa ), all districts;

S. caespitosa subsp. encaespitosa (and f. uniflora and subsp. exaratoides ),

all districts; S. foliolosa , all districts; S. hieracifolia , 2,3,4,6;

S. nivalis (and f. labradorica ), all districts; S. tenuis , 1,3,4,5,7,8,9;

S. aizoides , 1,5,6,7,8,9; S. tricuspidata (and f. subintegrifolia ), all

except 7; S. flagellaris (s.l.), 1,2,?6; S. hirculus (and var. propinqua ),

all except 7; S. aizoon subsp. euaizoon , 3,4,5; S. oppositifolia (and f.

pulvinata ), all districts; Chrysosplenium tetrandrum , all districts;

Parnassia kotzebuei , 5,7,8; P. palustris var. neogaea , 10; total 16.

        Rosaceae: Rubus chameomorus , 5,8,9,10; Potentilla crantzii , ?2,4,7,8,9;

P. hyparctica (and var. elatior and f. tardinix ), all districts; P. nivea

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EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

(s.l.) (and var. pallidior and var. subquinata ), ?1,3,4,5,7,8,9,10;

P. rubricaulis , 1,2,3,?6; P. vahliana , 1,3,4,6,8,9,10; P. pulchella

(and var. elatior ), 1,2,3,5,6,8,9,10; P. egedii (and var. groenlandica ),

5,7,8,10; P. palustris, 7,8,10; Sibbaldia procumbens , ?4,5.7.8.9.10;

Dryas integrifolia (and f. intermedia and f. canescens ), all districts;

total 11.

        LEGUMINOSAE: Astragalus eucosmus , 5,8; A. alpinus , 2,3,5,6,7,8,9,10; Oxytropis

foliolosa , 5,8; O. terrae-novae ,7,8; O. hudsonica , 6,9,10; O. may –

delliana , 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10; O. arctobia (and var. hyperarctica ), 3,5,6,9,10;

O. podocarpa , 5,9; O. bellii , 6,8,10; Hedysarum mackenzii var. pabulare ,

10; total 10.

        CALLITRICHACEAE: Callitriche verna var. minima , 10; only 1.

        EMPETRACEAE: Empetrum nigrum var. hermaphroditum , all districts; only 1.

        ONAGRACEAE: Epilobium angustifolium , 4,5,7,8; E. latifolium (and f. leucan –

themum ), all districts; E. palustre , 10; E. davuricum var. arcticum ,

3,5,8,9,10; E. anagallidifolium , ?5,7,9; total 5.

        HIPPURIDACEAE: Hippuris vulgaris (and var. maritime ), 3,4,5,7,8,9,10; only 1.

        PYROLACEAE: Pyrola secunda var. obtusata , 10; P. gradiflora , all except 2;

total 2.

        ERICACEAE: Ledum palustre var. decumbens , 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10; Rhododendron lap –

ponicum , 2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10; Loiseleuria procumbens , 4,5,6,8,10; Phyllodoce

coerules , 4,5,7,8; Cassiope tetragona , all districts; C. hypnoides , 4,5,

7,8,9,10; Andromeda polifolia , 8,10; Arctostaphylos alpina , ?2,4,5,6,7,8,

9,10; A. rubra , 9,10; Vaccinium uliginosum var. alpinum (and var. alpinum

f. langeanum ), all districts; V. vitis-idaea var. minor , 4,5,6,7,8,9,10;

total 11.

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EA-PS. Plounin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

        DIAPENSIACEAE: Diapensia lapponica , 1,4,5,7,8,9,10; only 1.

        PRIMULACEAE: Primula stricta , 8; P. egaliksensis (and f. violacea ), 8,10;

Androsace septentrionalis , 1,3; total 3.

        PLUMBAGINACEAE: Armeria labradorica f. glabriscapa (and f. pubiscapa ), all

districts; only 1.

        BORAGINACEAE: Mertensia maritima var. tenella , all except 1; only 1.

        SCROPHULARIACEAE: Veronica alpina (and var. unalaschkensis ), 5,7,8,9; Cas –

tilleja pallida (s.l.) (and var. septentrionalis ), 5,10; Euphrasia

arctica var. minutissima , 4,5,7,8; Bartsia alpina , 5,7,8,9; Rhinanthus

groenlandicus , ?2,?7,10; Pedicularis groenlandica , 7; P. lapponica ,

4,5,8,9,10; P. labradorica , 5,7; P sudetica , 2,3,4,6,9,10; P. lanata ,

all except 7; P. langsdorfii var. arctica , 1,2,3,?5,?6; P. hirsute , all

districts; P. flammea (and f. flavescens ), all except 1; P. capitata ,

1,2,3,5,6,9; total 14.

        LENTIBULARIACEAE: Pinguicula vulgaris , 5; only 1.

        PLANTAGINACEAE: Plantago juncoides var. glauca , 5,9; only 1.

        CAMPANULACEAE: Campanula uniflora , all districts; C rotundifolia (s.l.),

4,7,8; total 2.

        COMPOSITAE: Solidago macrophylla var. thysoidea , 7; S. multiradiata , ?2,5,7;

Erigeron eriocephalus , all except 2; E. unalaschkensis , 2,4,5,6,7,8,9,10;

E. compositus , 1; Antennaria angustata , 3,4,5,7,8,9,10; A. canenscens ,

4,5,7,8,10; A. labradorica , ?1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10; A. burwellensis , 7;

A. compacta , 4,5,7,8,?9; A. nitens , 10; A. fernaldiana , 9; A. pygmaea ,

?6,7; A. arenicola , 10; A. isolepis , 7,10; A. tweedsmuirii , 8;

A. tansleyi , 5,8,9,10; Gnaphalium supinum , 7; G. norvegicum , ?4;

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EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

Matricaria inodora var. nana , 3,5,6,8,9,10; Chrysanthemum arcticum , 8,10;

C. integrifolium , 2,3,4,5,6,9; Tanacetum huronense var. terrae-novae (and

var. bifarium ), 8, Artemisia borealis (and var. pushii ), 4,5,8,10; Peta –

sites sagittatus , 9; Arnica alpine (s.l.) (and var. angustifolia ), 1,2,3,

4,5,6,7,8; Senecio congestus (and var. palustris and f. polycricos ), ?2, 3,

4,5,6,8,9,10; Taraxacum phymatocarpus (s.l.), 1,2,3,5,6,9; T. cerato –

phorum , 5,?8; T. lacerum (s.l.), 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10; T. lapponicum , ?4,5,

7,8,9; T. torngatense , 7; Crepis nana , 3,4,6,9; total 33.

        The number of vascular plant species at present known from each of the ten

major districts is as follows; but, owing to extremely varied extent to

which the different districts have been investigated, these totals probably

indicate to all-too-varying degrees the plants actually occurring: (1) Elles–

mere Island, 115 species 4?; (2) Devon, Cornwallis, and Somerset Islands,

116 species 13; (3) Northern Baffin Island, 145 species 4?; (4) Central

Baffin Island, 160 species 11?; (5) Southern Baffin Island, 207 species 5?;

(6) Melville Peninsula, 124 species 14?; (7) Northernmost Labrador, 175 species

5?; (8) Northernmost Quebec, 211 species 6?; (9) Islands in Hudson and Un–

gava Bays, 191 species 8?; (10) West Coast of Hudson Bay (Keewatin), 184

species 2?.

        The “lower” plants such as Algae, Fungi, lichens (Lichenes), mosses

(Musci), and liverworts (Hepaticae), although they tend to be represented by

more numerous species, are far less known than the higher plants in our area,

and the Bacteria have scarcely been investigated at all. Practically all know–

ledge available to date on this cryptogamic flora is summarized in Botany of

the Canadian Eastern Arctic, Part II and, as such detailed interest is almost

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EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

entirely confined to specialists, need scarcely be considered here. Table I,

however, may prove interesting as giving the total numbers of species belonging

to the various (not always systematic) groups considered by specialist authors

from the whole of our area and its ten major districts when that work was

written (during 1937-39). Even more than with the vascular plants it is evi–

dent that our knowledge is to a large extent a function of the degree to which

investigation has been prosecuted. To bring these numbers up to date there

should be included previous reports especially of Algae and Fungi (cf. 55)

and the subsequent additions of Steef (70; 71), Wynne and Steere (78), Lynge

(29), Polunin (50), and Lepage (26), as well as many others from collections

Table I. Species Totals.

Group	Number of species in groups					Major districts
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Algae	383	6	46	106	88	170	--	62	126	8	106
Marine phytoplankton	121 a	65	68	66	82	36	--	--	--	42	--
Freshwater Diatomeae	192 a	76	45	83	71	94	--	58	54	33	--
Fungi	79	1	6	20	7	27	--	12	33	5	13
Lichens	275	115	79	76	102	85	53	58	57	85	36
Musci	304	196	133	90	112	87	61	84	70	99	36
Hepaticae	78	57	15	20	20	8	10	5	13	13	--
Total	1432

a Two of the species occurred in both these lists, so the total numbers of

different species recorded from the area is 1,430 — to which should now be added

at least 5 Lichenes, 10 Musci, 4 Hepaticae, and 4 marine planktonic Diatomeae

(cf. 55, p.513).

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not yet worked up. But still some major districts remain virtually unknown

as regards their cryptogamic flora, and there are glaring instances of vast

areas from which reports are lacking for whole groups of plants that are likely

to be represented in them by hundreds rather than by dozens of species.

       

THE VEGETATION

        While the flora of our area is the sum total of different “kinds” of

plants inhabiting it, the vegetation is concerned rather with the question of

their relative abundance, being the total “display” or assemblage that the

plants make collectively. In our area the plants are almost everywhere

dwarf, rising above low bush height only in very limited tracts in the most

favorable districts of the south, and nowhere attaining real tree dimensions.

But, although the vegetation is often so scanty as to be overlooked by the

casual visitor, it is in effect practically ubiquitous in one form or another

except on icecaps, and is the source of sustenance of considerable animal life

both small and large — especially in the sea.

        The following account summarizes what is known of the vegetation of each

of the ten major districts, largely following the detailed treatment in Botany

of the Canadian Eastern Arctic, Part III (46), but including some further ob–

servations (44) and marine phytoplanktonic and aerobiological notes. The usual

procedure in dealing with a major district will be to give some preliminary,

general notes on its vegetation, culled principally from the literature, usually

followed by a more detailed, illustrated account of the main plant communities

of one “test” area that has been intensively investigated by the author, whose

field notes or publication of 1948 (46) may be understood to be the source

when no citation is given. The resultant article, far longer than those

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describing the vegetation of other sections of the Arctic, is offered particu–

larly for reference by those desiring details of the correlation between habi–

tats and plant communities - e.g., as successive lines of latitude are passed

coming south in eastern North America, and then traveling westward from near the

Atlantic seaboard to the west coast of Hudson Bay.

       

Ellesmere Island

        In conformity with the high-arctic position, hard climate, and limited flora,

the vegetation of Ellesmere is almost everywhere scanty, being probably rarely

“closed” over areas of real extent, although even on the north coast there are to

be found “luxuriant patches of sorrel and grasses even at 600 or 700 feet” and

prostrate willows with stems up to seven-tenths of an inch in diameter (23,

pp.114-15). Of the country inland, A. H. Markham observes (36, p.383): “Some

of the hills … were beautifully carpeted with the pretty little purple saxi–

frage, a draba , a potentilla , and other wild flowers, while the valleys were

covered with patches of luxuriant vegetation, consisting of grasses and delight–

fully soft moss.”

        Of the Lady Franklin Bay district Nares remarks (39, vol.2, pp.140-41):

“On the southern slopes of Bellot Island, which was sheltered from the north

winds and received the full force of the mid-day su n , the vegetation was remark–

ably rich. Six species of saxifrage were common, and [ Erysimum pallasii]

attained a height of eight or ten inches; … a single species of fern grew

abundantly under the shelter of boulder rocks. Many other plants … were col–

lected on the same spot, and it would thus appear that a favo u rable combination

of soil, shelter from winds, and a full exposure to the sun have more to do with

the development of flowering plants in the Polar regions than parallels of

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EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

latitude.” Greely (20, vol.1, p.81) writes that in this region “The adjacent

brook-slopes and margins were clothed with vegetation, composed of thick beds

of Dryas , or clusters of Saxifraga , varied with sedges, grasses, or the familiar

buttercup. Higher up, on glacier-drift of clayey nature, countless Arctic

poppies of luxuriant growth dotted with fair yellow the landscape.”

        The interior of northern Ellesmere to the west of Lady Franklin Bay is

far from barren or universally icebound. Thus Greely (20, vol.1, p.370) observed

as early as June in the Lake Heintzelman district “the remains of dead willows …

in sufficient quantities to enable us to cook our tea with it … In its whole

extent the valley was entirely barren of snow, and in most places was covered

with a comparatively luxuriant vegetation. This consisted generally of willow,

saxifrages, and dryas, though where the river widened, in occasional places,

grasses or sedges to a height of ten or twelve inches were frequently noticed.”

Not far off Greely noted (20, vol.1, p.371) “a fine level valley about a mile

and a half wide, covered in the main by a very considerable quantity of grass,

which in its manner of growth and appearance resembles the bunch grass of our

western prairies. In addition there are many young willows, saxifrages, dryas,

etc. Enough dead willows can be gathered at almost any spot for the requirements

of any sledge party.”

        About the great Lake Hazen, Greely noted (20, vol.1, p.279) “Much grass,

many willows, and other vegetation …,” while on a nearby plateau he found

(p.391) that “The vegetation was the most rank I have seen in the polar regions.

Grass in considerable quantity grew at the margin of … shallow lakes to the

height of eighteen or twenty inches,” later remarking (p.414) on “The discovery

of numerous valleys covered with comparatively luxuriant vegetation, which af–

ford sufficient pasturage for large numbers of musk-oxen.”

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        Farther south, in the Hayes Sound region, Simmons (63, pp.468-69) re–

ported that “The vegetation was close and luxuriant over considerable parts

of the plateau which constitutes the interior of the peninsula. Particularly

noticeable was Papaver radicatum , which … was still in full bloom [on

August 21]. Other flowers were also in bloom, probably because the snow had

lain long, and they had been late in regaining their functional activity.

On the slope leading down to Rutherfordeidet, on the other hand, where, on

account of its favorable aspect, ‘spring’ was considerably earlier than

on the plateau, nearly all the flowers, with the exception of Saxifraga tri –

cuspidata , were over. I saw, among others, [ Vaccinium uliginosum var. alu

pinum ] and Cassiope tetragona as well-grown as in Foulke Fjord.” This last

place lies considerably to the south in Greenland, and by the extent and green–

ness of its vegetation Simmons had been particularly struck.

        In general it would seem that the flora and vegetation are poorer on

limestone than on Archean rocks (cf. 64, p.5). Indeed on calcareous soil

“The ground formed by its products of denudation may be for large expanses

entirely, or almost entirely, without vegetation, at any rate as far as the

higher plants are concerned; mosses were of rare occurrence, and the lichens

also sparse” (63, p.471).

        Little is known of the vegetation of the western portions of Ellesmere,

but it seems to be relatively luxuriant (cf. 73, vol.1, p.181; 14, p.343).

The latter author noted “a great herd of musk-oxen feeding on a wide meadow

at the foot of the mountains … Their splendid condition was no doubt due

to the excellent pasturage they found on the grassy meadows among the moun–

tains and along the fjord … Large tracts support a relatively luxuriant

growth of willow, sedge, and grass, the chief foods of the musk-oxen.” To

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the north, about Greely and Borup fjords, musk oxen and vegetation were

again “abundant,” forming in the latter region “a thick close carpet” (14,

pp.351-53).

        As our example for detailed consideration we will take Craig Harbour, a

deep and relatively sheltered cove lying on the south coast in latitude 76°12′ N.

and longitude 80°56′ W. The physiography here is rugged, with tall cliffs

and mountain slopes rising to more than 1,000 feet (305 meters) from the sea

or the sides of the gently sloping plains that terminate the cove and in

places stretch back a mile or more from the water’s edge. At the raised back

of the plains, on the side away from the sea, are steeper slopes or tongues

of glacier that descend into the valley but do not here reach the water. The

climate is very severe, with the monthly mean around −20°F. in winter and

only about 43°F. in the warmest month (July), and the annual precipitation

usually much less than 10 inches.

        The prevailing rocks of the district are dark-reddish or chocolate–

colored granites capped by a few feet of sandstones succeeded by a thicker

layer of dolomite. The valley bottom is occupied by recently outwashed glacial

material partly covering and partly intermixed with marine deposits. The dark

granitic slopes are much streaked by long screes of light-colored dolomite

or gullies filled with neve, and in places snow patches persist throughout

the summer even at sea level. The general impression from the sea is of deso–

lation and barrenness (Fig. 2), but on closer inspection it is evident that the

frequent “raised” beaches support considerable dwarfed vegetation, while the

plains, where undistrubed, are darkened by a meager investment of Saxifraga

oppositifolia and lichens of poor growth (Fig. 3). As in other high-arctic

lands, still closer investigation soon brings realization that there is a consid–

erable range of plant habitats and different communities, of which the following are

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the most noteworthy: indeed the apparent uniformity is largely due to the

generally poor growth which rarely allows the plants to take a real hold of the

surface.

        The uplands , usually covered by ice of varying thickness, occupy almost

the whole of the land area in the vicinity of Craig Harbour, although no major

mountains are to be seen. Thus an ice-free plateau between the cove and the

Fram Fjord coast, extending inland for some 3 kilometers to the edge of the

icecap, was mostly about 1,500 feet (457 m.) high and widely covered by loose

detritus sorted into rough stone “polygons” (cf. 53, p.352), the surface

material being so sorted that the smaller stones and more finely comminuted

particles come to occupy rounded or polygonal areas, generally 1 to 3 meters,

in diameter, separated by narrower intervening tracts composed of the larger

stones and boulders. These last usually have their surfaces about one-third

covered by lichens.

        Growth of both cryptogams and phanerogams is extremely stunted, the latter

being on the average confined to a single low tuft (rarely exceeding 15 centi–

meters in diameter) of Saxifraga oppositifolia f. pulvinata to each square

meter; indeed 9 out of every 10 higher plants belong to this species. Puc –

cinellia vahliana was the only other vascular plant that seemed at all common,

although 17 more were noted at least several times. With the exception of the

almost ubiquitous Rhacomitrium lanuginosum mosses were far less in evidence

than lichens, although 8 species were easily collected in a 4-meter quadrat.

The most plentiful lichen was the crustaceous Rhizocarpon geographicum . In

spite of the relative barrenness of these exposed uplands, snow buntings

( Plectrophenax nivalis ) and rock ptarmigan ( Lagopus rupestris ) were frequently

in evidence on them in September both in 1934 and 1936.

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        The scree and other slopes are extremely various in composition, stability,

and other characters. Those composed of light-colored dolomite or sandstone,

which in many places come down from the edge of the plateau or from weathering

crags or cliffs or mountains, tend to be especially unstable and barren. As

is seen in Figures 2 and 5, they may form large pyramids of accumulated debris

at their bases. Such dynamic “young” screes often bear little more than oc–

casional crustaceous lichens of limited growth on their component particles.

In other instances rapid surface weathering has led to the accumulation of

some finer “soil” that may bear occasional higher plants, such as Saxifraga

oppositifolia and Salix arctica , though these are rarely if ever frequent and

vigorous enough to play an important part in stabilizing the general surface.

        The less steep scress, e.g., forming an angle of less than 30 degrees

with the horizontal, tend to be more stable and consequently better vegetated.

Especially is this the case when they are of granitic origin; then the larger

blocks of rock frequently support numerous and quite obvious individuals of

Gyrophora and Rhizocarpon species, and the occasional patches of mineral earth

accumulated in their shelter may be bound for as much as a square meter in ex–

tent by Saxifraga oppositifolia or Salix arctica , or sometimes by other phanero–

gams. Where there is almost complete stability — as for example on or below

rocky crags — plants may take a real hold and darken the surface quite obviously.

In one such instance 13 species of phanerogams, 9 mosses, and numerous lichens

as well as a parsitic fungus were observed in a very small area.

        The lowlands consist of gently sloping plains lying at the back of the cove

( Figs. 2 and 3) and occupied by outwashed morainic material mixed with marine

deposits. The raised beaches tend to become leveled to an even slope, the sur–

face consisting partly of barren stream beds which are usually dry in late summer

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(Fig. 3) and fan out near the sea, and stable tracts darkened by vegetation

that occupy most of the area (at least inland). Their chief community is

a Saxifraga oppositifolia “barren” developed where to surface is gravelly

and statis. The snowfall is light and most of the snow drifts into the stream

beds and depressions behind ridges, leaving these slightly raised banks and

flats largely bare in winter. The surface is relatively dark, due to the

dominant Saxifraga oppositifolia and to the presence of numerous lichens of

poor growth, but no humus has accumulated and no real advance has been made

by the vegetation. The only appreciable organic content of the soil, besides

living roots and rhizoids, is a little fibrous or other almost intact dead

matter. The pH near the surface was 7.0 wh er ever it was tested.

        Saxifraga oppositifolia is always the most characteristic plant of these

areas, although in the more favorable situations, such as slight depressions

behind ridges, Carex nardina , Dryas integrifolia , and Luzula confusa may also

be very plentiful and Papaver radicatum , Festuca brachyphlla , Cerastium alpina ,

Salix arctica , and Saxifraga caespitosa f. uniflora are quite frequent. Alto–

gether, 21 species of flowering plants appeared to be characteristic of this

community, including sedges and grasses, and several more occurred as casuals,

All were diminutive, the woody plants tending to be flat-pressed against the

ground and often drastically eroded by the wind (Fig. 4). Mosses are little

in evidence, but numerous lichens grow on the larger pebbles and gray-brown

mineral soil, contributing markedly to the dark color and stability of the

surface which, however, they do not by any means cover.

        Marshy areas , in contrast to their reputed abundance on the west coast

of Ellesmere, were very few and limited at Craig Harbour. The only one invest–

tigated that was of reasonable extent proved to have more silt than moss

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between the higher plants which, however, formed a fairly close sward. This

was dominated by Eriophorum angustifolium , Arctagrostis latifolia , and

Carices — especially Carex aquatilis var. stans and C. membranacea — but

their growth was poor and they rarely flowered. Although in places small

mossy hillocks up to 25 centimeters high were developed, there was practically

no humous accumulation, and the reaction of the soil water approximated every–

where to neutrality. Two 2-meter quadrats transpired to be almost identical

in floristic composition and to contain 16 vascular plant species of which,

apart from the dominants, only Polygonum viviparum , Salix arctica , and Juncus

biglumis had a frequency degree of more than occasional. Lichens were usually

absent, but mosses grew well although varying from place to place. Orthothe –

cium chryseum was the most noticeable, but at least 8 other species were con–

siderably in evidence.

        The snow effect is seen in slight depressions and behind ridges where the

winter accumulation is sufficient to form a good protective blanket and give

plentiful water when it melts in early summer. There a characteristic post–

climax community dominated by Cassiope tetragona is developed - particularly in

the angle below a slight ridge or gravel bank, where the healthy Cassiope darkens

the area noticeably (Fig. 5). In spite of the dark litter and lichens between

the axes of the dominant, there was no real humous accumulation, the soil be–

neath being light-colored and gritty although slightly acid (hP 6.2) in the ex–

amples investigated. The Cassiope grows at most eight inches high and was apt

to be interrupted by projecting stones on which grew many of the lichens of the

surrounding Saxifraga oppositifolia barrens, or by open areas supporting the

peculiar hepatic Gymnomitrium corallioides or relatively luxuriant but much

mixed mosses and lichens. The result was a considerable flora including often

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EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

as many as 22 vascular plants in a small area, and a similar number of lichens

as well as several prominent Bryophyta.

        Depressions and other spots where the snow drifts deeply and lies until

late summer, thus reducing the gorwing season to a few weeks during which the

surface generally remains damp and the soil beneath it permanently frozen,

are plentiful around Craig Harbor. Indeed, the whole district has its flora

and vegetation limited by the shortness of the summer to more or less high–

arctic types. As a result, the characteristic “late-snow” flora of these per–

sistent snow patches, consisting of species that can vegetate quickly, differs

from that of the exposed surrounding areas much less in Ellesmere than in most

places to the south. The diminutive grass Phippsia algida is perhaps the most

characteristic plant of such snow patches, but sveral Saxifragae are usually

to be found, and, in addition, Caryophyllaceae and small Cruciferae. Although

small tufts of terricolous mosses and a few lichens contributed to the darkness

of the surface, cryptogams were rather little in evidence, while toward the

center of such patches, where the growing season was apt to be reduced to a mat–

ter merely of days, there was little save sterile tufts of mosses. However,

farther out where the snow melted earlier and the growing season was conse–

quently longer, although still too short to allow Cassiope to become established,

the flora of both cryptogams and phanerogams was far more considerable, and the

vegetation more evident.

        Special Localized Habitats and Communities . Of these, three should be men–

tioned, namely, ( 1 ) the small pebbly “islands” left in stream beds as illustrated

in Figure 3, supporting communities that may be closed although their composi–

tion is quite variable, depending it seems largely on chance dispersal (in the

example illustrated the dominants were Luzula confusa and Epilobium latifolium );

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( 2 ) areas rendered orange in color by the lichen Caloplaca elegans which may

form an almost pure investment in slight depressions associated with drainage

and seepage; and ( 3 ) raised beaches which had, however, usually been disturbed

by geodynamic forces and come to support one of the vegetation types described

above.

        Freshwater habitats are rather limited, at least in late summer, consist–

ing of small pools and trickles of water below melting snow patches or in

streams that have largely dried up. Many pools or eddies in these streams

appear entirely barren, although some support filamentous and other algae such

as Zygnema sp., Cosmarium curtum , and Phormidium retzii . The last-named also

forms a scum on damp earth in many places, as do colonies of Nostoc , etc. Other

persistent freshwater pools in stream beds had deposits rich in diatoms; no

less than 44 different species and varieties being identified from one small

sample. “Where dry the beds were usually barren, owing to the washing down and

drastic disturbance at snow-melt every summer. Thus, there were often no

plants of any kind to be found in areas of many square metres, although gen–

erally a thin investment of such algae as Oscillatoria tenuis was to be found

on the undersides of stones. On the other hand, where the bed opened out and

became sandy instead of boulder there was often a fair growth of mixed mosses,

almost all in the vegetative condition” (46).

        Strand and marine communities were little developed except at deeper levels

than could be investigated from the shore. The tide range is small and the

shore shingly and almost entirely barren, being much disturbed by ice (Fig. 2).

However, in places where the shingle banks are broken by streams or muddy flats,

there occur depauperated “salt-marsh” communities dominated by Puccinellia

phryganodes , with associated Stellaria humifusa (and in drier places Cochlearia

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officinalis var. groenlandica and Carex maritima ), but none of the other

plants that are to be found in such habitats almost everywhere to the south.

Growing macroscopic algae are also generally absent between the tide marks,

although an abundance of detached algal material may afford a habitat for num–

erous epiphytic and other microscopic types. However, Fucus vesiculosus of

fairly good growth may occur on rocks in sheltered situations.

        Even for some distance below low tidemark the growth of algae tends

to be poor, probably owing to the soft substratum and grinding action of ice,

but farther down dense beds of Laminaria and Alaria spp. are to be seen, accom–

panied by many and various smaller types.

        Marine Phytoplankton . Observations on the marine phytoplankton were

made northward to 83°19′ N. by the expedition of Nares in 1875-76 (cf. 10; 13)

and, in the south, by Seidenfaden in 1928 (21). The floristic resume (55)

gives also some indication of relative abundance of the individual species and

their phytogeographical relationships in some cases. There seems no doubt

that marine phytoplanktonic organisms are plentiful throughout the salt waters

of the region, at least in late summer.

        Grøntved and Seidenfaden (21, pp.293-94) describe the hydrographical

conditions and phytoplanktonic flora off Craig Harbour in mid-August, stating

that “near the shore … A rich plankton occurred, dominated by diatoms such

as Chaetoceros decipiens , C. diadema , and C. furcellatus , Rhizosolenia semispina ,

and Thalassiosira Nordenskjöldi [sic] … [with] a large maximum of Fragilaria

oceanica ” while farther offshore “Similar conditions were encountered,” with

the Rhizosolenia still rather frequent, Ceratium arcticum often present, but

Chaetoceros decipiens less in evidence. “The plankton then consisted prin–

cipally of Fragilaria oceanica and various species of Thallasiosira ,” Achnanthes ,

Melosira , and Chaetoceros .

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Devon, Cornwallis, and Somerset Islands

        This group for our present purposes has been taken to include Graham,

Buckingham, North Kent, and Coburg Islands, and, being still rather high-arctic

in position and rigorous in climate, is relatively sparsely vegetated, although

in many places an improvement on the more northerly Ellesmere Island.

        The small northern Graham and Buckingham Islands, being “of Mesozoic rocks,

which may have afforded soil favorable enough …” are reported by Schei (62,

p.21) to support “a well developed vegetation … even if the species are

probably few.” On the other hand, North Kent Island was noted by Simmons (62,

pp.19-20) as having a much poo r er flora and vegetation than the adjacent parts

of Ellesmere of similar geological character, though “in some parts … mosses

were unusually predominant” and “Lichens also occurred in great abundance.”

What appears to have been the richest vegetation by far was concentrated around

where numerous birds nest, but “In general, the flowering plants appeared in

single tufts or individuals in the open, bare ground.” Much the same is ap–

parently true of the small limestone Castle Island and Devils Isle (62, pp.10

and 12), the phanerogams comprising a few high-arctic species, although Bryo–

phyta at least were numerous (cf. 7). Simmons concludes (62, pp.14-18) that

birds have been largely responsible for dispersal of plants to these islets,

although in general “wind transport over the snow-covered ice in winter …”

probably “plays a prominent part in the migration of arctic plants.”

        Coburg Island in little known and, apparently, little vegetated (73, vol. 1,

p.209). Robert Bentham ( in litt .) compares it with the rather barren adjacent

coast of southeastern Ellesmere, emphasizing its exposed nature and the rapidity

of erosion and surface disintegration; it certainly looks like a bleak and in–

hospitable place (Fig. 6).

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        Such notes as are available from various points on the north coast of

Devon Island indicate that the vegetation is about as variable and locally

luxuriant there as in southern Ellesmere. Thus, according to Simmons (62,

pp.6-9), the vegetation in West Fjord (lat. 76°8′ N., long. 90°10′ W.) is

extremely poor, at least on the low-lying limestone where “The densest vege–

tation was found along some small brooks and around some shallow ponds near

the shore where, however, mosses decidedly formed the most prominent consti–

tuent of the verdure.” Not so far to the east, about Cape Vera, there is to

be observed “a rather dense verdure in some parts of the low foreland in front

of the … rookery where millions of fulmar petrels breed,” while elsewhere

in the west there have been reported “wide stretches of bogs and grass-grown

plains.”

        In general, the eastern parts of Devon Island, where the rocks are gneissic

and granitic, tend to be better vegetated than the western. Thus R. M. Anderson

reports verbally that about Cape Sparbo (Cape Hardy) the low-rolling plains are

particularly rich, with often closed marshy pasturage for the numerous musk

oxen. On the south coast lies Dundas Harbour, the vegetation of which will be

described below; farther west, limestone again predominates and the vegetation

is, in general, poor although appreciable on some gentle slopes, for example,

in the vicinity of Radstock and Baring bays (verbal report from Trevor Harwood).

        Cornwallis Island appears on the whole to be rather poorly vegetated (72),

even when compared with its neighbors. These include the large Somerset Island,

where the writer has recently noted from the air quite luxuriant vegetation

especially in such sheltered areas as the slopes around Stanwell-Fletcher Lake.

In general, however, the vegetation of Somerset Island is sparse, for example

in the vicinity of Elwyn Bay (41, p.100) and Port Leopold ( 32, p.178 36, p.175), although

027      |      Vol_VI-0036                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

in the extreme south there may be “a fair show of vegetation” (32, p.198).

Thus around the Fort Ross “post,” although Saxifraga oppositifolia barrens

appeared to constitute the most characteristic type of vegetation, “Sedges

and grasses are fairly close and thick” in low-lying moist depressions

(D. H. Chitty in litt .).

        As regards marine phytoplankton, this appears to be plentiful in mid–

August when, at least in 1928, in waters predominantly flowing eastward out

of Jones and Lancaster Sounds, i.e., past the north and south coasts of Devon

Island, diatoms were dominant — especially Fragilaria oceanica , Rhizosolenia

semispina , Thalassiosira spp., and Chaetoceros spp. (21; 55). In August 1947,

the author made attempts at sampling the living bacterial and fungal spore

content of the atmosphere when flying over parts of Somerset Island as well

as farther west, outside the Eastern Arctic area. From the material brought

back, an unexpected range and abundance of bacteria and fungi have been iso–

lated (56, 57).

        As our locality for more detailed consideration we will take Dundas Har–

bour, which is situated on the south coast of Devon Island in latitude,

74°35′ N. and longitude 82°10′ W. The physiography hereabout is rugged, the

geology variable, and the habitats consequently diverse. Inland stretches an

almost continuous icecape, from which tongues of glacier come down to calve

into the sea (Fig. 7). The rocks consist of gneisses of various types and

colors, with often a capping of sandstones, dolomites, and limestones (Fig. 10).

The coastal plains where undisturbed by glaciers and attendant moraines (Fig. 8)

are predominantly of outwashed glacial material underlain by, and largely mixed

with, older glacial material which has been rewashed by marine agencies, and

which frequently contains shell fragments and particles of limestone. Although

028      |      Vol_VI-0037                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

frosts may occur in any month, the climate and conditions of growth are more

favorable than at Craig Harbour; and the vegetation, in general, is more

luxuriant. The flora is larger (49) and closed communities are much more fre–

quent and extensive, with plants often exceeding 30 centimeters in height and

really affecting the aspect.

        Hills and steep slopes of one kind or another were numerous and usually

poorly vegetated — often in a manner comparable to that obtaining at Craig

Harbour, although in the most exposed situations the individual plants tended

to be less depauperate and their assemblage less meager at Dundas. Thus in

the Saxifraga oppositifolia barren, characterizing one exposed hilltop near

the sea, Carex nardina , Luzula confusa , Draba nivalis , and Hierochloe alpina

had frequency degrees of more than vr (very rare), while the surface was dark

with lichens. In less exposed situations nearby there occurred such mat-forming

denizens as Dryas integrifolia , Saxifraga oppositifolia , Cerastium alpinum , and

larger “creepers” of Salix arctica .

        The lowlands are extremely variable in the conditions they afford for vege–

tation. Thus on exposed ridges, for example, there may be no more than a Saxi –

fraga oppositifolia barren or some less depauperate mossy or lichen-rich facies.

More frequently, there is sufficient shelter to allow Dryas integrifolia to

enrich the community and quite a wide range of other phanerogams to enter. The

most characteristic moss is Rhacomitrium lanuginosum and the most characteristic

lichen, indicating still the lack of an effective snow blanket in winter is

Cetraria nivalis . In some such areas rough polygons are to be seen, whereas in

others the dominance is taken over by Salix arctica or, where shelter and snow–

covering conditions are more suitable, by Cassiope tetragona . Occasional south–

facing gneissic slopes which are well covered with snow in winter and have a lasting

029      |      Vol_VI-0038                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

supply of water in summer (but nevertheless remain well drained and aerated)

afford the most favorable situations of all. They are vegetated by a luxuriant

“blueberry heath” dominated by Vaccinium uliginosum var. alpinum and Cassiope

tetragona , which together largely cover the area. The Vaccinium ripens small

but luscious fruits in plenty. The soil is damp, dark, and humous, and in re–

action may be as low as pH 5.4. Associated may be as many as 28 other vascular

plants and many more cryptogams in a small area, including such species as

Salix reticulata , S. herbacea , Rhododendron lapponicum , Tofieldia coccinea , and

Pedicularis flammea that are not known to grow farther north anywhere in our

area, and Carex scirpoidea which here has its northernmost station on earth.

        Whereas under present climatic conditions the blueberry heath probably

represents a postclimax, some approximation to the climax may be represented

by the somewhat marshy community to be met with here and there in the lowlands.

The example photographed in Figure 9 may have been affected by grazing of cari–

bou and musk oxen and was certainly disturbed by frost action, the surface being

divided by depressions into large “tundra polygons” (cf. 47, p.354 and pl.XXX).

The chief dominant was Carex aquatilis var. stans , and there were abundant asso–

ciated Arctagrostis latifolia , Eriophorum angustifolium , and Salix arctica

(conspicuously in fruit in foreground of Fig. 9). A host of other phanerogams

were generally in evidence, with mosses and a few lichens weaving the whole into

a continuous sward over the dark and deep, largely humous soil.

        Glaciers and recent moraines are plentiful in the vicinity, the former

dissecting the land by their usually barren tongues, but the latter affording

conditions that appear to be suitable for quite rapid colonization by plants.

Thus within 25 meters of the margin of one apparently receding glacier, a con–

siderable number of phanerogamic species was to be found, all being of excellent

030      |      Vol_VI-0039                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

growth. Cryptogams were less in evidence. Farther back Luzula confusa , which

had been more frequent than any other plant near the glacier, became more and

more plentiful until, the surface being there bound by mosses and lichens, the

community became completely closed at a distance of about 100 meters from the

edge of the glacier (Fig. 8).

        Marshes of one sort or another cover considerable areas around Dundas,

especially by the sides of the fjord (Fig. 10). A characteristic denizen of

tracts that are inundated most of the summer is Pleuropogon sabinii , tough

it often gives way to denser clumps of Eriophorum angustifolium in stabilized

areas (Fig. 11). More extensive and typical are the marshes of mixed dom–

inance by Eriophora, Carices, and grasses — including Arctagrostis latifolia

up to 50 centimeters high — which tend to be most luxuriantly developed

around freshwater lakes and pools (Fig. 10), and which may include upward

of thirty phanerogamic and many more crytogamic species in any small area.

Such tracts appeared to be much visited and disturbed by wildfowl, which must

considerably increase the available nitrogenous and other food materials and

probably contribute appreciably to the luxuriance of the vegetation.

        The snow effect was most characteristically emphasized by a dark Cassiope

heath subclimax which was remarkably like the community described above as

developed at Craig Harbour in places where the snow lies deeply in winter and

melts only after summer has come to most areas around, so that the growing

season is appreciably shortened in such snow patches. However, the growth of

the dominant tends to be more nearly closed than at Craig, and the flora

rather larger, as is indeed the case with most other communities. As in most

places to the south, the Cassiope heath usually forms a zone surrounding the

more truly “late-snow” areas, over which the snow drifts so deeply each winter

031      |      Vol_VI-0040                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

and melts so late in summer that their growing season is more and more dras–

tically reduced as the center is approached. Here are to be found plants

still flowering in September when all around have long faded, and here there

is a tendency toward restriction of the species to plants that can vegetate

quickly in the very short growing season, the community becoming more sparse

and open toward the center of the area. The resultant zoned subclimaxes and

exclusively late-snow species are, however, more numerous farther south, so

reference may be made to the accounts given below. In the north there are

more plentiful perennial patches of snow or neve, the innermost zones of which

tend to be almost devoid of vascular plants. Frequently they support merely

occasional algal colonies or young bryophytes, the rocks being devoid of crus–

taceous lichens although often having a thin investment of Cyanophyceae on

their undersurfaces.

        Special Localized Habitats and Communities . Only two need be mentioned:

“raised beaches” and old Eskimo encampments. “Young” examples of the former,

near the sea, are usually occupied by barrens of one sort or another, and older

ones by heathy or grassy communities. The Eskimo encampments, although sup–

posedly deserted for at least a century, are still notable for the relative

luxuriance of the predominantly grassy vegetation that covers their area.

        Of freshwater habitats , the streams are often pehemeral, drying up in late

summer, so that their beds tend to be barren, though where even the tiniest

trickle persists there may be a considerable range of algae, including macro–

scopic filamentous and colonial types. The only phanerogam seen in such situ–

ations at Dundas was Ranunculus hyperboreus , which rooted in the bed and had

leaves coming up and floating on the surface where the water was not too deep,

as in Far Northern Spitsbergen (51). About the drying-up margins of pools,

032      |      Vol_VI-0041                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

muddy surfaces are frequently darkened by Nostoc or other cyanophycean colonies

that appear to result in quite rapid humous accumulation. In more lasting

peaty or mossy pools, there is to be found a considerable range of algae,

more than fifty species being identified from samples taken as late as Septem–

ber in 1936. In larger bodies of water aquatic mosses are frequently more in

evidence, and the margins support luxuriant beds of Carex aquatilis var. stans

and Eriophorum angustifolium , which are consolidated into mixed marshes behind

(Fig. 10).

        Strand and marine habitats are noticeably better vegetated than at Craig,

at least as regards the seashore, where characteristic flat rosettes of Mer –

tensia maritima var. tenella have colonized the otherwise barren shingle just

above high watermark. In sandy or muddy places Carex ursina and phases of

C. salina and C. glareosa are to be found, with the usual Puccinellia phry –

ganodes and Stellaria humifusa , while in sheltered places and especially

alongside lagoons a more extensive salt-marsh community is developed in

which the same Carices, Puccinellia and Stellaria , tend to be the most char–

acteristic plants. The lower shore tracts are often clothed by a thin invest–

ment of such algae as Enteromorpha micrococca and Pylaiella littoralis .

        Between tidemarks in rocky places are to be found Fuci of rather limited

growth, with other Enteromorpha spp., Pylaiella , Rhodochorton rothii , and

Ulothrix implexa ; but it is chiefly below low tidemark that growth is really

luxuriant, the denizens including large laminarians forming dense beds, and

numerous Crustacea and Mammalia (especially white whales and seals).

       

Northern Baffin Island

        The northern part of the approximately 1,000-miles-long Baffin Island may

033      |      Vol_VI-0042                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

conveniently be cut off from the central sector by a line drawn in a south–

westerly direction from a little north of Cape Adair on the east coast to

the shore of Foxe Basin on the west. It includes all of Bylot Island, which,

with other eastern parts, tends to be more lofty and rugged than the lands

lying to the westward. The climate is not necessarily more favorable there

than at Dundas Harbour.

        As regards the vegetation, the earliest account appears to be that of

John Ross (61, p.179),who says about the region of Cape Byam Martin in the

extreme northeast that “The valleys … were found to be covered with verdure

and wild flowers, the mountains on each side were immensely high, and covered

with snow. On the S.E. side of the valley there was a small plain, which was

also covered with verdure.” Of Button Point in southeastern Bylot Island,

Sutherland remarks (72, vol. II. pp.323-24) that it “looked as green as any

English meadow, and the grass upon it was not one whit less luxuriant. The

foxtail grass ( Alopecurus alpinus ) and the chickweed ( Cerastium alpinum ), and

hosts of other grasses and herbaceous plants, grew among the bones of ani–

mals … and the filth which is inseparable to Esquimaux habitations, to a

degree of luxuriance which no one would be willing to assign to the 73rd

parallel of north latitude” — though this luxuriance appears to have been

due in the main to biotic disturbance. To the west, according to M’Clintock

(32, p.152), “The lands enjoying a southern aspect, even to the summits of

hills 700 or 800 feet in height, were tinged with green … Upon many well–

sheltered slopes we found much rich grass. All the little plants were in full

flower; some of them familiar to us at home, such as the buttercup, sorrel,

and dandelion.” On the other hand, of one of the Wollaston Islands not much

farther west, Goodsir (17, pp.110-11) reports “There was scarcely any vegetation

034      |      Vol_VI-0043                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

to be seen; two species of grasses, and a saxifrage ( Saxifraga oppositifolia )

were all that I could gather.”

        An early but reliable observer of the western parts of this major district

was Parry (41), who indicates that the environs of Port Bowen were largely bar–

ren, but reports the presence of some vegetation “wherever the soil allowed

any to spring up,” noting also that Dryas integrifolia , Saxifraga oppositifolia ,

Salix arctica , and Draba alpina were plentiful enough to support ptarmigan —

although to be sure this is the case almost everywhere in the Arctic.

        By way of contrast the south coast of Northern Baffin, especially where

it is of Archean rocks, appears to be relatively well vegetated. Thus, of

Whyte Inlet off the north shore of Fury and Hecla Strait, one of Parry’s of–

ficers reported (40, pp.349-50) that “At the head of the inlet we found two

ravines running into it, and the vegetation was here more luxuriant than any

I had seen during the voyage …”; but although this vegetation “was remark–

ably abundant, yet the plants were singularly backward and dwarfish, and

flowers rare.” In the region of Gifford Fjord another of Parry’s officers

reported that “dwarf willow grew to a height and size almost entitling it to

be called a shrub, and the [ Cassiope ] tetragona was in the greatest abundance”

(40, p.466).

        On the east coast of Northern Baffin the physiography is especially rugged,

being characterized by tall mountains, long fjords, icecaps, and many glaciers.

The vegetation is in places relatively luxuriant, most notably around the heads

of the fjords and in sheltered side bays (J. M. Wordie voce ). Off this eastern

coast, as well as to the north, phytoplankton investigations have been carried

out by Nilsson and Seidenfaden (21; 55), from which it would appear that diatoms,

especially, are very plentiful at least in the second half of August, when

035      |      Vol_VI-0044                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

members of such genera as Chaetoceros , Rhizosolenia , and Thalassiosira may

be abundant (21, pp.294-94).

        For detailed consideration we will take the vicinity of Pond Inlet post,

which lies in latitude 72°43′ N. and longitude 77°45′ W. on the south shore

of the strait separating Baffin from Bylot Island. Here the land is locally

rather low and rolling, of plains consisting almost entirely of upraised

marine terraces composed of rewashed glacial material. Where marked differ–

ences occur, this account of the vegetation will be supplemented by notes from

Arctic Bay, which lies about 150 miles (241 km.) farther west in the same major

district, and is far more variable physiographically and geologically. Its

main plant communities have already been treated in some detail (46).

        Hills and Ridges tend to be very poorly vegetated, especially in exposed

places near the sea (Fig. 12). Frequently there is no more than a Saxifraga

oppositifolia barren with very few vascular plants, and with even the more

numerous lichens and bryophytes showing poor growth. However, with less ex–

treme exposure there is usually a larger flora, including Dryas integrifolia ,

Salix arctica , Carex nardina , and Luzula confusa , and on sheltered slopes the

vegetation may become more or less closed, merging into that of the plains.

That the usual barrenness is due to a combination of factors of exposure and

lack of food salts is demonstrated by the greatly increased luxuriance attained

where either of these inhibitors is removed — hence, the appearance of the

dense sward around the large boulder in Figure 12, due to manuring by scavengers,

and other animals which resort to such prominences, or the immediately more lux–

uriant vegetation developed in almost any depression.

        At Arctic Bay the summit of the highest mountain investigated was 1,800

036      |      Vol_VI-0045                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

feet (549 m.) above sea level and practically flat (Fig. 13), with Saxifraga

oppositifolia frequently showing from six to eight individuals to the square

meter but few other vascular plants. At best, very locally, growth of the

Saxifraga was sufficient to cover as much as one-quarter of the area, which

was of loose detrital material. Although a fair number of cryptogams oc–

curred, their growth was usually poor, the general aspect being that of a

semidesert. With slightly better conditions, such as obtain at lower levels,

less depauperate Dryas barrens tend to be developed, though still only a

very few species of vascular plants are of at all frequent occurrence.

        The plains , which occupy most of the area, support more or less contin–

uous vegetation of a marshy type in damp tracts or a mixed heathy type in

drier ones. The marshy type covers considerable areas of the lower-lying,

more sheltered flats and broad, open valleys; although variable from place

to place, it is typically rather tussocky in the manner shown in Figure 14.

The tussocks of this “hillock tundra” supposedly have their incidence in

frost action but become accentuated by tufted mosses. It is largely because

of them that the community is very mixed, for they introduce various micro–

habitats. Thus the depressions between the tussocks may be wet and peaty —

often actually under water for much of the summer, and permanently frozen not

far beneath the surface — and poorly vegetated. Their sides, too, support

marsh plants for the most part. On the other hand the tops of the tussocks

may be largely covered by Salix arctica and heaths. Thus, of the two extremes,

the chief plants are usually those of marshes and heaths, respectively, as

described below. The cryptogams are also much influenced by microhabitat, and

vary from colonial blue-green and other algae in the depressions to xeric

lichens on the tops of the tussocks. In the example investigated, parasitic

fungi were unusually common and evident. A feature of some fresher damp

037      |      Vol_VI-0046                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

areas is the bushy growth exhibited by Salix richardsoni var. mckeandii (Fig. 15).

The bushes are most obten about 35 centimeters high and 1 to 2 meters in diameter,

with the tops domed or flat, as the twigs cannot persist above the normal winter

snow blanket.

        The “mixed heath” of drier areas also varies from place to place but gen–

erally consists of ground shrubs interrupted by light-colored lichens (Fig. 16).

The chief dominant is usually Cassiope tetragona , but other ground shrubs, in–

cluding Ledum palustre var. decumbens , Vaccinium uliginosum var. alpinum , and

Salix arctica are usually plentiful. The soil is dark and humous at the surface

but gray and gritty below. In reaction it tends to be rather strongly acid for

the region, being often as low as pH 5.5 beneath the layer of cryptogams which

often cover the surface to a depth of as much as 5 centimeters. On the most

favored and drained south-facing banks, the Vaccinium nay exhibit bushy growth

up to 12 centimeters high and sometimes dominate the area almost alone, although

the Ledum or Cassiope or Empetrum nigrum var. hermaphroditum is usually asso–

ciated in the blueberry heath. Noteworthy at Arctic Bay, beneath weathering

crags of calcareous rock, were “flower slopes” with plentiful leguminous plants

which appeared to benefit the community by their nitrogen-fixing activities.

        Marshes or marshy areas of the type mentioned above cover much of the low–

lying country around Pond Inlet and Arctic Bay. The chief dominants are Carex

aquatilis var. stans , C. membranacea , Eriophorum angustifolium , and Arctagrostis

latifolia , although other genera or species of Eriophorum or Carex may be quite

important locally. The most luxuriant marshes have a deep boggy substratum and

are typically developed around the margins of lakes, behind which they may per–

sist as far as the area remains flat (Figs. 17 and 18). In these most favorable

situations one or more of the dominants may exceed 40 centimeters in height and

038      |      Vol_VI-0047                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

practically oust competitors. Mosses, which may include Sphagna, are usually

subdominant, forming an almost continous investment of variable composition in

which Aulacomnium turgidum and Orthothecium chryseum are often prominent.

        Snow Effect . As in the north, the snow effect is chiefly emphasized by

dark areas of Cassiope tetragona , which at Pond Inlet is often so overwhelmingly

dominant that few other vascular plants are much in evidence, although usually

between 20 and 30 species occur, besides numerous cryptogams. Toward the

center of late-snow patches, where the growing season is greatly reduced, there

is often little humous accumulation, the light-colored mineral earth supporting

an open and generally herbaceous community of variable composition that may

involve more than 30 different vascular plants in a small area and include

such typical late-snow species as Ranunculus pygmaeus and Salix herbacea .

        Special Localized Habitats and Communities . There are several that

should be mentioned. ( 1 ) The bed of a lake which had suddenly lost most of

its water came to be colonized within two years by a considerable range of

“open-soil” and other plants and, within four years, by such an abundance

that in places the surface was covered. Growth of the individual plants was

unusually luxuriant in many cases, and flowering often prolific. ( 2 ) Ruined

Eskimo dwellings near the shore bore in one place a profusion of Matricaria

inodora van nana , and Alopecurus alpinus up to 50 centimeters high; a similar

habitat at Arctic Bay supported Agropyron violaceum var. hyperarcticum and

Erysimum pallasii , neither of which is known from elsewhere in this region.

( 3 ) Irregular tufts of grass, etc., are to be seen around the burrows of ani–

mals, decomposedcarcasses, or prominent boulders, which are repeatedly visited

by birds and foxes (Fig. 12). ( 4 ) Solifluction streaks are particularly preva–

lent at Arctic Bay, disturbing the vegetation for example, by leading to its

confinement largely to depressed furrows.

       

followed by p. 38a

038a      |      Vol_VI-0048                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

        Freshwater habitats and plant communities are plentiful, with the prevail–

ing arctic conditions including permanently frozen subsoil and consequent poor

drainage. As with most other categories, there is a considerable range of

variation from which a few examples must be chosen, leaving aside intermediate

types. The margins of lakes are usually colonized by Carex aquatilis var. stans ,

Eriophorum angustifolium , or sometimes other hygrophytes, which form beds

stretching out into the water where this is sheltered and not too deep (Fig. 18),

whereas on shores that are exposed to the full blast of the prevailing wind,

and are consequently apt to be frequently and forcibly wave-washed, a scoured

“hard line” or banked-up rampart of matted roots and rhizomes tends to develop

(Fig. 17). The reed-swamp beds often have associated such mosses as Drepano –

cladus bre [ ?] olius and Scorpidium scorpioides . At Arctic Bay there occurred

Hippuris vulgaris and Ranunculus trichophyllus var. eradicatus — the latter

growing entirely submerged.

        Sluggish streams here may be bordered by stands of sedges or Arctagrostis

latifolia , or, in the instance seen in Figure 13 taken low down near the sea,

of Dupontia fisheri . The beds of such streams may support brown aquatic mosses

and a great range of algae, nore than 50 different species being sometimes iden–

tifiable in a single sample taken from such habitats or from damp mud around the

margins of lakes — at least at Arctic Bay. In swifter streams the mosses were

generally greener but still such filamentous algae as Ulothrix zonata and

Zygnema sp. often occurred in eddies. On the other hand the more ephemeral

streams that carry the runoff when the snow melts in early summer often have

beds that are more or less barren, although occasional plants of various kinds

can occur here and there.

        Strand and marine habitats and communities are likewise variable at Pond

039      |      Vol_VI-0049                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

Inlet. The seashore where damp and sandy or muddy is colonized in many places

by Puccinellia phryganodes or, higher up, by P. paupercula , Carex glareosa

var. amphigena , and Stellaria humifusa . At Arctic Bay such green algae as

Enteromorpha ramulosa were abundant in brackish or tidal lagoons, as was

Carex ursina about their margins.

        On dry sands the community above high tidemark is quite different, though

again highly characteristic, the surface being colonized by the well-known,

sand-bind lyme grass, Elymus arenarius (here all var. villosissimus ), which

has its northernmost known station at Pond Inlet. Miniature dunes may be

formed (Fig. 19). Binding the sand elsewhere may be Carex maritima , flat

rosettes of Mertensia maritima var. tenella , and domed tussocks of Arenaria

peploides (Fig. 19).

        The tidal range at Pond Inlet is very small, and the gravelly foreshore

largely barren, although small Fuci may occur, with the usual Pylaiella

littoralis . Lower down there occur much larger algae, including Agarum

turneri , Alaria esculenta , and Laminaria saccharina .

       

Central Baffin Island

        This district extends northward to the southern boundary of Northern

Baffin (see p.000), and southward to a line drawn from the point of intersec–

tion of the Arctic Circle with the west coast of Baffin Island to Neptune Bay

(about lat. 64°30′ N.) on the east coast. The eastern regions tend to be moun–

tainous and rugged, of granites and gneisses, but to the west the country

becomes lower and lower, so that the west coast, especially in the south, is

bordered by wide, flat or rolling plains. These are of limestone; and to

the west, in Foxe Basin, are large, low islands apparently of similar formation

040      |      Vol_VI-0050                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

(according to the observations of the author from the air in 1946).

        The climate at least in favored spots in the east appears to be dis–

tinctly better than to the north. Thus, whereas at Pond Inlet there are gen–

erally only three months having a mean temperature appreciably above freezing

point, and their values over a period of years are 34°, 42°, and 41°F., at

Pangnirtung there are four such months, the values over a similar period

being 38°, 46°, 45°, and 37°F. — an amelioration of great importance to

plant life. Moreover, the precipitation is much heavier than at Pond Inlet

and elsewhere to the north, averaging at Pangnirtung a total of more than 12

inches per annum, and including much rain during the four “summer” months.

        The vegetation of the northeastern portions of this district is known to

be poor in some places but relatively luxuriant in others (46; 76; 77), in

conformity with the variable physiography. Phytoplankton investigations have

been made on the eastern seaboard by Gran (cf. 18), and Nilsson and Seiden–

faden (21; 55). In the south, from the western parts of the Nettilling Lake

region, there extend low plains which are in places nearly 100 miles wide,

right to the west coast. They are of “tundra country, abundantly covered

with grassy growth and, in places, moss” (1, p.122). Sedges appear to be the

chief dominants over most areas of these rather swampy plains (cf. 66; 67),

whereas in the more hilly area to the north, “The surface … is composed of

disintegrated limestone, chiefly in the form of gravel. Between the ridges,

which are almost bare of vegetation, there are some areas of semi-marsh and

grassland” (34). The Spicer and adjacent islands of Foxe Basin appear all

to be of light-colored limestone and flat and low (44), with numerous shallow

lakes and tarns but vegetation darkening a considerable portion of the land

area (Fig. 20).

041      |      Vol_VI-0051                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

        Pangnirtung (lat. 66°06′ N., long. 65°30′ W. in Cumberland Sound) will

be taken as the main example for detailed consideration, supplemented by notes

from Clyde “River” (lat. 70°27′ N., long. 68°35′ W. on the northeast coast),

the usually much poorer vegetation of which has also been investigated in some

detail (46). The physiography at Pangnirtung is rugged, the fjord being

bounded by gently sloping outwash plains which rapidly increase in incline

away from the water’s edge and lead to precipitous sides that in turn give

rise to jagged peaks and mountains often of considerable height (Fig. 21).

The chief rock is a grayish granite; wherever tested the soils lacked cal–

careous materials and were acid in reaction.

        Mountains and uplands occupy most of the land area around Pangnirtung

(Fig. 21). They tend to be far less vegetated than the lowlands, especially

on exposed ridges and summits. Thus in the example seen in the background

of Figure 22, which was about 2,500 feet (762 m.) above sea level and had evi–

dently been glaciated, the stony gravel, like the strewn boulders, was darkened

chiefly by lichens of poor growth; vascular plants were limited to occasional

small tufts of Luzula confusa and rare ones of Hierochloe alpina and Cardamine

bellidifolia . Even mosses were little in evidence and largely confined to

depressions. Around perennial snow patches, where the growing season was most

drastically reduced, even lichens were almost absent. However, in more suit–

able, usually sheltered areas, the vegetation may be much more plentiful, for

example, in the foreground of Figure 22, where there is a dry “upland tundra”

of grassy appearance dominated by Luzula confusa , Hierochloe alpina , and Carex

bigelowii. Salix herbacea and such coarse cryptogams as species of Cetraria ,

Cladonia , Polytrichum , and Rhacomitrium may consolidate the whole into a dense

sward. Where water is more plentiful, the dominants are often species of

042      |      Vol_VI-0052                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

Eriophorum , with Juncus biglumis , Saxifraga tenuis , and S. foliolosa the chief

phanerogamic associates, and bryophytes largely covering the damp surface.

        Lowlands are largely confined to the vicinity of the shore but are vari–

ously vegetated. The fjord is deeply gouged and almost straight, being fre–

quently scoured by strong winds. Accordingly the most luxuriant vegetation

is developed in sheltered depressions or side valleys, where, especially

along the margins of streams, a thin scrub of Salix cordifolia var. callicar –

paea up to 60 centimeters in height may be found (Fig. 23), or, more locally

and rarely, low Betula nana on comparatively deep sphagnous bog (Fig. 24).

Covering a vastly greater proportion of the area are the various heathy and

marshy communities characteristic of the fjordside outwash plains. Although

many intermediate and other facies occur, three main types may be distinguished,

namely, ( 1 ) a poor mossy heath in which most of the area is occupied by silvery–

gray Rhacomitrum lanuginosum or fruticose lichens with which are associated

various grasses and ground shrubs; ( 2 ) in more favorable, sheltered spots

with rich soil, a luxuriant blueberry heath with the dominant Vaccinium uligi –

nosum var. alpinum growing frequently 15 centimeters high, and such associated

ground shrubs as Ledum palustre var. decumbens (Fig. 25), Cassiope tegragona ,

and Empetrum nigrum var. hermaphroditum ; and ( 3 ) with more plentiful water a

marshy community dominated chiefly by Eriophorum angustifolium , Carex aquatilis

var. stans , and Arctagrostis latifolia (Fig. 26), with associated Carex rariflora ,

Eriophorum spissum , Juncus castaneus , Luzula spadicea , Ranunculus lapponicus ,

and Salix arctophila , and mosses forming a continuous investment as much as 20

to 25 centimeters deep.

        Marshes are developed under conditions of still more abundant water than

is obtained in the case mentioned last above (indeed the tract near the

043      |      Vol_VI-0053                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

foreground of Figure 26, which is conspicuous because of abundance of white

heads of Eriophorum angustifolium, was so wet as to constitute practically a

marsh). The dominants are much the same, as also are the associates, although

with the addition of such species as Eriophorum scheuchzeri , Dupontia fisheri ,

Polygonum viviparum , and Luzula nivalis . Lichens are rare or locally absent

but mosses, including Sphagna and Aulacomnia, usually form a continuous in–

vestment, even if they are obscured by the taller phanerogams.

        The snow effect is very marked at Pangnirtung, the communities developed

in relation to deeply drifting snow being highly characteristic (Fig. 27).

At least four zones are commonly recognizable: ( 1 ) the outermost, where snow

affords a goodly protection in winter but does not melt so late that the growing

season is greatly reduced, and where the surface dries out fairly quickly; this

is usually occupied by blueberry heath or busy Salices with plentiful associated

sedges etc.; ( 2 ) a zone dominated by Cassiope tetragona where the snow lasts

longer; ( 3 ) a zone dominated by Salix herbacea (Fig. 28) where the growing

season is more drastically shortened, and where the cryptogamic associates

include Solorina crocea and Gymnomitrium corallioides ; and ( 4 ) an herb barren

where the snow lies too long for woody plants or lichens to grow at all well,

but mosses and such diminutive phanerogams as Phippsia algida , Luzulae, and

Saxifragea (especially Saxifraga rivularis ) do quite well in the virtual absence

of competition. The very long-lasting or perennial snow patches in the uplands,

as in the Far North, may show an innermost zone characterized by the complete

absence of vascular plants and often also of lichens, the vegetation being

limited to a few algae that may form an investment on mud or the underside of

[ ?] stones, and small sterile tufts of Bryum or Andreaea .

044      |      Vol_VI-0054                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

        Areas of biotic disturbance are worthy of note, for example, in the large

Eskimo settlement. Among the sealskin tents and other dwellings the bouldery

terrain is virtually devoid of higher vegetation, owing to trampling, but most

areas around are markedly grassy. The trampled areas tend to be filthy with

refuse and excreta (particularly of sledge dogs), but support in damp depressions

a fine green carpet of Prasiola crispa , and in drier spots such angiosperms as

Phippsia algida , Cochlearia officinalis vars., Koenigia islandica , Poa glauca ,

Polygonum viviparum , Puccinellia angustata agg., Sagina intermedia , Saxifraga

rivularis , and Stellaria longipes . Farther afield, the less drastically dis–

turbed but still occasionally manured areas are meadow-like in appearance,

with an abundance of Poa arctica , phases of P. pratensis , and Alopecurus alpinus .

Away from the settlement, man has had in almost all places no appreciable effect

upon the vegetation — as in most other parts of the Arctic, but unlike the

situation almost everywhere else in the world. However, some small influence

of the biotic factor is generally to be found wherever the vegetation is care–

fully scrutinized; for lemmings abound, especially in certain years, and riddle

the surface sward with their runs; arctic hares are plentiful, especially in

the mountains, and eat down the more succulent young tufts of Eriophorum ,

Oxyria , etc.; and caribou may eat and sadly trample the more luxuriant lichens

in heathy areas during their winter feeding, which may result in such a degree

of denudation that the plants take many years to recover. On otherwise almost

barren prominences may be found “birdstones” of the type already mentioned from

Pond Inlet, surrounded by a characteristic grassy sward, or, in places, by a

patchwork quilt of variously colored lichens and mosses reminiscent of that

developing above bird cliffs (cf. 54, pp.175-6 and pl.XVII).

045      |      Vol_VI-0055                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

        Among freshwater habitats we may note the open boulder stream beds which

are washed by torrents of snow-water in early summer and later dry out. They

tend to be colonized by various open-soil plants, some of which were not en–

countered elsewhere in the lowlands, and which typically include Salix arctica ,

Epilobium latifolium , Cerastium alpinum , Papaver radicatum , and variuos Saxi–

fragae. Where the water is far more lasting, as in the instance shown in

Figure 23, the banks are often well vegetated and the bed may support long

tassels of green algae and dark mosses. Small areas of “red snow”, in which

the surface (1 to 2 cm.) of late-lying snow patches were colored a dull orange

by Sphaerella ( Chlamydomonos ) nivalis , were noted both in the lowlands and on

mountain slopes in early September 1934.

        Freshwater habitats tend to be more numerous and extensive at Clyde, where

the vegetation is usually poorer, but the aquatic communities have been more

investigated. The beds of persistent freshwater streams were in some places

devoid of macroscopic plants, in others darkened by a fair growth of such mosses

as Calliergon sarmentosum and Drepanocladus fluitans . On or among these mosses,

or on scums or wefts of filamentous or other algae in slow eddies, occurred a

considerable range of microscopic types. In lakes and tarns with muddy or sandy

bottoms there were often no macroscopic plants to be seen, although, where there

were stones or boulders, dark growths of such mosses as Calliergidium pseudo –

stramineum sometimes occurred. Brown or reddish scrapings, taken in mid–

September 1936, from three rocks in one lake, yielded no less than 71 different

species of algae. In some places where the water is very shallow, limited beds

of Pleuropogon sabinii or Ranunculus hyperboreus are to be found, both with

floating leaves, and in some sheltered situations, there may be more extensive

swamps of Eriophorum scheuchzeri , E. angustifolium , Dupontia fisheri , or Carex

046      |      Vol_VI-0056                                                                                                                  
EA- [ ?] PS . Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

aquatilis var. stans . Distribution is very irregular, being dependent apparently

to a large extent on chance dispersal; for much more often, even where condi–

tions seem suitable for colonization by these or other marsh or semiaquatic

types, the margins of lakes are largely barren.

        Of strand and marine habitats there was the usual range at Pengnirtung.

Thus on dry sandy beaches there were to be found Arenaria peploides var. dif –

fusa , Mertensia maritima var. tenella , and Elymus arenarius var., and on damp

salt-marsh areas near the water grew plentiful Puccinellia phryganodes ,

P. Paupercula , Stellaria humifusa , and Carex glareosa var. amphigena . The tidal

range is considerable, the foreshore being of mud or boulders that have their

upper surfaces kept bare of vegetation by ice action, although their sides and

the sheltered areas between are generally covered by a luxuriant mat of algae

(Fig. 29). These are predominantly Fucus vesiculosus agg., which had fronds up

to a meter long, though a considerable range of other types occurs. The only

macroscopic algae to be seen on the exposed upper surface of the boulders were

occasional minute squamules of the Fucus or the similarly abundant and wide–

ranging Pylaiella littoralis , both of which were here largely limited to cracks.

Except where the bottom was of mud, large laminarians soon took over the dominance

below low tidemark, and farther down formed luxuriant beds.

       

Southern Baffin Island

        [ ?] This district includes all of Baffin Island lying south of a line drawn

from the Arctic Circle on the west coast to Neptune Bay on the east coast, and

also the adjacent islands. Although the coasts are usually rugged and indented,

the country tends to be lower than to the north, with the physiographic changes

giving rounded hills rather than lofty mountains, and lakes and tarns almost

047      |      Vol_VI-0057                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

everywhere numerous. The geology in the widest sense is relatively simple,

the rocks of the ast and south coasts and most of the hinterland being Archaean

gneisses and granites, and those around Amadjuak Lake and the northwestern

plains being Paleozoic limestones. Locally, however, there are various compli–

cations in the geology; and the surface has been further affected by glaciations,

which persists to this day in the Grinnell Icecap of the southeast.

        The climate, although variable, tends to be rather more favorable than to

the north. Thus Lake Harbour, which lies on the south coast and is probably

widely typical, has a slightly higher temperature and heavier precipitation

than Pangnirtung, whereas Resolution Island in the extreme southeast is markedly

maritime in type, with the mean of the coldest months some 10°F. (5.6°C.) higher,

and that of the warmest months nearly 10°F. lower than at Lake Harbour, and

the precipitation averaging 19 inches annually.

        As regards the vegation, several observers have remarked ( in litt. et voce )

on its luxuriance in many places about Frobisher Bay; on the other hand at

Acadia Harbour, Resolution Island, growth is poor and the vegetation stunted.

Of the easternmost of the upper Savage Islands, Lyon (31, p.32) remarks: “In

the marshy ground, near the water, the vegetation was extremely luxuriant.

Amidst the various mosses and grasses, the delicate white flower of the Andromeda

[ Cassiope tetragona ], and brilliant yellow poppy, were eminently conspicuous. In

drier places, a beautiful species of butter-cup was very abundant, as was also

the dwarf willow.” Not far to the west lies Big Island, of which Bell writes

(2, p.21DD): “The hills have a rounded sweeping outline, and their summits are

a considerable distance apart. The wide even spaces between them hold shallow

lakes, surrounded with green meadow-like flats and mossy slopes. The general

aspect of the landscape reminds one of some parts of the Highlands of Scotland.”

048      |      Vol_VI-0058                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

        Inland to the north, Soper (66, p.34) has reported that “clumps of willow

… range from six to ten feet in height. This is the only place in Baffin

Island where such growths are known to occur.” Soper later (68, p.434) said

they attai n ed “more than 12 feet” inland of where “bushy clumps from three to

four feet high were frequently seen,” elsewhere remarking (69, p.113) that they

“rank as by far the largest willows ever found in the eastern Canadian Arctic

islands.”

        The plains bordering on Foxe Basin are low and swampy, with a climate

adversely affected by the proximity of extensive ice fields. The vegetation

is nevertheless locally continuous, consisting over considerable areas of a

closed marshy tundra dominated principally by such sedges as Carex aquatilis

var. stans, and bound by mosses with intermingled lichens. The associates

are chiefly types which are plentiful in such situations even much farther

north, e.g., species of Eriophorum , Poa arctica , Carex membranacea , Arcta –

grostis latifolia , Alopecurus alpinus , Dupontia fisheri , Cerastium alpinum ,

Pleuropogon sabinii , Cardamine pratensis var. angustifolia , and Saxifraga hir –

culus. Small isolated ridges of granitic material support plants not found

on the surrounding marshy limestone plains, e.g., Cassiope tetragona , Arcto –

staphylos alpina , Vaccinium vitis-idaea var. minor , and Empetrum nigrum var.

hermaphroditum . To the south, the vegetation becomes progressively less im–

poverished as Foxe Basin is crossed and the north shore of Hudson Strait is

approached (66, pp.30 et seq .; T. H. Manning voce ). Cape Dorchester, the

northernmost extremity of Foxe Peninsula, sounds very poorly vegetated, as

“Patches of grass are few and far between, and vegetation is almost totally

lacking, even moss and the customary heather-like dwarf shrubs being rare.”

(59, p.16).

049      |      Vol_VI-0059                                                                                                                  
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        Grøntved and Seidenfaden (21, pp.235 et seq .) report on the mid-July marine

phytoplankton off Resolution Island, where for a considerable distance eastward

the south-flowing Labrador Current prevails, “with a marked Coscinodiscus –

Ceratium arcticum - community. The surface samples … are almost identical,

indicating very uniform conditions.” The only vertical haul made hereabouts

was not far offshore and indicated that the surface is not necessarily the

richest stratum in diatoms and other forms, for “the uppermost vertical sample”

proved “richer in species and quantitatively much richer than the surface

sample; in the deeper layers more eastern species are met with which are ab–

sent or rare at the surface, viz. Chaetoceros atlanticus , C. decipiens , Rhizosolenia

alata , Dactyliosolen , Dinophysis acuta , Peridinium ovatum , all forms whose occur–

rence is either to be explained by the surface water having previously been of

a less Arctic character, or by the occurrence of water masses at the deeper

levels which have penetrated from the east below the Labrador Current.”

        As our main example for more detailed consideration we will take Lake Har–

bour, situated in latitude 62°52′ N., and longitude 69°53′ W. Here the south

coast of Baffin Island is indented and beset with islands, but the country is

less rugged than on most of the east coast, being comparatively low although

physiographically varied. The geology, too, is changeable, for although the

fundamental rocks of the region are granites a n d gneisses, there are wide bands

of schist and crystalline limestone or quartz-monzonite to add variety, and

also areas of mixed morainic material. The vicinity of Cape Dorset (lat.

64°10′ N., long. 76°30′ W.) has also been investigated vegetationally (cf. 46).

Here the rocks are mainly dark granites and gneisses; temperature and other

climatic conditions tend to be unfavorable; and the poorer plant communities

may be contrasted with those inhabiting similar situations at Lake Harbour.

050      |      Vol_VI-0060                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

        Hill summits and slopes rarely exceed 700 feet (213 m.) around Lake Harbour.

They have flat or rounded tops supporting some of the poorest plant communities

of the district, although similar terrain and vegetation may also occur near

sea level in the most exposed or otherwise unfavorable situations. Neverthe–

less, on or near summits, any rock face or projecting boulder may be practically

covered with crustaceous lichens or Gyrophorae, and the depressions between

support quite numerous vascular plants as well as cryptogams. Thus on one sum–

mit at 700 feet Salix uva-ursi formed close mats and Carex bigelowii , Hierochloe

alpina , Luzula confusa , and Vaccinium uliginosum var. alpinum were all frequent;

among them were collected 18 species of Bryophyta and 38 of Lichenes. It would

seem that the majority of land plants of the district are able to persist well

up the hills, provided the surface is not of unstable crystalline limestone

which tends to be more poorly vegetated than the acid-weathering rocks.

        A slightly higher hill near Cape Dorset was relatively barren, with only

Luzula confusa at all frequent among the vascular plants, though rock surfaces

were almost everywhere darkened by quite numerous crustaceous and foliose

lichens. However, on hillside screes and patches of soil, especially in

crevices and behind blocks of rock, there may be a more considerable develop–

ment of phanerogams, as shown in Figure 30.

        Lowlands occupy most of the area around Lake Harbour but are so various

and mixed, geologically and otherwise, that their vegetation is extremely dif–

ficult to survey. Ohly a few of the great range of habitats and communities

will be mentioned. On crystalline limestone in exposed situations the vegeta–

tion is frequently very sparse, owing particularly to the properties of the sub–

stratum material which separates into coarse crystals that afford an unstable,

alkaline, porous, and altogether inhospitable surface. Figure 31 shows such

051      |      Vol_VI-0061                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

an area of Dryas barren in the foreground, in which the diminutive Carex

rupestris was the only other phanerogam attaining a frequency degree of more

than f (frequent), and cryptogams were little in evidence. With more shelter and

stability, Dryas takes much more of a hold, being often so aided by woody and

other associates that a continuous sward develops, e.g., on the lower slopes of

depressions such as that shown in Figure 31. An example of this dwarf heath with

Salix reticulata particularly prominent is seen in Figure 32. The more luxuriant

heath developed under still more favorable conditions of shelter and snow cover–

ing, as for example in the dark depression shown near the center of Figure 31,

is much the same whether basic - or acid-weathering rocks form the substratum.

The chief dominant is most frequently Vaccinium uliginosum var. alpinum , and

the woody associates tend to be far more numerous than to the north, including

as they may Cassiope tetragona and C. hypnoides , Empetrum nigrum var. herma –

phroditum , Ledum palustre var. decumbens , Phyllodoce coerulea , Salix spp., and,

in some places, prostrate Betula glandulosa var. sibirica , Loiseleuria procum –

bens , and Vaccinium vitis-idaea var. minor .

        In spite of a general convergence, at least in their later stages in

favored places, of the successions on rocks of different types, it is chiefly

on acid-weathering substrat a that the highest vegetation of the district is to

be found. This is a Betula-Salix scrub developed under the most favorable com–

bination of conditions — with good shelter and snow covering (but not very

late melting), lasting water supply (but good drainage), and southerly aspect.

It thus represents a postclimax. The dominants are Betula glandulosa var.

sibirica and Salix cordifolia var. callicarpaea , and they form bushlets that

may spread laterally to attain a diameter of 3 meters, although rarely exceed–

ing 50 centimeters in height. The scrub is generally irregular and interrupted

by rocks or patches of lower heath in the manner shown in Figure 33. The chief

associated heathy plants are Empetrum , Phyllodoce , and the two local Vaccinia,

052      |      Vol_VI-0062                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

which together form a layer about 12 centimeters high that is bound by mosses,

or, in some dry and open spots, by fruticose lichens. Only in limited tracts

where the Betula axes form a dense tangle, occasionally exceeding their usual

maximum thickness of 1 centimeter, is the ground largely covered with litter,

so that the usually subdominant heaths are ousted. Notable in this community

at the time of observation were both parasitic and saprophytic fungi, including

a large Lycoperdon , and a Boletus with a pileus up to 8 centimeters in diameter.

The soil was dark brown and largely of humus beneath the litter: where tested

it attained the unusual degree of acidity, at least for the Arctic Archipelago,

of pH 5.0.

        Covering far more extensive areas than the scrub are meadow-like flats or

slight slopes, often of morainic origin, that appear in some cases to be influ–

enced by solifluction, although the surface is generally smooth and evenly vege–

tated by a closed but rather dwarf community of mixed heaths, sedges, and forbs

(herbs other than those that are grasslike), with associated cryptogams of rather

limited growth. True dominance is often lacking, the following being at least

locally abundant in a 5-meter quadrat: Dryas integrifolia , Carex rupestris ,

C. bigelowii , Oxytropis maydelliana , Salix reticulata , Vaccinium uliginosum var.

alpinum , and Rhododendron lapponicum . Such parasitic fungi as Cintractia caricis

are liable to be unusually rife.

        Marshes occupy many flats and low-lying, poorly drained, slight slopes

around Lake Harbour. In type and composition they vary considerably from place

to place, two extremes being illustrated in Figures 34 and 35, of which the

former is a luxuriant type with water standing in many places, and the latter is

a drier, hillock-tundra area whose composition on the tussocks approaches that

of the heathy meadow last described. The most typical dominants are Arctagrostis

latifolia , Carex membranacea , Eriophorum angustifolium (up to 45 cm. in height),

053      |      Vol_VI-0063                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

E. callitrix , and Scirpus caespitosus var. callosus . A host of other vascular

plants are usually present, including several Carices and species of Juncus ,

Salix , and Equisetum , and mosses largely “fill in” the surface. These domi–

nants and chief associates are generally much the same whatever the underlying

rock may be. The reaction is neutral or slightly basic on the limestone and,

wherever tested, not markedly acid even in marshes overlying the dark acidic

rocks.

        At Dorset the marshes, in conformity with other habitats, tend to be more

poorly vegetated than at Lake Harbour; Carex aquatilis var. stans is fre–

quently the dominant, but, although Eriophora are usually also [ ?] plentiful,

there often remain open areas (Fig. 36) allowing the establishment of such

weaklings at Juncus biglumis and Epilobium davuricum var. arcticum , which are

unable to withstand competition and so are largely confined to such young ter–

rain.

        The snow effect at Lake Harbour, in spite of the considerable snowfall and

variable physiography, tends, because of the warm summer and consequent early

melting of all except the deepest drifts, to be less marked than in places to

the north or about Dorset where the summer is cooler. Especially are extremely

late-snow inner zones and barren centers of snow patches rare around Lake Har–

bour, where these centers are generally occupied by a relatively luxuriant herba–

ceous community or a mixed and mossy mat, which is succeeded by a narrow zone

dominated by dwarf Salices and then a bor ro ad one of dark Cassiope [ ?] tetragona .

This is well seen in Figure 37, which shows the inner zone in the foreground,

and Cassiope heath above, where the snow melts earlier and drainage is better.

Figure 38 is a close-up of the Cassiope in flower, and also shows some of its

chief phanerogamic associates. The open areas between the Cassiope tufts are

054      |      Vol_VI-0064                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

largely occupied by such associates or by mixed mosses and lichens. Character–

istic members of the inner herbaceous community include Oxyria digyna , Poly –

gonum viviparum , Erigeron unalaschkensis , Cerastium alpinum , Lychnis apetala ,

Eutrema edwardsii , Poa alpina , Chrysanthemum integrifolium , Salix herbacea

(with parasitic Melampsora bigelowii and Venturia ditricha ), Arenaria sajanen –

sis , Braya purpurascens , Carex scirpoidea , Parnassia kotzebuei , Trisetum spica –

tum , and Saxifraga spp.; the majority of which are open-soil plants unable to

withstand competition from ranker denizens.

        At Dorset, late-snow patches tend to cover more extensive areas than at

Lake Harbour, and to exhibit more numerous zones, five being commonly recog–

nizable in the following sequence from a marginal zone of deeply covering but

relatively early melting snow: ( 1 ) Cassiope tetragona with other ground shrubs

such as Empetrum , the soil being humous and decidedly acid in reaction; ( 2 ) Salix

herbacea with Luzulae and often Cassiope hypnoides and other species of Salix,

and with such light-colored “crumbler” lichens as Ochrolechia frigida ; ( 3 ) an

herbaceous half-barren where the growing season is too short for most woody

plants, but much the same herbs occur as were mentioned above for such situa–

tions at Lake Harbour, and, in addition, Carex lachenalii , Luzula confusa , Poa

arctica , Sagina intermedia , and Silene acaulis var. exscapa , while the cryptogams

are for the most part characteristic snow-patch species such as Gymnomitrium

corallioides and Solorina crocea ; ( 4 ) an herb barren of, most characteristically,

Phippsia algida , [ ?] Cerastium alpinum , Draba fladnizensis , Luzula confusa , Poten –

tilla hyparctica f. tardinix , Saxifraga cernua , S. nivalis , and S. rivularis ,

whose flowering is frequently retarded until late summer (e.g., the end of

August) in an average year, and where lichens are few and usually of poor growth;

( 5 ) in the most deeply drifted areas there is an almost barren central zone

055      |      Vol_VI-0065                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

where the snow lies longest and may not melt at all in a cool summer, so that

Phippsia algida is often the only phanerogam to attain more than the seedling

stage, Bryophyta and Algae comprising most of the virtually negligible flora.

        Special localized habitats and communities around Lake Harbour include

an interesting area of calcareous gravel that had been bared artificially

and soon come to be colonized by numerous herbs, including several that ap–

peared to be absent from surrounding areas but were here waxing unusually

strong, such as Arabis arenicola and A. alpina (axes up to 35 cm. long), Draba

norvegica var. hebecarpa , and Lesquerella arctica . About Dorset Settlement,

too, are some plants that apparently owe their local presence to mankind,

including Chrysosplenium tetrandrum and two species of Taraxacum ; the chief

characteristic of the disturbed terrain is its luxuriant grassiness, which is

due chiefly to dense tufts of Poa glauca .

        More important and extensive in the areas they occupy are the sunny flower

slopes at Lake Harbour, which are developed where an unusually favorable com–

bination of shelter, aspect, water, aeration, mixed (preferably friable) sub–

stratum, and other factors results in the appearance of such a mass of more

or less rank herbs that the usual heathy or other dominants are, it seems,

unable to take hold. Most frequently such flowery slopes, which are generally

rather steep, are developed below cliffs or weathering crags, where it may be

that instability of the surface of the slide is chiefly instrumental in main–

taining the herbaceous mixture which lacks true dominance (Figs. 39 and 40).

Two 4-meter quadrats on such a flower slope gave a list of 39 species of flower–

ing plants, almost all of which occurred in plenty, and several of which were

growing more luxuriantly than was observed elsewhere in the vicinity. There

also occurred the ferns Woodsia glabella and Cystopteris fragilis , but few

mosses or lichens.

056      |      Vol_VI-0066                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

        Freshwater habitats , whether static or running, are variable around Lake

Harbour. So is their vegetation, which changes from one example to another

with obvious changes of the environment, but, especially in streams, may also

differ entirely for no apparent reason in contiguous parts of the selfsame

body of water. Stream beds are frequently darkened by long brown tassels

of aquatic mosses, or give roothold in slow eddies to such phanerogams as

Hippuris vulgaris , Colpodium fulvum var. effusum , Ranunculus trichophyllus

var. eradicatus , R. hyperboreus , or tiny Eleocharis acicularis f. submersa .

The associated algae are also mixed and variable. Thus of 35 species (exclude–

ing Diatomeae) occurring in a total of 5 samples taken from two different

streams in 1936, only 6 were identified in 2 samples and none was found in as

many as 3. Again, in 2 samples of the algal investment of seepage areas on

rocky cliffs, there occurred 21 species, but only 2 of these were identified

from both samples, while only 4 of them were identified from the nearby streams.

        The communities of standing bodies of water and their margins are also

extremely variable, the margins of lakes in exposed situations being often vir–

tually barren,whereas in sheltered and muddy places a luxuriant marsh is usually

developed. All conceivable intermediates occur, such as puddly swamps and inter–

rupted areas of the nature of that shown in Figure 36 from Dorset. The swamps

may be vegetated by such plants as Eriophorum angustifolium , Equisetum arvense ,

[ ?] E. variegatum , Juncus arcticus , J. albescens , Carex membranacea , C. atro –

fusca , C. saxatilis var. miliaris , Dupontia fisheri , and Arctagrostis latifolia .

Also characteristic of the less well vegetated lakesides are Carex rariflora ,

Eriophorum callitrix , Salix arctophila , Tofieldia pusilla , and many other marsh

species where such mosses as Drepanocladus sendtneri and Orthothecium chryseum

partly consolidate the surface, and, in the open muddy areas that are inundated

057      |      Vol_VI-0067                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

for some time after snow-melt, the smaller Junci, Deschampsia pumila , Eleo –

charis acicularis f. submersa , Ranunculus pallasii , Arenaria uliginosa ,

Carex bicolor , and C. chordorrhiza occur. No less than 58 different species

of algae were identified in two small samples of green slime and dark-brown

bubbles formed on mud and taken from the bottom of one large lake near its

margin, while algae were even more numerous in small shallow pools —

especially Desmidiaceae in peaty puddles. Thus within 6 samples taken from

such habitats in 1936, there occurred 179 different species and some further

subsidiary entities of algae, among which Closterium , Cosmarium , Cymbella ,

Euastrum , Navicula , Pinnularia , and Staurastrum were the genera most widely

represented.

        The seashore denizens include Fuci (principally Fucus vesiculosus , but

there is also some F. evanescens ) which form luxuriant mats between, and on

the sides of, sheltering rocks and boulders especially toward low tidemark.

Where the shores are of inhospitable smooth rock or shifting mud or sand, how–

ever, Fuci and large associates are few or even absent, although the usual

Pylaiella littoralis and Ralfsia verrucosa are to be found in any pools. The

Pylaiella may be especially plentiful, forming a greenish “felt” where streams

of water (which may be largely fresh at low tide) are left; here also are to

be found Chaetomorpha tortuosa , Enteromorpha micrococca , Ulothrix flacca , and

many diatoms.

        In occasional small and shelving, sandy or muddy bays, there may develop

a sward of Puccinellia phryganodes — often interrupted by boulders and beds

of cast-up algae in the manner shown in Figure 41. [ ?] Above high tidemark

there may be binding stands of coarse grasses or, particularly in muddy and

sheltered places, a close sward including, besides Puccinellia phryganodes ,

058      |      Vol_VI-0068                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

which is often of a reddish hue at this higher level, such salt-marsh and other

types as Carex lachenalii vars., C. maritima , C. ursina , Cochlearia officinalis

vars., Koenigia islandica , Montia lamprosperma , Phippsia algida , Potentilla

egedii , Puccinellia paupercula , Stellaria crassifolia , and S. humifusa . At

Cape Dorset the shingle was often colonized by Elymus arenarius var. villosis –

simus , Arenaria peploides var. diffusa , and Mertensia maritima var. tenella ,

while Matricaria inodora var. nana , phases of Carex salina , and the moss

Calliergon sarmentosum entered the miniature salt marshes.

       

Melville Peninsula

        With its accompanying islands, Melville Peninsula has an area approaching

30,000 square miles, but little is known about its vegetation. Nor is the

flora as well known as that of most other parts of the Canadian Eastern Arctic.

In the absence of any detailed account of the plant communities of even a

single station, we shall have to be content with quotations from the literature

and observations made from the air.

        The land, although oval in broad outline, is rendered irregular by bays

and deeper indentations especially in the southeast. The surface is for the

most part rather low, remaining below 300 feet (91 m.) in altitude over con–

siderable areas, especially in the east. However, much of the a i nterior is of

plateaus, undulating about 800 feet in elevation, and some heights exceed 1,000

feet in the west and north (4, p. 30). The whole appears to have been intensely

glaciated, with pointed peaks lacking and the lowlands largely occupied by

glacial deposits that were rewashed by the sea before emergence. Other areas

are occupied by series of long and low “beach ridges” with little or no stabil–

izing vegetation.

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        The main rocks appear to be dark-gray or reddish-brown gneisses, but

the northern half of the east coast and its accompanying hinterland and

islands are of light-colored, low, and almost flat limestone. The climate

is evidently more comparable with that of Northern Baffin Island than with

that of the regions lying to the south or east.

        The vegetation appears to be everywhere of the rather dwarf arctic type,

nothing approaching tree growth having been observed. Thus, although Hall

(22, p.357) reported from one place in Hoppner Inlet “an abundant growth of

wood in a cluster of undergrowth showing some creeping trees which spread

themselves out,” and said that one of these was “11 feet in height and 2 inches

in diameter at the base,” it appears from the ensuing narrative that these

“trees” were mere creepers or almost prostrate espaliers. Indeed the vegetation

on the whole is unexpectedly poor, often comparing very unfavorably with that

of Baffin Island at similar latitudes or even farther north. This may be due

in part to exposure on either side to seas which are almost perpetually ice–

covered, and in part to the yough of the terrain and the frequently inhospitable

nature of the substrate. In this last connection it has been said (25, p.134)

that “‘loose mineral matter of any kind seldom exceeds a foot in thickness;

and beneath this the ground is literally frozen as hard as a rock, a pick-axe

only bringing off dust and mere fragments, as from a mass of granite.’ Over

this sub-soil lies a layer, more or less thick, of vegetable soil. The depth

of the vegetable soil ‘seldom exceeds a very few, perhaps from four to five,

inches, and that only in a few insulated spots, sheltered and otherwise favour–

able for vegetation.” More frequently, however, the bare surfaces of the strata

are exposed to the weather, and on these, and in the chinks of the rocks, a few

plants, frequently cryptogamous, are seen struggling for existence.”

060      |      Vol_VI-0070                                                                                                                  
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        With regard to general features, Freuchen and Mathiassen (16, p.555)

write that “For the most part the peninsula offers a landscape of monotonous

plains of recent unconsolidated material from which project low granite knolls

of a rather rugged gneissic topography. As a rule the plains are occupied by

shallow lakes or marshes, often overgrown with rushes ( carex ), willows, saxi–

frage, cassiope, dryas, and various kinds of grasses.” Later on (16, p.558),

the same authors report that “Driftwood was never seen along the coast, and

the plant life is of little direct use for the Eskimos. Some cassiope and

willows that attain a height of about half a metre in sheltered places in the

extreme south of the peninsula are used for firewood, and the branches are

braided into mats to be used underneath the skins in the snow huts. A few

berries ripen during the summer but are not always gathered.” Parry reports

(40, p.505) that the natives “sometimes eat the leaves of sorrel ( kongolek ,)

and those of the ground willow; as also the red berries ( paoona - tootik ,) of

the vaccinum uliginosum [sic], and the root of the potentilla pulchella ; but

these cannot be said to form a part of their regular diet; scury grass they

never eat.”

        Of the islands off the north coast, the geological formation is variable

but the vegetation almost everywhere poor. Thus Liddon Island is said to be

“almost entirely barren of the productions of the animal and the vegetable

kingdoms” (40, p.324), while of Amherst Island, the northern half, which is

composed of hard and resonant limestone, is, according to Lyon (31, p.270),

“entirely void of vegetation,” whereas the southern part, which is covered

with blackish schist, supports “in the valleys or swampy places, a very scanty

covering of moss and shrivelled grass; on this we saw eight deer feeding.”

        Better known is the island of Igloolik, seat of the chief Eskimo settlement

061      |      Vol_VI-0071                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

in these regions. It is of yellow or gray limestone and mostly low, the

surface consisting almost entirely of “raised beaches of loose stones, rising

one behind the other quite regularly and very slowly in towards the interior.

These raised beaches are always bare, but the hollows between them are full

of snow in winter, in summer partly full of swampy ground and small lakes,

and to some extent covered with vegetation” (37, p.71). In a somewhat dis–

turbed area on Igloolik, Parry (40, p.280) observed “a very abundant vegeta–

tion, which is much favoured by the numerous streamlets and ponds, as well

as by the manure afforded by the permanent residence of the Esquimaux near

this spot. In some places were many hundred yards of square space covered

with moss of a beautiful soft velvet-like appearance, and of a bright green

colour such as I never saw before; and perhaps indeed moss cannot well be

more luxuriant.”

        The northernmost part of the mainland south of Fury and Hecla Strait

seems tolerably vegetated in some places, though Cape North East is, accord–

ing to Parry (40, p.321), “inconceivably barren and desolate, with scarcely

a tuft of moss or grass.” But “abreast the west end of Amherst Island,”

and westward, are hills “having at their foot a sloping plain covered with

fine pasturage, extending in one place four or five miles towards the sea”

(40, p.339). In the region of Richards Bay, Parry mentions (40, p.333) “some

pleasant valleys covered with grass and other vegetation, and the resort of

numerous reindeer,” and also a low tableland “covered with abundant vegeta–

tion, as well as intersected by numerous ponds of water.”

        For a long distance to the south, the east coast and immediate hinter–

land are of relatively flat and poorly vegetated limestone, with monotonous

series of raised beaches rising in regular succession but very gradually

062      |      Vol_VI-0072                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

toward the interior, and oftenremaining virtually unvegetated, especially near

the sea. Thus flying in from Foxe Basin to a little south of Hall Lake, the

writer noted (44, p.254) that “South Ooglit Island and the adjacent coasts were

all low and apparently of limestone - indeed much like the Spicer Islands in

appearance. But inland the country appeared to get darker and higher, while

away over beyond, probably near the west coast of Melville Peninsula, could

be seen much higher though rounded hills which had almost the status of moun–

tains … All land to the west of Hall Lake appeared to be of rather darker,

acidic rock, the surface consisting mostly of grey scoured ‘hog’s-backs’ and

wider depressions or flats interrupted by numerous small lakes or streams.”

        About the center of Melville Peninsula, at least to the south of Sarcpa

Lake, bodies of fresh water occupied a smaller proportion of the area than is

usual in such terrain in the Arctic; indeed sometimes there were scarcely any

lakes or even tarns to be seen, especially in the vicinity of rivers, of which

several of fair size were noted which are not marked on the maps. Figure 42

shows such an area of dark acidic rock that appears to have been little com–

minuted to give soil, and is but sparsely vegetated. Much of the interior of

Melville Peninsula is of this nature, with rounded hogback hills or wider

domes and rather few lakes; rocks predominate and “closed” vegetation appears,

in general, to be confined to merely occasional favorable depressions. These

are most often situated near bodies of water and are usually of quite limited

extent, being probably most luxuriant on riverside flats. Occasionally, how–

ever, there are to be seen plains where the dark-brown heathy or lighter grayish

(probably marshy) vegetation appears from the air to be more or less continuous,

so that although the vegetation as a whole is evidently poor, there are some

considerable areas that may be up to one-third clothed with it. Especially on

063      |      Vol_VI-0073                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

north-facing slopes in the higher, more dissected country may snow patches

be numerous — as is seen in Figure 43, looking southward from about 5,000

feet.

        To the south the country is rocky but rolling and there are some fair–

zied lakes, about which the surface looks smoother, with vegetation more

luxuriant, especially on flattish areas near water. For the most part, how–

ever, the vegetation appeared from the air to be unexpectedly poor; nor was

there much sign of the yellowish or greenish lichenous growth that is usually

to be seen in such interior regions, but instead a preponderance of grays and

browns. Southward from about latitude 67°20′ N., lakes are still more numer–

ous, sometimes covering up to about a quarter of the area, and, although

barren-looking gray rock still predominates, there are some considerable

smooth-looking vegetated areas (44, pp.255-56). On the east coast, the vege–

tation appears, in general, to be more considerable on the Archean rocks of

the south than on the limestone of the north. Thus, according to Mathiassen

(37, p.76), Daugaard Jensen River has its lower course “through a low, grassy

plain,” and Jameson reports (25, p.134) of Barrow River (lat. 67°14′ N.) that

“Its banks are frequently steep and lofty, in some places being nearly 200

feet high, and ornamented by a vegetation unusually luxuriant for so severe

a climate,” while Lyon (31, p.223) observes t g h at farther inland “Rocks of

gneiss and granite sometimes hemmed the stream, but more generally its shores

were gently sloping from the plains, which abounded in flowery vegetation.”

Farther south, opposite Winter Island, the vegetation appears to be rather

poor, and on Winter Island itself the summer is apt to be very late in com–

mencing (31; 40).

        In and around Lyon Inlet the granitic and gneissic hills are dark gray

064      |      Vol_VI-0074                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

in color, irregular in outline, and largely barren about their tops. But in

the valleys and smaller hollows the vegetation according to several observers

is relatively luxuriant, as indeed it appears from the air. Thus Parry

remarks (40, pp.83-84) that around Hoppner Inlet it “was abundant, consisting

chiefly of short thick grass, moss [ Cassiope tetragona ], and [ Ledum palustre

var. decumbens ], a sweet smelling plant which grew very luxuriantly. Much of

the ground was wet and swampy, small lakes occurring in almost every hollow,

and numerous streams of water running from the hills.”

        According to the author’s observation (44, p.257). “On the lower southern

plains of Vansittart Island there appeared from the air to be a continous

brownish vegetational investment over considerable areas, though the coast

was in most places rather rocky or undulating, and accompanied by deep shelv–

ing waters. The luxuriance seemed greater than anywhere we saw on Melville

Peninsula” proper.

        A little farther to the west, on the south coast near Georgina Island,

the vegetation according to Parry (40, p.107) is again “tolerably luxuriant,”

there being “no want of feeding for” deer and hares; here “The grouhd-willow

was very plentiful, and so dry at this season that we easily procured enough

for keeping up a good fire all day.” Elsewhere on the Frozen Strait coast

“On the banks of the lakes the vegetation was quite luxuriant, giving them

when viewed from an eminence and assisted by bright sunshine a cheerful and

picturesque appearance” (40, p.69). Red snow has been found in this region

(40, p.65) as well as on Igloolik (24, p.428).

        Around Repulse Bay the country continues gneissic and rugged though

nowhere high. According to Parry (40, p.52), “There was here no want of

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EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

vegetation,” although the reports of other explorers indicate that it was

scarcely as abundant as that usually reliable observer later implied (pos–

sibly in enthusiasm following visits to more desolate shores) by saying that

it was “in many parts extremely luxuriant.” To the northwest, in Rae Isthmus,

the vegetation is probably better developed; thus around Muddy Lake, Rae

(60, p.48) observed a coverage of “rich pasturage and a great variety of

flowers,” and near Committee Bay, Burwash (8, pp.46-48) crossed “a wide

grassy flat” and then climbed “steeply several hundred feet to a grassy

plateau which was dotted with ponds and small lakes.” The west coast of

Melville Peninsula is very little known, but such reports as there are of

its vegetation suggest that this is for the most part scanty and poorly devel–

oped.

       

Northernmost Labrador

        Because of the separation of Ungava and of our limitation to land lying

north of the sixtieth parallel, this is by far the smallest of our districts;

the country immediately to the south is dealt with separately. The outline

of the coast of this district is extremely irregular, there being numerous

indentations and accompanying islets. In the north lie the little Button

Islands, and most of the central part is occupied by the larger Killinek

Island, which is separated from the mainland by a narrow strait that is

frozen over during much of the year, and that consequently affords little in

the way of a barrier to plant and animal migration.

        The topography has many small local variations; it is only to the south

of our southern boundary that the mountains become really high and the coun–

try is rugged. The terrain consists mainly of rather small rounded hills of

066      |      Vol_VI-0076                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

inconsiderable height, as seen in Figure 44, and has been intensely glaciated.

So far as has been determined, the bedrock in our area is everywhere of acid–

weathering type, consisting chiefly of granites and gneisses; but the surface

is covered in many places with erractic material, frequently including much

limestone.

        Compared with most other districts in our area the climate is maritime

in type, although not so markedly as at Resolution Island. Thus the tempera–

ture fluctuations at Port Burwell (see p.000) are greater than at Resolution

Island, the average monthly means in degrees Fahrenheit for June, July,

August, and September (during at least three of the years 1931-34) being 38°,

44°, 44° and 40° at Port Burwell and only 34°, 39°, 39° and 36° at Resolution

Island. However, Port Burwell is a cold and foggy place, the summer being

less favorable than, for example, at Lake Harbour; it is also very wet,

the precipitation being spread out rather evenly between the seasons and some–

times considerably exceeding 20 inches (50.8 cm.) in a year.

        According to Prof. David Potter ( in litt. et voce ), the vegetation on the

east coast is very similar to that developed at Port Burwell (see p.000), al–

though in the southeast around McLelan Strait some of the communities look more

luxuriant than any of those developed in the immediate vicinity of Port Bur–

well, and there occur several plants that have not been found elsewhere in the

entire Canadian Eastern Arctic. Farther south still, in the extreme southeast

corner, is the entrance to Ekortiarsuk Fjord of which Forbes remarks (15, p.95),

though he was concerned largely with the inland regions just outside the south–

ern boundary of our area: “The contrast between the steep, dark cliffs and

the wide, level grasslands in the warm afternoon sunshine was vivid and pleas–

ant; and in the sheltered waters of the fiord we felt that we had come to a

067      |      Vol_VI-0077                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

singularly favored hav en.” However, to the north, the nearly 1,500-foot

high and exposed Cape Chidley and the less lofty Button Islands are rather

poorly vegetated. The highest of the Buttons, Lacy Island, attains an eleva–

tion of 951 feet (75, p.309) and according to Prof. Potter it has developed a

Cassiope heath as its most advanced community, though the majority of the

species that are most common around Port Burwell are also to be found on

this island.

        Port Burwell, lying off the west coast in latitude 60°25′ N., may be

taken for more detailed consideration as being probably representative vege–

tationally of most of this limited district. A much visited place, it is the

only one in our area from which any plant species has been recorded as “just

possibly introduced” (45, p.374, with reference to Stellaria calycantha ). The

land around Port Burwell is complicatedly hilly, with steep rocky scarps and

rounded hills that are, however, never more than a few hundred feet high. As

seen in Figure 44, there is little level ground in the neighborhood.

        The hills and steep slopes are insufficiently high to prevent sheltered

depressions in them from supportingclosed mossy heaths that differ scarcely at

all from those developed in the valleys. The more exposed surfaces are occu–

pied by heaths of depauperated kinds, much interrupted by bare rocks. The chief

plants are such ground shrubs as Arctostaphylos alpina , Vaccinium uliginosum

var. alpinum , Salix arctica , and S. uva-ursi , and they are associated with

grassy and other herbs (especially Cardamine bellidifolia f. laxa , Carex

misandra , Festuca brachyphylla , Hierochloe alpina , Luzula confusa , Poa arctica ,

Stellaria longipes , and Drabae) to form mats wherever the substratum allows.

The chief “binder” in exposed situations is the silvery-gray moss Rhacomitrium

lanuginosum , and it may also act as a pioneer, spreading over the rock surface

068      |      Vol_VI-0078                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

and allowing higher plants that can root in its luxuriant mat to colonize the

area. Such light-colored mats of this moss are seen occupying ledges in the

center of Figure 45, which shows the side of a typical small rocky hill in

this district. The luxuriance of the mosses, which are often more in evidence

than lichens even on exposed summits, is doubtless a corollary of the damp

and foggy climate. However, on the actual rock faces, which are usually intact

and smooth, lichens are the chief or only denizens and more or less cover the

surface. More than twenty crustaceous and other species were noted as taking

an important part in such colonization of one small area. Ledges covered with

mineral material, and crevices or depressions in the rocks, afford a roothold

for a considerable range of open-soil plants, the majority of which reach

high latitudes and are found to the south only in the virtual absence of compe–

tition (cf. 43, pp.271-73).

        Many of the lower hills, especially, are more or less covered with trans–

ported erratic material, which is often variable from place to place. It may

even have been rafted on icepans or icebergs, and with it may perhaps have been

transported living i disseminules or even whole plants. Such deposits at Port

Burwell are often highly calcareous, effervescing violently with acid and giving

a basic reaction, and supporting an open community of mixed composition include–

ing each calcicoles as Carex glacialis , Saxifraga aizoides , Salix calcicola ,

Braya purpurascens , Kobresia simpliciuscula , and Puccinellia vahliana , which

were little if at all in evidence in surrounding areas. Figure 46 shows such

a tract in which the vegetation was poor but the flora large and varied, as is

often the case in limestone terrain.

        Valleys occupy rather a small proportion of the total land area around

Port Burwell. The substratum is variable in type and composition; although

069      |      Vol_VI-0079                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

the bedrock is of granite or gneiss, there are erratic deposits and raised

beaches in many places. Local conditions such as aspect, drainage, shelter,

and snow covering, also vary within wide limits — often drastically in closely

contiguous areas — and as a result the vegetation is vari o a ble and patchy in

the extreme. Thus, almost all of the communities of the hills are to be found

also in the valleys, where there are in addition others too numerous to men–

tion, besides those described later under “Marshes” and “Snow Effect.” Per–

haps most typical of all, and covering considerable areas in favorably shel–

tered situations (though rarely extending far without interruption by some

other facies or entirely different community), is the ordinary mixed heath to

be found on slopes and well-drained flats. Its chief dominants are Empetrum

nigrum var. hermaphroditum , Vaccinium uliginosum var. alpinum , V. vitis-idaea

var. minor , and various Salices, and they are generally much mixed and change–

able in different examples, sometimes varying even from one spot to the next

within an area of apparently identical habitat conditions. Associated are

various herbs, of which the most characteristic include Antennaria angustata ,

Carex bigelowii , C. scirpoidea , Juncus trifidus , Hierochloe odorata , Lycopodium

selago , Potentilla crantzii and Pyrola grandiflora . In a few places Anemone

parviflora and Campanula rotundifolia s.l. are of some ecological importance

in this community, where Salix cordifolia var. callicarpaea may show a tendency

toward bush formation, although no true scrub has been observed in the vicinity.

Indeed, the highest plants around Port Burwell appear to be grasses, which in

favorable places attain 45 centimeters in height, and in the case of Calamagros –

tis canadensis var. scabra may considerably exceed this. The growth of the

dominants is often so luxuriant that there is little room for subsidiary vas–

cular plants; thus, frequently only six or eight associates having a frequency

070      |      Vol_VI-0080                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

degree of more than r (rare) can be found in a 4-meter quadrat, and there

are also few casuals. Cryptogams form a luxuriant investment in which Rhacomi –

trium lanuginosum often predominates, and include some relatively hygrophytic

species among the dozen chief mosses; lichens tend to be less important among

the “fillers,” but nevertheless numerous and much in evidence in some places —

especially in open patches in the heath where a [ ?] luxuriant caribou-moss sward

is apt to the developed, dominated chiefly by Cladonia mitis . Fingi Fungi are also

plentiful, with the beneficial snow covering, appreciable littler, and slight

but distinct acidity.

        Marshes , as a result of the intricately changing physiography, are usually

of small extent around Port Burwell in spite of the damp climate. However,

marshy areas of one sort or another are numerous in the valleys and quite vari–

able in type and composition. The chief phanerogams here include various

species of Eriophorum (especially E. angustifolium and E. scheuchzeri ), Dupontia

fisheri , Salix arctophila , Carex membranacea , C. rariflora , and in places,

Juncus arcticus and J. castaneus . Their more notable associated include not

merely the usual Cardamine pratensis var. angustifolia , Carex lachenalii ,

Equisetum arvense , E. varigatum , Juncus albescens and J. biglumis , Luzula

nivalis , Lychnis apetala , Polygonum viviparum , Saxifraga foliolosa , and Tofieldia

pusilla, but sometimes also such southern types as Cardamine pratensis var.

palustris , Cerastium cerastoides, Deschampsia alpina , and Potentilla palustris .

It may perhaps be in relation to this southern tendency that two of the main

dominants of most marshes to the north, Arctagrostis latifolia and Carex

aquatilis var. stans , are rare and apparently absent, respectively, around

Port Burwell.

071      |      Vol_VI-0081                                                                                                                  
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        Two 2-meter quadrats taken at random a few meters apart in the selfsame

marsh contained a total of 15 vascular plant species, of which only 6 had the

same frequency degree in the two, and only 9 were common to both — indicating

their very different composition and, possibly, the youth of the terrain.

Occupying almost the whole of the area between the axes of these higher plants,

and forming a rather smooth, damp mat, were a mixed assemblage of mosses of

luxuriant growth, into which the feet sank for several centimeters. Ten

species appeared to be particularly involved in the quadrat areas, including

Sphagnum teres ; lichens were generally absent, but a considerable range of

fungi occurred, including plentiful Omphalia umbellifera . The soil was dark

and “squishy” to a depth of at least 30 centimeters, being penetrated by the

roots of the dominants to about 25 centimeters. A rather poor marsh is seen

in the foreground of Figure 47, with behind it a lake at the foot of a low,

rocky hill.

        The snow effect around Port Burwell finds frequent but variable expression,

owing to the heaviness of the snowfall and the cha n geable physiography. Thus

the exposed uplands are wind-swept almost clear of snow in winter, the narrower

valleys being contrastingly deeply accumulative. The margin of one ravine-like

valley of deep drifting and late melting is seen in Figure 48; Salix herbacea

is dominant, and there is much Taraxacum lapponicum , Veronica alpina , and Epilo –

bium anagallidifolium , with nearby some Parnassia Kotzebuei . Where large and

lasting drifts accumulated, about five zones are to be seen with reasonable

clarity. They follow much the same sequence as similar patches in Baffin Island,

the chief differences being in the local rarity of Cassiope tetragona and in

the number of southern associates — several of which are entirely unknown to

the north, and many of which can be found still in flower until the end of summer

072      |      Vol_VI-0082                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

in such areas. Most notable among the relatively temperate species charac–

teristic of snow patches at Port Burwell are Draba crassifolia , Epilobium

anagallidifolium , Equisetum scirpoides , Gnaphalium supinum , Parnassia kotze –

buei , Sagina saginoides , and Veronica alpina (including var. unalaschkensis ).

        A typical sequence of the zoned subclimaxes characterizing the larger

and longer-lasting snow patches in this district is as follows, progressing

from the margin to the center: ( 1 ) A fairly luxuriant, mixed heath usually

dominated by Vaccinium uliginosum var. alpinum , but with associated Dryas

integrifolia and often the weaker Cassiope hynoides and Salix herbacea .

The pH may be as low as 5.6. ( 2 ) A dwarfed zone where the snow melts too

late to allow the usual dominants to complete their life processes in a normal

summer, so that the diminutive Cassiope hypnoides is generally dominant, with

much associated Salix herbacea and Sibbaldia procumbens — also, frequently,

Arabis alpina , Erigeron unalaschkensis , Juncus trifidus , Poa alpina , and Poly –

gonum viviparum . The pH here, as farther in toward the center of the snow

patch, is noticeably higher than in zone 1. ( 3 ) A well-marked Salix herbacea

zone in which this diminutive dominant covers most of the area (cf. Fig. 48),

often with as many as thirty associates, the most characteristic being such

herbs as Arenaria sajanensis , Cerastium cerastoides , Epilobium anagallidifolium ,

Ranunculus pygmaeus , Taraxacum lapponicum , and Veronica alpina . Gray crumbler

lichens and Solorina crocea persist, but bryophytes now form most of the crypto–

gamic investment. ( 4 ) A mossy zone characterized by the luxuriant Gymnomitrium

corallioides and such open-soil herbs as Cerastium alpinum , Luzula confusa , and

Oxyria digyna . ( 5 ) An herb barren characterized by Phippsia algida and a few of

the quickest-flowering denizens of surrounding areas; lichens are here largely

absent and mosses often poorly developed.

073      |      Vol_VI-0083                                                                                                                  
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        Freshwater habitats are numerous and variable around Port Burwell, with

the damp climate, nonporous bedrock, and changeable terrain. Examples

include plentiful small streams which persist throughout the summer; their

beds, where stony, having typically a brown or greenish investment of mosses,

with or without such algae as Chaetomorpha sp. and long tassels of Stichococcus

subtilis . Where the current is slow and the bed is of mud, brownish investments

containing numerous microscopic forms occur, so that 38 different species of

diatoms and desmids were determined in two samples taken from a single stream

in late July 1936. In seepage from rocks and on the surface of damp earth

beside streams and about human habitations, Prasiola crispa was plentiful, as

often to the north. Figure 49 shows a streamlet flowing through the settlement,

where the manuring and general disturbance has allowed luxuriant grasses (in

particular Alopecurus alpinus and Poa arctica ) to replace the usual sedges and

nearby heaths.

        Algal life is also abundant around the margins of [ ?] tarns, especially in

late summer. Thus, no less than seventy species and some additional intraspeci–

fice entities were identified from two small samples taken from different, rather

peaty pools toward the end of July 1936 — long before late summer in this region.

Here abouts were also to be found such aquatic mosses as Calliergon giganteum var.

fluitans , which may form large, dark-brown beds, and, in a few lakes, Ranunculus

trichophyllus var. eradicatus and Hippuris vulgaris. Ranunculus hyperboreus and

Equisetum arvense may also grow as [ ?] aquatics in shallow water, the latter being

then remarkably attenuated. Where the bottom is of mud and the situation fairly

shallow, Eriophorum angustifolium may grow out to form luxuriant beds, although

in exposed situations, at least on the leeward side, a turfy “hard line” of

matted roots and humous is more frequently developed, as in the north.

074      |      Vol_VI-0084                                                                                                                  
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Uncolonized rocky shores are common, as are muddy ones, although the mud, like

damp depressions in marshes, may support large gelatinous colonies of Nostoc

commune or other common Cyanophyceae, or more rarely, of Lyngbya aerugineo –

caerulea .

        The strand and marine surfaces consist in most places of smooth rock

supporting such diminutive or chasmophytic algae as grinding ice will allow.

However, in a few places small pebbly or sandy beaches occur and support the

usual beds of Elymus arenariums var. villosus , with or without Mertensia

maritima var. tenella and Arenaria peploides. Festuca rubra var. arenaria

is especially plentiful higher up on such shores. In some more muddy situa–

tions small areas of diminutive salt marsh are to be found, dominated by the

usual Puccinellia phryganodes . The most characteristic associates are much as

in Southern Baffin Island, namely, Carex glareosa var. amphigena , C. salina

[. ?] approaching var. subspathacea , Cochlearia officinalis vars., Koenigia islandica ,

Potentilla egedii approaching var. groenlandica , and Stellaria humifusa . These

areas of salt marsh are best developed around the shores of brackish lagoons

in sheltered situations, where they have the form of a dense sward, principally

composed of matted roots and stolons of the dominant Puccinellia . Typical

algae of these brackish or tidal lagoons include Cladophora arcta , Desmarestia

aculeata , Dictyosiphon foeniculaceus , Enteromorpha ramulosa , Pylaiella lit –

toralis , and species of Rhizoclonium and Ulothrix .

        In all but the most exposed places, rocks and boulders around high tidemark

support small algae, which may form an almost contin u ous investment. The chief

plants in one such association were Pylaiella littoralis , Rhizoclonium riparium

var. implexum , Ulothrix laetevirens , and U. speciosa — also much Lyngbya nord –

gardii on the Rhizoclonium . Between tidemarks the rocks may be festooned with

075      |      Vol_VI-0085                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

algae in sheltered situations, the dominant here being the familiar Fucus

vesiculosus , or sometimes, locally, Ascophyllum nodosum . Lower down, where

codfish abound, fine beds of large Laminaria saccharina and Alaria esculenta

are to be seen, with associated Rhodymenia palmata and doubtless a host of

other brown and red algae, as well as several large Chlorophyceae.

       

Northernmost Quebec

        The part of the Ungava Peninsula, comprising northernmost Quebec, which

lies north of the sixtieth parallel, is roughly semicircular in outline and has

an area of some 50,000 square miles. The eastern shore bordering on Ungava Bay

has numerous accompanying islands, the water being shallow and the coast com–

paratively low. To the west, along Hudson Strait, the coast is usually higher

and more rugged, and at Cape Wolstenholme, in the extreme northwest, the cliffs

are truly stupendous; to the south, however, along the east coast of Hudson

Bay, the levels soon fall again. [ ?]Inland, the terrain constitutes a plateau

of no great height, dissected by numerous lakes and rivers and consisting for

the most part of rolling country in which the differences of elevation rarely

exceed a few hundred feet and the altitude above sea level is usually of the

order of 1,000 feet (305 m.). In the words of Havergal ( 18 19 , p. 9) “The country

seems unfinished, as if it had been left as a specimen to show what other coun–

tries may have been at the termination of the glacial epoch, when the rivers

had not worn down their beds, and valleys and basins had not been formed.”

Although the hills are rounded and all areas appear to have been intensely

glaciated, no major icecap occurs on the Ungava Peninsula at the present time.

Figure 50 is an aerial photograph from 4,000 feet showing this barren-looking,

undulating country in latitude 66°16′ N. and longitude 70°58′ W. Lakes are

076      |      Vol_VI-0086                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

numerous, and much of the land surface is occupied by boulder fields or soil

polygons.

        The geology in broad outline is comparatively simple, the bedrock almost

everywhere being of Laurentian gneiss or fine-grained granite. Up to 350 feet

(107 m) almost everywhere, and in places to twice that altitude, the surface

is veneered with rewashed glacial material which may form fairly extensive beds

in which particles of shell and erratic limestone frequently occur. The climate

is relatively favorable, at least in places near the coast, being at Cape Hopes

Advance rather closely comparable with that at Lake Harbour — which is not

surprising, considering that it lies not far away on the other side of Hudson

Strait. Thus the two places have a similar growing season of about four months,

with the temperature occasionally exceeding 70°F., and a similar total precipi–

tation of approximately 14 inches (35.5 cm.) in an average year.

        Conditions and the attendant vegetation appear to be rather poor on the

east coast to the south of Cape Hopes Advance. Even in the extreme south of

our area around Payne Bay, although the vegetation is fairly luxuriant in

sheltered valleys, it is sparse in most areas according to C. H. Ney ( voce ),

who reports that although occasional specimens of Betula glandulosa var. sibir –

ica or Salix cordifolia var. callicarpaea may rise a few inches above the sur–

face of the ground, no real scrub is to be seen near the Ungava Bay coast here–

abouts. However, well inland, where the rocky hills “rise to about 600 feet

farther up the river … the climate … appears to be more moderate than on

the open seacoast as willows grow to bushes several feet high” (according to

ref. 65, p.35). On the banks of the Payne River about 40 miles from its mouth

may be seen what appears from the air to be quite luxuriant willow scrub, though

nothing approaching tree growth has been observed (44, p.151).

077      |      Vol_VI-0087                                                                                                                  
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        Concerning the Hudson Strait coast to the north, S. C. Knapp reports ( in

litt .) that inland of Diana Bay “growth is generally very stunted, even the

willows in the more sheltered valleys rarely rising more than a foot above the

surface of the ground, and … of all the many hundreds of miles I have tra–

velled in the Arctic, I have not yet met the place so rich in lichen as this.

The meadows stretch for acres uninterrupted by rock, and clothed with deep rich

lichen with the usual grass growing up between. There is mil upon mile of

them - dry, rich sandy soil clothed with moss and lichen. The richness and

abundance of the lichen more than the moss is simply wonderful; a reindeer

herd would go for years here without want.” To the west, inland of Burgoyne

Bay (lat. 61°15′ N., long. 71°35′ W.), gray, rocky terrain prevails, lacking

continuous vegetation except over limited tracts in occasional sheltered, brown,

marshy depressions or still narrower, mossy ledges in favorable situations.

Lichens are less in evidence than farther inland, presumably owing to the damper

climate near the coast.

        To the north, well sheltered by high and rugged hills, lies Wakeham Bay,

among whose often luxuriant plant communities the writer has made detailed in–

vestigations to which reference will frequently be made below. Farther to the

northwest, in Douglas Harbour, luxuriant scrub may be seen on the gentler, lower

slopes and streamside flats, and on alluvial delta “cones” in sheltered valleys

running in from the coast (cf. 28). Inland of here, even on the uplands which

attain an altitude of 1,500 feet, there are some goodly tracts of brownish or

greenish vegetation developed in many of the more favorable, sheltered situa–

tions in the undulating and otherwise light-colored, gravelly, boulder, or

clay plains, and even around exposed hilltops some smaller colonized tracts

are to be seen, with long and conspicuous solifluction streaks extending down

078      |      Vol_VI-0088                                                                                                                  
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the gentler slopes. The dark strips appeared from the air to be covered

and at least partly stabilized by vegetation, the lighter ones that separated

them being probably unstable. However, from a 1,860-foot (567 m.) vantage

point Low observed (28, p.9L) that “The view from the summit is very desolate.

Barren, rocky or boulder-covered hills on all sides, run in low rounded

ridges separated from one another by small deep valleys filled with snow;

the surface, wherever there is sufficient soil, was covered with lichens di–

versified with a few arctic flowers, but not in the beautiful abundance met

with in the valleys.”

        To the northwest, toward Cape Weggs, the vegetation appeared not at all

extensive and luxuriant except in the most favorable lowland situations;

more often the domed hills and slopes were largely barren, with various polygon

and solifluction phenomena plainly visible from the air, and snow patches

plentiful even in August. Farther west still, [ ?] at Sugluk (lat. 62°15′ N.,

long. 75°21′ W.), the hills are less high than in places to the east and

west; the fundamental rocks are gray or reddish gneisses, but deposits of

rewashed glacial material cover many lowland areas. Such surfaces look an

almost continuous velvety green, at least in July, due to vegetation, which

forms a more or less luxuriant carpet (Fig. 51) almost everywhere except on

exposed hilltops and rocky crags. The flora and vegetation are much as at

Wakeham Bay, the tallest willows, which form a scrub in sheltered depressions

and on some of the most favorable south-facing slopes, being in both places

some 50 to 60 centimeters high. Rather similar flower slopes were noted in

both these places as at Wolstenholme (see below), and the same observation

was made in all three places that vegetation tended to develop earlier each

year on the hills than in the valleys, probably owing to the relative lack

079      |      Vol_VI-0089                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

of snow covering on all raised areas. Figures 52 and 53 depict xeric and

hydric habitats, respectively, at Sugluk; the former showing a large clump

of Dryopteris fragrans on a dry outcrop of gneiss, with Poa arctica and

Arnica alpina s.l. in the foreground, and many lichens on the rock face,

while the latter shows an area of marsh dominated in the center by Erio –

phorum spissum and elsewhere by Carices and Salix arctophila with associated

grasses.

        Around Cape Wolstenholme the vegetation, which will be described in

detail below, is noticeably poorer than at Sugluk and Wakeham Bay, though

inland to the southeast, except on rocky outcrops and the taller hills, it

is apt in many places to appear from the air to be almost continuous, with

fine, bright-green scrub in the more sheltered valleys. The Digges Islands

appear on the whole to be exposed and rather poorly vegetated, as does the

east coast of Hudson Bay to the south of Cape Wolstenholme. But inland, as

Bell remarks (3, p.12DD), “the grasses and sedges, and a variety of Arctic

plants which grow around the ponds and lakes, and in sheltered places among

the hills, give the landscape a pleasantly green appearance in many places.”

        Farther south still, near Cape Smith, the writer has landed and found

the flora to be large and interesting, including Antennaria tweedsmuirii ,

Chrysomyxa empetri , Festuca vivipara var. hirsuta , Rustroemia poluninii ,

and Staurastrum compactum , which are not known from elsewhere in our area.

However, the vegetation in this region of blackish diabase is liable to be

poor, with only intermittent patches that are really closed — at least on

the exposed coast, which alone was investigated. The communities noted

included an apparently slightly brackish one developed in shallow tarns near

the shore, consisting of dense beds of Potamogeton filiformis , with abundant

080      |      Vol_VI-0090                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

associated Hippuris vulgaris , and in places much Eleocharis acicularis f.

submersa , Pleuropogon sabinii , and Ranunculus trichophyllus var. eradicatus .

Southward of Cape Smith, for 120 miles to Cape Dufferin, which lies outside

our area, “The Coast … is in the form of a bay and much more broken; it

is a low fenny marsh, with little tufts here and there” (according to 19,

p.247).

        In the interior, detailed observations on the vegetation have been made

about McGill Lake (near lat. 60°16′ N. and long. 70°58′ W.), where the vege–

tation proved unexpectedly poor (44). The country here is undulating (Fig.

50), with usually rounded hills rising at most a few hundred feet from a gen–

eral altitude of about 900 feet (275 m.) [ ?] the flora [ ?] is limited, and plant

growth almost everywhere depauperate, with no proper scrub. Lakes and tarns

account for perhaps a third of the total area, and barren, gray, rocky hills

or fields of loose boulders for nearly another quarter, the remainder being

made up of flattish plains or more gently domed, raised, gravelly tracts that

from a distance look tolerably well vegetated. However, on investigation the

plains prove to be occupied by thin marshes in damp places and scanty, lichen–

ous heaths or polygon-interrupted detrital fields in drier area; where the

vegetation is continuous it is thin and composed largely of [ ?] lichens

(especially Alectoria spp.). In spite of the low latitude, the vegetation

around McGill Lake is fully arctic in type, with Cassiope tetragona the most

characteristic ground shrub. Indeed, except in some marshy and heathy areas

to the south, the soil is thin and the vegetation as a whole has taken little

hold of the surface. The following were the main habitats distinguished:

gravelly or sandy flats and banks, rocky barrens and boulder fields, mixed

heathy areas, polygon soils, marshy depressions, lakes and streams and their

081      |      Vol_VI-0091                                                                                                                  
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margins, late-snow areas and surrounding zones. Examples of all these were to

be seen in almost any small tract of country, and between them they accounted

for practically the whole of this disappointing region.

        To the south of McGill Lake, willow scrub reappears on the banks of the

Payne River and, more extensively, to the south of our area near Polunin Lake.

To the northwest and north-northwest of McGill Lake and terrain appeared from

the air to be similar but the vegetation somewhat less depauperate. Something

like a quarter of the area was occupied by lakes, and a half by barrens or

else yellowish-green or sooty-looking, probably lichenous heaths. The remainder

was of gray rock or boulder fields, or brown vegetated areas that appeared to

be marshy and here occupied more of the area than for some distance to the south.

The domes of small hills often had their sides yellowish and their tops darker

with lichens. North of about latitude 60°28′ N. and longitude 71°25′ W., the

country looked more interesting, with less standing water but fine green tracts,

probably of willow scrub, along the frequent streams, and rivers. The valleys

here were wide and open, with extensive areas of brown marshy or heathy vege–

tation, until the vicinity of an unnamed lake in about latitude 60°40′ N. and

longitude 71°37′ W. saw a return to lighter gray, relatively barren terrain

strewn with boulders and with much bedrock in situ .

        Much of the country in the interior of Ungava farther west is gray and

rocky and relatively barren, the vegetation being discontinuous, and nothing ap–

proaching tree growth being known, although in such favored spots as Kovik Gorge

there may be willows up to 8 or 10 feet high, with trunks up to 4 inches in

diameter (D. F. Coates and W Carr, voce ). Far in from the coast there appears

from the air to be more light yellow coloration due to lichens than is the case

near the sea, but almost everywhere at least one-quarter of the area is occupied

082      |      Vol_VI-0092                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

by lakes, and much of the rest by raised “tops.” In places the country looks

more rocky and broken, in places undulating and lichen-rich, but for the most

part it seems relatively flat and featureless. However, about the larger

rivers, such as the North Payne and Povungnituk, lakes are fewer and there

tend to be smooth slopes and hummocky domes supporting more luxuriant vege–

tation than most surrounding areas. For example, to the south of Sugluk,

although polygons disturb the surface and snow patches persist in the exposed

uplands, the more favored areas appear to be continuously vegetated, and some

of the most sheltered valleys support quite luxuriant scrub.

        As our example for detailed consideration we will take the vicinity of

Cape Wolstenholme, most northerly point of the mainland of Quebec, which is

situated in latitude 62°35′ N. and longitude 77°30′ W. At the cape and during

several visits to Eric Cove, which lies a few miles to the southeast, the writer

has made investigations of the vegetation which have also extended for some

miles inland. The account will be supplemented by notes from Wakeham Bay (about

lat. 61°36′ N. and long. 71°57′ W.), where the vegetation is often more lux–

uriant but on the whole probably less typical of the region, although the country

is almost as rugged and the geology similar.

        At Cape Wolstenholme the cliffs are sheer and about 1,260 feet high, and

southward at a considerable altitude extends a broken plateau from which hills

rise to a maximum of some 2,000 feet (75, p.345). These uplands are rocky and

barren and the lowlands in most places far from luxuriant, as the climate is

cool and foggy and the region as a whole very “late,” with persistent snow

patches plentiful even near sea level toward the end of summer. The fundamental

rocks are gneisses, some bands being highly ferruginous and imparting a reddish–

brown aspect to weathered surfaces and the soil. The lowlands and side valleys

083      |      Vol_VI-0093                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

up to nearly 700 feet (213 m.) show a fine series of marine terraces. These

consist of rewashed glacial material that in places contains a fair amount

of limestone and marine shells, having consequently a considerable calcium

carbonate (CaCO ₃ ) content.

        The uplands , as far as they were explored, appeared capable, although

with gradual reduction in luxuriance and in the number of associates, of

supporting the blueberry heath and some other relatively advanced communities

of the lowlands to at least 800 feet (cf. Fig. 54). Thereafter, such lowland

communities became more and more restricted to occasional small areas that

offered unusually favorable conditions of shelter, aspect, and soil accumula–

tion. In general, above 1 ,000 feet the plateau and hills are rocky and barren,

even around lakes, as witnessed by Figure 55, showing a typical area of rocky

slopes, crags, and boulder fields devoid alike of soil and vegetation. To be

sure, rock surfaces are often clothed with crustaceous and other lichens, and

patches of more finely comminuted soil may support such high-arctic vascular

plants as Cassiope tetragona , Eriophorum scheuchzeri , Hierochloe alpina , Luzula

confusa , Phippsia algida , Pleuropogon sabinii , Poa [ ?] arctica , Ranunculus hyper –

boreus , Salix arctica , and S. herbacea ; but growth is almost everywhere poor.

The only moderately luxuriant, carpeting community observed in it was a moss

mat of Rhacomitrium uliginosum supporting a fair abundance of, most typically,

Luzula confusa and Hierochloe alpina .

        At Wakeham Bay the rounded hills and uplands proved to be in general far

better vegetated than at Wolstenholme, although the vegetation varies greatly

with such factors as exposure and physicochemical make-up. Thus some spots even

above 1,200 feet are comparable in luxuriance with lowland areas, and most of

the plants of general occurrence in the lowlands can persist on the hills to at

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EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

least 750 feet, above which such types as Astragalus eucosmus , Oxytropis terrae –

novae, Antennaria spp., and Vaccinium vitis-idaea var. minor are still fre–

quently met. The flat summit of a hill, slightly over 1,000 feet in altitude,

supported a sparsely open assemblage of mixed and mostly Far Northern species

that totaled about 20 phanerogams and included such cryptogams as Polytrichum

alipnum , Rhacomitrium lanuginosum , Dactylina arctica , Haematomma ventosum var.

lapponicum , Sterocaulon alpinum , and Exobasidium vaccinii var. myrtilli (heavily

parasitizing Cassiope tetragona ). In sheltered depressions the Rhacomitrum ,

especially, was immediately more luxuriant, forming dense mats that sometimes

attained a thickness of 15 centimeters and appeared remarkably retentive of

water. Frequently Cetrariae and Cladoniae and the liverwort Chandonanthus

setiformis grew in this mat, such a cryptogamous carpet in places paving the

way for a rather poor Dryas or Cassiope tetragona heath in which were to be

found such plants as Carex rupestris , Cerastium alpinum , Eutrema edwardsii,

Luzula nivalis , Potentilla hyparctica var. elatior , Pyrola grandiflora (leaves

only), and Salix herbacea .

        The lowlands around Wolstenholme supported many and various communities

of which only the most noteworthy will be described. Perhaps most typical

is the mixed heath developed on sandy and gravelly areas, which varies from a

dwarfed and lichenous facies on raised and exposed tracts to a luxuriant one

in sheltered depressions, where Vaccinium uliginosum var. alpinum is the usual

dominant and Salix arctica , Carex bigelowii , Cassiope tetragona , and Vaccinium

vitis-idaea var. minor are plentiful. Twenty-nine phanerogams were listed from

one 5-meter quadrat, including Arctostaphylos alpina , Antennaria angustata and

085      |      Vol_VI-0095                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

A. canescens , Luzula spicata , Oxytropis maydelliana , Pedicularis lapponica ,

Salix cordifolia var. macounii , and Tra Taraxacum lacerum . Mosses consoli–

dated the sward and Cladoniae and other lichens were also abundant, while

several parasitic and other fungi occurred, including the usual Calvatia

cretacea and Omphalia umbellifera . The soil was dark and humous but only

very slightly acid (pH 6.6). In surrounding areas Empetrum nigrum var.

hermaphroditum and Ledum palustre var. decumens were plentiful, and Phyllo –

doce coerulea occurred. On the other hand, in the more exposed tracts these

additional ground shrubs are usually absent, the result being a relatively

poor or even improperly closed, cryptogamous blueberry heath which covers

considerable areas on the dry valley sides. Two 4-meter quadrats taken

from different examples well inland showed Vaccinium uliginosum var. alpinum ,

a-vad; Arctostaphylos alpina , o-acod; Carex bigelowii , a; Vaccinium vitis-idaea

var. minor , a; Salix herbacea , f-la; Hierochloe alpina , o-la (for explanation

of frequency degrees, see p.000). Such areas looked yellowish or straw–

colored from a distance, due to the projecting leaves and axes of grasses,

sedges, and Luzula confusa , or, in some places, to light-colored lichens such

as Stereocaulon alpinum , Cetraria cucullata , and C. nivalis . In spite of the

association of numerous other lichens and some mosses, the community frequently

lacked proper consolidation; but, although there was only slight humous

deposition, the reaction was distinctly acid. Several of the more important

phanerogams were attacked by parasitic fungi which, sometimes in combination,

appeared to do them grievous harm. Elsewhere, the valley slopes may be of

Dryas or other barrens, and even the flats and terraces rather poorly vegetated.

The communities are extremely variable and include a characteristic one on

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sandy areas having Luzula confusa as the only higher plant present and Poly –

trichum hyperboreum , efficiently binding the surface between the Luzula

tussocks, as the only lower one. Figure 56 shows a pure colony of Carex

bigelowii stabilizing the sand of a riverside flat; yet other types of

stabilization consist of dense silvery mats of Rhacomitrium lanuginosum with

protruding axes of Hierochloe alpina , spreading ground shrubs such as the

usual Arctostaphylos or Empetrum , or occasionally Salix uva-ursi or Loiseleuria

procumbens , while the sides and lower angles of snowdrift gulches may be vege–

tated by a sward of sedges and such grasses as Calamagrostis canadensis var.

scabra . This last may attain more than a meter in height and so exceed all

other plants in the neighborhood.

        At Wakeham Bay the lowlands are rendered a soft, velvety green by an

almost continuous covering of vegetation, which in most ordinary dry areas

conforms to one of three main types: ( 1 ) a much mixed and generally Dryas -rich

mat on relatively recent raised beaches, with prostrate willows and Carex

rupestris and other sedges usually plentiful, Leguminosae conspicuous, and

altogether such a wealth of angiosperms that cryptogams are little in evidence;

( 2 ) on older rocky areas a dryish, lichen-rich heath in which the dominants

are often mixed, Cassiope tetragona , Ledum palustre var. decumbens , Hierochloe

alpina , Vaccinium uliginosum var. alpinum , V. vitis-idaea var. minor , Carex

bigelowii , and Empetrum nigrum var. hermaphroditum all likely to be important;

( 3 ) in sheltered depressions and on some favorable, south-facing slopes there

may develop a tangled willow scrub dominated by Salix cordifolia var. callicar –

paea that is sometimes as much as 80 centimeters high. In addition, Calamagros –

tis canadensis var. scabra frequently forms a conspicuous sward that may grow

even higher on sunny, well-drained, sandy or boulder protuberances. Examples

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from these four categories are seen in Figures 57 to 60. At the very head of

Wakeham Bay the willows are said to grow “about ten feet tall, upright, with

stems as thick as a man’s ankle.”

        The marshes encountered around Wolstenholme were of rather limited extent

and poor development compared with those described below from Wakeham Bay,

where Rubus chamaemorus , Salix arctophila , and Eriophorum callitrix were plen–

tiful. The chief dominants at Wolstenholme were Arctagrostis latifolia , Carex

aquatilis var. stans , C [ ?] . rariflora , Dupontia fisheri , Eriophorum angustifolium ,

and E. scheuchzeri , which tended to be mixed, with the dominance poor, leaving

space for numerous associates, which most typically comprised other species

of Carex , Cardamine pratensis var. angustifolia , Equiseta Equiseta , Junci, and Saxifragae;

or, more rarely, Calamagrostis neglecta var. borealis , Epilobium davuricum var.

arcticum , and Luzula spadicea . The moss consolidation of these marshy areas

was also rather poor, especially inland in the apparent absence of pasturage

by wildfowl, and no extensive humous accumulation was noted.

        At Wakeham Bay the chief dominants were often the same as at Wolstenholme,

with, in addition, Carex membranacea and Scirpus caespitosus var. callosus ;

but the dominance tended to be stronger, although still changeable from spot

to spot. Associates that attained some ecological importance in one or other

of the examples investigated included Carex norvegica , C. holostoma , C. atro –

fusca , Equisetum variegatum , Eriophorum spissum , Hierochloe pauciflora , Juncus

albescens , J. biglumis , J. castaneus , Polygonum viviparum , Rubus chamaemorus ,

Salix arctica , Saxifraga hirculus , S. stellaris var. comosa , and Tofieldia

pusilla . Figure 61 shows the Rubus in flower on a mossy patch of marsh and

illustrates how extremely variable such areas may be, for within a few inches

of where the usual sedgy-grassy dominants are holding their own we have, on

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the right, the mixed sward penetrated by jagged, uncolonized rocks. Usually

the associated mosses number some 20 species that together form a fair mat,

the luxuriance of which may be increased by pasturing and manuring by wildfowl.

Sphnaga are more numerous than is usual in the North and, with Dicranum groen –

landicum and Aulacomnia, frequently assist in the formation of tussocks on

which may grow ground shrubs and lichens. The tops of some of the higher tus–

socks may have reaches and maintained at a heath stage, complete with Clad–

oniae and Stereocaulon spp., whereas others may be eroded and show stages of

retrogression right to crustaceous lichens.

        The snow effect , with the plentiful persistent snow patches even near sea

level, is in general similar to that described above from Dorset. In view of

the geographical proximity of the latter place, only the additional features

noted at Wolstenholme need be described. Outside the usual Cassiope tetragona

zone there may be a lichenous, grassy-heathy community (seen in the middle back–

ground of Fig. 62) dependent on beneficial winter snow covering which does not,

however, melt so late as seriously to limit the growing season. The c Cassiope

tetragona zone is frequently wide and has abundant associated Vaccinia; in it

may be developed open patches of Cladoniae, Ochrolechia frigida , Pertuseria

dactylina , and Stereocaulon alpinum . Where investigated the soil in this zone

proved to be rather meager, having a thin covering of dark humus and a dis–

tinctly acid reaction (pH 5.6). In the Salix herbacea zone are generally asso–

ciated Polygonum viviparum , Luzula confusa , and Pedicularis lapponica , while

the cryptogams include Polytrichum strictum , Cetraria islandica , Stereocaulon

spp., and both parasitic and saprophytic fungi. Inside, in the half-barren zone,

the characteristic species include such noted snow-patch denizens as Arenaria

sajanesis , Erigeron unalaschkensis , Oxyria digyna , Potentilla hyparctica

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f. tardinix , Ranunculus nivalis , R. pygmseus , Trisetum spicatum var. maidenii ,

and various Saxifragae. Figure 63 shows the Ranunculi, Oxyria , and much Poa

arctica in this zone. Bryophytes are here more in evidence than lichens,

which may be limited to small squamules of Cetraria crispa , a few gray

crumblers, and silt-binding knobs of Solorina crocea . Farther in, the central

barren, moss mat, and other zones tend to be confused, characteristic species

being Rhacomitrium sudeticum among the mosses, Gymnomitrium corallioides and

G. concinnatum a m ong the liverworts, and Phippsia algida , Saxifraga rivularis ,

and sometimes S. cernua or dwarfed Luzula confusa among the angiosperms. In

these inner zones, vegetative propagation is probably unusually important.

        At Wakeham Bay there were developed in some sheltered areas with a goodly

snow covering in winter, fine caribou-moss swards dominated by Cladonia mitis

and C. rangiferina in the manner indicated in Figure 64; in this case the

clayey, damp nature of the substratum is indicated by the cracks and patches

of bare mud due to phenomena attendant on freezing and thawing, as well as

by occasional leaves of Rubus chamaemorus . There were also at Wakeham Bay late–

snow gulches about the lower levels of which occurred such attractive small

herbs as Draba crassifolia , Parnassia kotzebuei , Cerastium cerastoides, and

Anemone richardsoni .

        Special Localized Habitats and Communities . Two of these will be described.

First, the flower slopes are developed under a peculiar combination of favorable

factors of shelter, aspect, substratum, and good snow covering but early melting.

The community is loosely closed and the flora large and variable, although cer–

tain rank species that are found in such situations at Wakeham Bay and Sugluk

are lacking at Wolstenholme, where the general luxuriance of the flower slopes

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is far less than at Lake Harbour. Nevertheless at Wolstenholme between 35

and 40 phanerogamic species are usually to be seen in any small area, where

Astragalus alpinus may be so abundant as probably to [ ?] improve the habitat

appreciably through nitrogen fixation, but where usually a number of other

more or less rank herbs are so mixed that true dominance is lacking (Fig. 65).

        The other special habitat is the series of communities developed around

the tops of the great cliffs forming Cape Wolstenholme, on the ledges of which

countless Brunnich’s guillemots ( Uria lomvia ) and other sea birds nest each

year in such close formation, and with the production of so much manue and

ultimately guano, that few plants of any sort can attain ecesis. However,

where nests extend to near the tops of the cliffs, it can be seen that any ad–

jacent unoccupied ledges and crannies are vegetated by luxuriant coarse grasses

and Cochleariae, and that the rock faces are largely covered by lichens, often

of extraordinary size. No less remarkable are the changes wrought on the cliff

tops. Here, owing to the activity of such scavengers as glaucous gulls ( Larus

hyperboreus ), and probably also to the foul vapors rising from the nesting

sites, there are developed the luxuriant nitrophilous “patchwork quilt” and

other communities of the type described some years ago from Akpatok Island

(54, pp.174-8). The plateau nearby may be rocky and barren, as seen in Figure

55, but even the most exposed tops above the bird cliffs are covered with a

continuous dense sward of thickly matted “peat” and vegetation which brings

home most forcibly the fact that a general deficiency in food salts is one of

the chief factors inhibiting plant growth over most areas of arctic terrain.

Figure 66 shows the dark cliff face that is inhabited each summer by such teem–

ing bird life, and that drops sheer into the sea some 1,200 feet below. In

the foreground is the cliff top, vegetated by a luxuriant sward of coarsely

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grown grasses just where the biotic factor is most intense. Behind stretches

the smoother patchwork quilt of mixed and multicolored lichens and mosses

( see Fig. 67) that frequently exten d s 100 meters or more inland. That lichens

in goodly rosettes, frequently as much as 20 centimeters in diameter, tend to

form the more lightly colored elements of this patchwork is seen in Fig. 68,

showing a small but characteristic area. Even on rock faces and projecting

boulders, the crustaceous and other lichens are of almost unparalleled luxury–

iance — including individual fronds of Gyrophorae up to 10 centimeters in

diameter — and suggest a relatively rapid progression of the xerosere from

its early stages. The grassy sward developed near the edge of the cliffs and

in damper depressions behind, is composed mainly of Poa arctica and Alopecurus

alpinus , with such associated forbs as Cerastium alpinum , Cochlearia officinalis

vars., Stellaria longipes , and Saxifragae. Much the same species occurred on

ledges towards the tops of the cliffs, and, in addition Phippsia algida and

Oxyria digyna . Mosses rather than lichens consolidate this grassy sward, into

which the feet may sink as much as 10 centimeters, and which is underlain by

soft, squishy-wet, reddish-brown humus. The patchwork quilt covers most of the

general surface immediately behind, and in it lichens, chiefly in luxuriant

rosettes (Fig. 68) up to 22 centimeters in diameter, occupy most of the surface,

mosses forming rather the general foundation on which they grow. Both factions

are much mixed as regards species; on the other hand, except for Poa arctica ,

which is generally plentiful, vascular plants are few in both species and in–

dividuals. The chief mosses here appeared to Aulacomnium palustre and

A. turgidum , Drepanocladus uncinatus , and three species each of Dicranum and

Polythrichum . The chief lichens included Sphaerophorus fragilis , Thamnolia

vermicularis , and three species each of Cetraria and Cladonia , The surface

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presents a flat or only gently undulating but pleasingly soft quilt (Fig. 67),

into which the feet sink for about 5 centimeters; beneath lies a considerable

depth of damp, reddish-brown, humous soil [ ?] -- except where it thins out behind,

as the biotic influence lessens. About the cliff tops even the most exposed

rock faces were clothed with crustaceous and other lichens of unusual luxur–

iance, including species not found elsewhere in the region.

        Freshwater communities observed at Wolstenholme include some rather pale,

thin, pinkish snow in which the only organism that could be identified in sur–

face samples was the usual red-snow alga, Sphaerella nivalis . Stream beds, al–

though often of uncertain duration and largely barren where rocky, are in some

places clothed with dark mosses, or, in one instance, colonized only by little

tussocks of Andreaea hartmanni . These occurred alike in areas flooded or dry

in late August, the earthen banks above colonized by Cephalozia fluitans

and Peltigera scabrosa . Some sterile filaments of a Zygnema were to be found

in shallow eddies, in which numerous smaller algae occurred. Thus in one small

sample taken from the bed of a stream when it had almost dried up in late

August, 32 different species of Diatomeae were identified, and from a similar

habitat at Cape Smith, not far to the south, 16 algae belonging to other groups.

The margins of lakes in the uplands were often rocky and largely barren (Fig. 55),

although in a few places some semiaquatic specimens of Ranunculus hyperboreus

and Pleuropogon sabinii (with floating leaves) were seen. In the lowlands only

a few small and evidently somewhat ephemeral pools were encountered, again some–

times containing Ranunculus hyperboreus . Their shallow or dried-up margins

were liable to be colonized by seedlings of Phippsia algida and Koenigia islandica ,

or, more extensively, by Carex aquatilis var. stans , Eriophorum angustifolium , or

E. scheuchzeri , extending out from the poor marginal marshes. The bed supported

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a few small algae such as Closterium striolatum , Pediastrum boryanum and its

var. longicorne , Scenedesmus quadricaudus , and Tolypothrix distorta var.

penicillata .

        At Wakeham Bay, freshwater habitats are numerous and variable. Thus the

bouldery beds of shallow streams tend to be well clothed with such mosses as

Philonotis fontana and Drepanocladus spp., and also support numerous algae

of various affinities, including in one instance at least two species of

Microspora ( M. stagnorum and M. willeana ). In sluggish eddies there are some–

times to be found Ranunculus trichophyllus var. eradicatus and R. hyperboreus ,

although both of these are more characteristic of standing water. From two

phials of brownish deposit accumulating below where water seeped from late–

melting snow patches, 30 different species of algae were identified, exclusive

of Diatomeae. Although the samples were taken on consecutive say days and the

snow patches were not far apart, only 5 species were common to the two. The

aquatic and marginal communities of a large lake proved extremely variable.

Where the margin was of boulders, these supported only a scum of algae in some

places, although in others there could be seen, extending out to a considerable

depth, fine beds of dark-brown aquatic mosses or glistening white axes of

Ranunculus trichophyllus var. eradicatus . Where the bottom was of mud it was

apt to be colonized to a depth of at least 40 centimeters by large, coarse

plants of Eriophorum angustifolium or Carex aquatilis var. stans . The slimy

scum on the axes of these colonists was made up of diverse and interesting

algae. Deposits on mud at the edge of the water included more than 50 species

of algae (exclusive of Diatomeae), and altogether the freshwater algal flora

of the region must be enormous. Besides the Eriophorum and Carex mentioned

above, E. scheuchzeri , Phippsia algida , and Carex chordorrhiza were frequent

colonists of damp lakeside mud.

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        The seashore habitats at Wolstenholme include sandy or shingly banks

above the drift line that, as in most other places in Hudson Bay and Hudson

Strait, are often bound by dense beds of Elymus arenarius var. villosus (here

approaching var. villosissimus ), or sometimes by prostrate Arenaria peploides

var. diffusa and Mertensia maritima var. tenella . Away from the immediate

influence of sale water, the associated plants become more and more numerous,

the first to be met including such hardy species as Arabis arenicola , Armeria

labradorica , Astragalus alpinus , Carex maritima , Cerastium alpinum , Draba

nivalis , Festuca brachyphylla , Papaver radicatum , Poa arctica , P. glauca ,

Sagina intermedia , Saxifraga caespitosa , and Silene acaulis var. exscapa.

The most characteristic cryptogams appear to be Rhacomitrium canescens and

Stereocaulon alpinum , both of which exert a useful binding influence on the

sand. A brackish marsh behind a sheltering bar near the mouth of a stream

was dominated by the usual Puccinellia phryganodes , with associated Carex

glareosa var. amphigena , C. ursina , Chrysanthemum arcticum , Cochlearia office –

inalis var. groenlandica , Koenigia islandica , Puccinellia paupercula , and

Stellaria humifusa . Although most of the between-tide range is occupied by

barren sands or smooth rock faces, broken rocks or beds of boulders are found

in many places around low tidemark; these are well vegetated by Fucus vesi –

culosus and an abundance of other algae representing all the main groups and

including, chiefly in pools and below low tidemark, large Alaria and Laminaria

spp.

        At Wakeham Bay the shingle above high tidemark is similarly colonized by

the usual Arenaria , Mertensia , and Elymus , of which the last forms luxuriant

beds (Fig. 69). Various plants are associated, including Carex maritima , Coch –

learia officinalis var. oblongifolia , Festuca rubra var. arenaria , Matricaria

095      |      Vol_VI-0105                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

inodora var. nana , Poa glauca , and Puccinellia angustata , or in damp saline de–

pressions[?], a whole salt-marsh contingent dominated by Puccinellia phryganodes

or forms of Carex salina , and including C. glareosa var. amphigena , Cochlearia

officinalis var. groenlandica , various phases of Dupontia fisheri , Koenigia

islandica , Montia lamprosperma , Puccinellia paupercula , Stellaria crassifolia ,

S. humifusa , and the familiar alga Ulothrix flacca . Higher up, apparently away

from the influence of marked salinity, luxuriant clumps of Poa glauca (Fig. 69 ( )

may prevail. Between tidemarks the boulder-strewn shore is dark with algae,

chiefly Fucus vesiculosus (whose growth is fairly luxuriant except toward the

uppermost limits) and, in pools, much Pylaiella littoralis and Ulothrix flacca ,

with sometimes a little Petrocelis cruenta . The darkening by algae is very

noticeable in Figure 69, although the tops of rocks and boulders are largely

scoured of macroscopic growth by the action of ice which may persist through–

out the summer.

       

Islands in Hudson and Ungava Bays

        These comprise Southampton (with White), Coats, Salisbury, Nottingham,

and Mansel Islands in the north of Hudson Bay and Akpatok Island in Ungava Bay,

but for our present purpose exclude such smaller unites as Marble, Igloolik,

Vansittart, Digges, Big, and Killinek Islands, which are considered with the

adjacent mainland regions to which they seem more properly to belong. In size

the islands range downward from Southampton Island, which has an area of approx–

imately 20,000 square miles (cf. 35, p.232). Although the coast lines tend to

be rather even in outline and the surfaces smoothed by glacial action, the

islands have many physiographic variations. Thus, whereas Akpatok Island is

almost surrounded by tall, sheer cliffs and consists largely of plateau undulat–

ing around an altitude of about 700 feet (cf. 48), and Sali / bury and Nottingham

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Islands being granitic a and gneissic so far as is known, and Coats and Mansel

Islands being again largely of limestone, although the former has not a little

acidic rock toward its northern end. The south w estern two-thirds of Southampton

Island are predominantly low and of limestone, and the rest, including most of

the northeastern coast and White Island, is of higher and more rugged, dark

gneissic country (35; 39 38).

        As regards climate, Akpatok Island is very exposed, often cool and foggy

in summer (cf. 48), with the humidity frequently as high as 90% for considerable

periods, and little difference in day and night temperatures in spite of the

relatively low latitude. Nottingham Island appears to be somewhat warmer,

though still with only a single month lacking frost, and Coral Harbour on

Southampton Island yet more favorable, with temperatures sometimes exceeding

70°F. and considerable summer rainfall, although it is more continental in type,

with a more severe winter.

        Of Akpatok Island the flora (45; 47) and vegetation (53; 54) have been

treated in some detail, with numerous illustrations. In the absence of proper

control of the surface by plants, the vegetation was considered rather in terms

of habitats, of which twelve main types (or in some cases special communities

which stood out as characterizing their area) were recognized as between them

[ ?]occupying virtually the whole of the terrain: (1) hilltops, rising to a

maximum of 930 feet (283 m.) and supporting only a very few plants in sparsely

open formation, such as Dryas integrifolia , Salix arctica , or Draba alpina var.

nana, where there is a modicum of comminuted material, but often only crus–

taceous lichens where the surface is covered with jagged limestone particles;

( 2 ) plateau of limestone polygon, fjellmark (frost-shattered particles of all

sizes, including some finer soil), or other surfaces which between them cover

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most of the island, the vegetation being less depauperate, but still a sparse

barren in most places, including such open-soil calcicolous and other species

as Arenaria rossii , Carex misandra , Dryas integrifolia , Salix arctica and

S. calcicola , Saxifraga aizoides , S. oppositifolia , and the like, which

usually grow best on the intervening tracts between the dynamic polygon sur–

faces, and are there often consolidated by cryptogams; ( 3 ) screes and other

slopes are numerous and variable, the chief binders of the frequently unstable

surfaces being patches of Dryas , Salix spp., Cerastium alpinum , or Saxifraga

oppositifolia ; ( 4 ) ravines, with usually barren beds but variable and some–

times well-vegetated banks; ( 5 ) valley sides, which with favorable shelter

and soil conditions are often darkened by heathy or grassy vegetation dominated

by Dryas or Cassiope tetragona with numerous, well-grown associates; ( 6 ) valley

heads and depressions which are often mars h y and occupied by closed communities

dominated by Carices (especially Carex membranacea ), Arctagrostis latifolia ,

Eriophorum angustifolium , or E. scheuchzeri ; ( 7 ) the snow effect was well

marked, with a series of as many as six subclimax zones developed in relation

to deep drifting and late melting, including a Cassiope heath, a Salix herbacea

mat, an herb barren, and a limited moss mat, as well as a remarkable herb

tangle in “swallow holes,” ( 8 ) erratic boulders of acidic rock, which are

usually much more luxuriantly vegetated by various successional stages of

lichens and mosses, or sometimes phanerogams, than the general limestone;

( 9 ) special localized communities that were closed but variable, being vegetated

by forbs, grasses, or heaths (including Empetrum , Rhododendron , and Vaccinium

uliginosum var. alpinum ), or comprising moss mats or marshy hillock-tundra

areas; ( 10 ) special localized habitats including, first, acidic morainic ac–

cumulations which are usually well clothed with vegetation, and second, the

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environs of bird cliffs that support thickly matted, grassy or cryptogamous

communities of the type described from Cape Wolstenholme; ( 11 ) freshwater

habitats such as streams and tarns which were variable and usually rather

barren, although with numerous filamentous and other algae, Pleuropogon

sabinii , and Ranunculus hyperboreus among the functional aquatics, and Carices

and Eriophora Eriophora extending out as they colonized shallow water; ( 12 ) marine

habitats, including a tidal lagoon the stony bed of which was clothed by

diminutive algae, exposed shores and cliffs which are often remarkably barren

(Fig. 70), and between-tide rocks which are largely scoured of macroscopic

algae by ice. However, the plankton may be relatively abundant in late sum–

mer and the benthos was extremely luxuriant, including specimens of Laminaria

longicruris up to 47 feet in length and beset with epiphytes belonging to five

different rhodophycean genera.

        Mill, Nottingham, and Salisbury Islands are little known vegetationally.

The first is said by Smith (65, p.55) to be “of massive igneous rocks rising

abruptly from the sea. These are worn by ice action and beyond a few grassy

valleys are practically devoid of vegetation,” while on Salisbury Island the

vegetation “is more prolific than on Mill Island, both grass and moss occurring

in the valleys” (65, p.56). From Salisbury and Nottingham Islands, fairly

numerous vascular plants are now known, and on the former “the indications are

that the soil in places is relatively rich, the growth of some plants being

quite luxuriant in spite of the exposed situation” (49, p.10).

        [ ?]Coats and Mansel Islands were set aside “for the purpose of providing

grazing grounds for reindeer and musk-oxen” (9, p.25) and would seem in the

former instance to be fairly well vegetated and on the whole comparable with

adjacent parts of Southampton Island (see below), with a fair darkening by

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vegetation of the acidic terrain of the north, and luxuriant marshes in the

low limestone country of the south. On much of Mansel Island the vegetation

is, however, very poor (cf. 2, p.33DD; 53). According to D. Leechman and

T. H. Man n ing ( voce ) this island is entirely of limestone and quite low;

near the sea are found ridge upon ridge of low banks of limestone shingle,

the raised areas being almost entirely barren and the depressions often not

much colonized, although occasionally supporting strips of heathy or marshy

vegetation. Pools are numerous and tend to be surrounded by a continuous

sedgy-grassy community, but even this is usually of small extent. Inland

the country at the north end is low and flat and covered with limestone detri [ ?] –

tus supporting little except occasional close pulvini or small dark mats of

Dryas integrifolia or Saxifraga oppositifolia . Only the marshy depressions

are at all extensively covered with vegetation; they are generally dominated

by Carices, Eriophora, and Arctagrostis latifolia — all of rather poor growth

and liable to interruption by hillock tundra. It is said that in the central

region there are larger tracts of vegetation capable of supporting caribou.

        Southampton Island is relatively well known, and details of the main plant

communities occurring in one district will be given below. Of the northern

part, particularly around York Bay, Parry writes (40, pp.39-41) “In the fis–

sures and hollows between the rocks, the moss, sorrel, ground willow, and a

few other plants were abundant … this land, which rises gradually from the

beach … was full of ponds of fresh water, and in almost all the intermediate

parts there was abundance of fine vegetation, consisting of grass, moss, and

various other plants,” while on the northern part of White Island, Mathiassen

reports (38, p.26) “the usual poor mountain heath … of lichens and mosses,

interspersed with herbs and dwarf bus h es such as Salix , Vaccinium uliginosum ...

100      |      Vol_VI-0110                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

Empetrum , Cassiope tetragona , Saxifraga species species … Papaver , Pedicularis , Dryas ,

Oxyria Oxyria … grasses and Cyperaceae, the latter mostly in moist places.” In a

more general vein, Comer (11, p.86) remarks that “The low lands produce an

abundance of grass, waving in the winds like the wheat-fields of the temperate

zone”, but Mathiassen implies that on the limestone, Dryas or Saxifraga opposite –

folia barrens of one sort or another cover a large part of the total area, with

associated Salix and other species, and that the interior in parts “has almost

the character of a desert, without any vegetation at all or only very little —

a few small tufts of Dryas which have been able to take root in the crevices.”

On the other hand, “In the large flat and partly swampy areas in the interior,

such [ ?] as around Cleveland River, the vegetation is more marked, with many

grasses … cyperaceae … and Salix species; along the banks of Cleveland

River I often saw a narrow belt of knee-high willow thicket” (38, p.25). Of

the low-lying country near the west coast in the south, Low reports (27, pp.33-34)

that “The land behind rises in a succession of ridges each a few feet higher

than the one immediately in front. The ridges are formed of broken limestone,

evidently the surface portion of underlying ledges. Very little vegetation grows

on the ridges, but in the wide depressions between them there is a profusion of

grasses and other Arctic plants on the wet ground surrounding the many ponds

and lakes found there.” It was apparently off this coast that Lyon (30, p.115)

“passed a great quantity of tangle-weed … The stalk of one piece which we

measured, was eighteen feet in length, and the leaf, although a portion had been

torn from its point, twelve feet six inches, making a total of thirty feet six

inches.” Col. P. D. Baird has reported ( voce ) on the Bay of Gods Mercy region

in the southwest, where in places the terrain consists mainly of a “series of

raised beaches with marshy depressions” in which the vegetation may be closed.

101      |      Vol_VI-0111                                                                                                                  
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Inland are more gravelly ridges and large areas of polygons and up-ended [ ?]

splinters. Dryas is often the chief plant, with some Carex misandra and

Salices. On the most exposed ridges Saxifraga oppositifolia may be the only

flowering plant, but in more favorable places (where there is sometimes a

lossely closed Dryas heath), Pedicularis lanata and Saxifraga tricuspidata

are usually associated. Much the same conditions and vegetation persist

around Cape Low in the extreme south of the island. The some observer has

reported on the small, rocky Walrus Island that lies near the middle of Fisher

Strait, which separates Southampton Island from Coats Island. In depressions

in the rock surface are patches of rather damp soil supporting closed vegeta–

tion which is either heathy, dominated by Empetrum, or marshy, with dry

tussocks characteristically bearing Rubus chamaemorus .

        Revisitation of Coral Harbour near the head of South Bay in 1946 enabled

the writer, during a trek inland and flights over various other parts of

Southampton Island, to fill in some gaps, such as the extreme southeastern

portion, which is of light-colored limestone that contrasts markedly with the

dark hills to the north. The surface of this flat limestone country seems

from the air to be varied more by rather numerous shallow lakes than by any

real show of vegetation, which, over some considerably tracts, appeared from

altitudes of around 4,000 feet to be virtually absent, though more often

between one-quarter and one-half of the total area was intermittently bound

by contrastingly dark growth that in some pl a ces looked almost continous. These

most favored tracts were usually in sheltered depressions, and consisted ap–

parently of heathy or marshy communities, according to local water conditions.

Li The surface materials of the limestone plains appeared to be all loose and

comminuted, frost-shattered to comparatively small sizes. Light-colored

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polygons showed up in places, especially near lakes, which themselves were

relatively dark and apparently well vegetated, particularly around their margins.

Some of these lake margins, which from the air in August looked greenish with

algae, showed long solifluction streaks that even extended down into the water,

well beneath its current level. The limestone country as a whole appeared

from the air to be abundantly dissected and streaked, with beach lines and

ridges rising inland as steps — sometimes lying parallel with one another for

considerable distances, but more often without evident order or regular direc–

tion. Further dissecting influences were steams and dried-up watercourses.

        Around Coral Harbour post the rocks are darker and acidic, with lakes

more numerous and vegetation almost continuous over considerable tracts, but

to the west, again, the country is largely of limestone, being low and only

sparsely vegetated. Indeed the light-colored plains about the mouth of Kirchof–

fer River looked desert-like in their undulating monotony. But where the bed–

rock was darker and acidic there was evidently more luxuriant vegetation,

which often appeared almost continuous over considerable areas, except on

gray rocky outcrops that looked scoured and largely barren. Where the terrain

was sandy or of more stable limestone, which had been longer out of the sea

than that near the coast, the country was about half covered with patches of

more or less continuous higher vegetation. Still farther inland, to the west,

the rocks appeared largely acidic and the vegetation almost contin u ous — mostly

of various sa shades of brown or yellow-b or ro wn, interrupted by shallow lakes

that were rarely large. Then again farther west there was a change to more bar–

ren limestone, though even on this the patches of darker vegetation were some–

times confluent over considerable areas of low-lying marshy plains. Much of

the country to the north of Coral Harbour is again tolerably well vegetated,

103      |      Vol_VI-0113                                                                                                                  
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though rarely without some light-colored barren tracts or poorly colonized

rock. Lakes are numerous and not always small. But about the hig h er, exposed

north coast, persistent snow patches were numerous even at the end of August

in 1946, and relative barrenness prevailed. Hereabouts the sea rarely if

ever becomes entirely free from ice. At best the gray and rocky hills had

a yellowish-brown mellowing of vegetation. In places the streams have cut

deep and narrow gorges; but the occasional sandy flats in the more open val–

leys looked greenish yellow with vegetation. This became more noticeable

as one flew south again, the and country gradually became lower and smoother —

the stream beds shallower and the hills less steep and rocky.

        Inland of Coral Harbour airfield, around the main southern tributary of

Kirchoffer River, the country proved fairly well vegetated, with extensive

marshes and more limited heaths. Scattered and individually spreading shrubs

of Betula glandulosa var. sibirica were found in several places, as were larger

ones of Salix alaxensis and S. richardsoni var. mckeandii, but although the

willows, especially, often grew in such close proximity (Fig. 71) that from

afar the covering looked complete, no extensive consolidated scrub was encoun–

tered. In sheltered valleys, especially by streams, the willows formed domed

bushes up to a meter high and 4 meters in diameter, with prostrate axes some–

times exceeding 10 centimeters in thickness. Hereabouts the plains frequently

supported a continuous investment of mixed heathy vegetation (which was apt to

be especially luxuriant on any broken slope — see Fig. 52); the flora of

the river valleys, though far inland, included some typical seaside plants

(Fig. 73), and there were found several angiosperms not previously known to

occur on Southampton Island (42).

104      |      Vol_VI-0114                                                                                                                  
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        P Phytoplanktonic observations were made off the east coast of Akpatok

Island in 1931 by Polunin (54, pp.189-91), who collected by horizontal towings

at various depths and vertical hauls through about 31 meters (a depth of the

order of the deepest soundings recorded). According to N. I. Hendey the sam–

ples all “present the appearance of a rich and typically pelagic diatom flora,

while associated are various Dinoflagellata, with Ceratium arcticum very fre–

quently.” There was some suggestion that discoid forms and some species of

Chaetoceros were less abundant at the lower levels investigated. Three species

of Parafavella were determined, and over 40 diatoms, of which Chaetoceros

debilis , Thalassiosira nordenskioldii , C. socialis , T. subtilis , C. atlanticus ,

and Fragilaria islandica were the six most abundant (in the order named).

        In Hudson Bay, phytopanktonic samples from surface hauls have been in–

vestigated for diatoms by Davidson (cf. 12), who found only 18 species (16 of

them occurring north of the 60th parallel), remarking that quantitatively the

“genus Chaetoceros comprised well over ninety-five per cent. of the material,”

two species, C. compressus and C. laciniosus , being “dominant in all but two

stations” (12, p.497); Nitzschia was represented by three species, Rhizosolenia

by four (one occurring only to the south of latitude 60° N.), Thalassiosira

by two (one occurring only south of latitude 60° N.) and Thalassiothrix ,

Coscinosira , and Coscinodiscus by one species each.

        As our main example for more detailed treatment we will take the environs

of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s trading post situated in latitude 64°08′ N. and

longitude 83°10′ W. near the mouth of Coral Harbour which terminates the great

“South Bay” in Southampton Island. The terrain is flat and monotonous (Fig. 74),

relieved chiefly by numerous lakes and low rocky ridges formed principally of

105      |      Vol_VI-0115                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

gneiss but covered in most places by coarse, rewashed glacial material and

fine marine clays. These deposits tend to be calcareous, with a considerable

admixture of limestone particles and marine shells. It is an exposed and al–

most perpetually windy place with a sever climate, though the summer may be

sufficiently favorable to allow radishes to attain a useful size even with–

out glass, and lettuce to grow to a height of 7 centimeters.

        Raised areas are of two main kinds: first, the rocky ridges and pro–

tuberances of gneiss that lieonly a few dozen feet above sea level or the

surrounding land, and, being smoothed by glacial or wave action, support

little save cryptogams — except in crevices or sheltered depressions, where

the communities may be indistinguishable from those of the general plains

(Fig. 75). The chief cryptogams are crustaceous and foliose lichens (es–

pecially numerous species of Lecidea , Lecanora , and Parmelia ) which may

darken the surface (Fig. 74 ) in the foreground), and the moss Rhacomitrium

lanuginosum, which may form luxuriant silvery tussocks (Fig. 76) or even mats

where it can take hold.

        The other type of raised area to be distinguished is the low limestone

plateau a few miles inland. Its surface is of loose material, including many

marine shells, and on the whole is much like other limestone surfaces on

Southampton Island both to the southeast and southwest. The vegetation is

in many ways reminiscent of that of the higher and more exposed limestone

plateau of Akpatok Island (cf. 53, pp.352-67 and plates), being sometimes of

rough, frost-shattered Dryas or Saxifraga oppositifolia barrens, containing

only a few diminutive phanerog [ ?] a mic associates and comparatively few cryptogams;

but often it is of barren polygons separated by rather well-vegetated inter–

vening tracts (Fig. 77), the sorting of the material and differentiating of

106      |      Vol_VI-0116                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

the areas being due to frost action (cf. 53). The polygons typically cover

rather more than half the total area and have centers that are very slightly

domed and mostly of finely comminuted material, except for small stones that

generally compose the surface at least toward the periphery. This polygon

surface is usually barren, but may support scattered and usually nonflowering

depauperate individuals of Braya purpurascens , Carex nardina , Dschampsia brevifolia ,

Draba alpina var. nana and D. subcapitata , Polygonum viviparum , Puccinellia

vahliana , Saxifraga aizoides , and S. oppositifolia . Individual polygons, which

average about 1 1/2 meters in diam e ter, may be devoid of even a single seedling

of a higher plant; cryptogams also are usually absent from the clayey center,

but a close search of the larger limestone particles toward the periphery will

generally reveal a few very small crustaceous lichens or greenish algal invest–

ments. The intervening tracts are variable in width but may average some 40

centimeters, and, although including most of the larger stones of the surface,

they are usually vegetated by a closed mat of higher plants and thus form a [ ?]

continuous though patchy-looking network. Dryas integrifolia is the most plen–

tiful plant, forming domed tussocks often 20 centimeters high with a core of

dark-brown humus, but in the best places calcicolous Salices predominate, form–

ing small gnarled bushlets up to 30 centimeters high. These may again be

overtopped by occasional axes of Carex misandra , which reach nearly 40 centi–

meters in height. Other plants that tend to be frequent in the mat are

Polygonum viviparum , Carex nardina , C. scirpoidea , C. rupestris , and Kobresia

simpliciuscula --, the last two frequently parasitized by Cintractia caricis .

Cryptogams are not much in evidence, though a number of Cetrariae (espec–

ially Cetraria nivalis , in accordance with the poor snow covering) and

other lichens occur, and mosses of tussocky growth, which contribute to the

107      |      Vol_VI-0117                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

more closely matted strips of higher vegetation, and so insulate the gravelly

soil that beneath the surface it is generally quite damp. As usual in arctic

terrain the vegetation as a whole is, however, variable from place to place,

even the intervening tracts in some polygoniferous areas [ ?] being poorly vege–

tated, while in other areas polygons are lacking and the vegetation may vary

from almost closed to almost nil.

        The general plains cover most of the area, and even on the gneiss their

communities are far more variable from place to place than their flat terrain

would lead one to expect. The vegetation types fall into two main series,

of which the first is a marshy tundra which will be described later, and the

second is heathy and more or less lichenous. Dryas is usually on the chief

plant here, with or without associated (or sometimes locally dominant) Arto –

staphylos rubra , Cassiope tetragona , Empetrum nigrum var. hermaphroditum ,

Ledum palustre var. decumbens , Rhododendron lapponicum , Salices, Vaccinium

uliginosum var. alpinum , and V. vitis-idaea var. minor . In sheltered depres–

sions the Dryas leaves were often four or five times as broad as in exposed

places. More or less plentiful herbs in such situations included [ ?] Carices,

Poa arctica , Saxifraga tricuspidata , and as many as 3 species of Oxytropis ,

no less than 34 species of Phanerogamia being listed in one small and rather

poorly vegetated area. Rhacomitrium lanuginosum is often the chief cryptogam,

forming luxuriant mats spreading out over rock faces and constituting a

rapidly advancing stage in the xerosere, but in the same small area at least

7 other bryophytes and 23 lichens appeared to be more or less important.

Projecting rocks accounted for some of these lichens, as well as for a host

of additional small Lecideae and other crustaceous forms. The soil was dark

[ ?] brown and humous to a depth of 3 to 10 centimeters, but, being admixed

108      |      Vol_VI-0118                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

with transported calcareous particles, was neutral to slightly basic in reac–

tion. Figure 78, taken well inland, shows a mixed heathy area that is dom–

inated locally in the foreground by prostrate Betula glandulosa var. sibirica ;

in a damp depression in the center is a dark moss mat surrounded by typical

mossy hillocks. An herb-rich facies is seen in Figure 79, where Carex rupes –

tris obscures the Dryas , and Oxytropis maydelliana and Salix reticulata are

associated. Still more sedgy-grassy in nature are extensive, relatively favor–

able areas inland that approached in type the drier facies of marsh (see p.000)

or may occasionally be disturbed by giant tundra polygons where intervening

depressions support busy Salix alaxensis or S. richardsoni var. mckeandii .

Such a disturbed area is seen in Figure 80 in which hillock-tundra tussocks

further invest the surface; these polygons averaged about 15 meters in diameter

and appeared to be largely composed of dark humus. They supported a swarded or

tussocky community of dwarf Salices and other ground shrubs (including Dryas ),

grasses, and sedges — all being much mixed and variable from place to place,

and bound by mosses that occasionally included Sphagna.

        On limestone terrain the vegetation is widely different. Thus in the

vicinity of the airfield west of Coral Harbour the ground is smooth, with a

limestone surface that is gently undulating, porous, and usually arid (Fig. 81).

Much of this semidesert of frost-shattered particles ranging from gravel size

upward is devoid of higher or even any evident vegetation, but usually a few

depauperate Saxifragae, Drabae, or Arenariae, or tufts of Dryas or Papaver are

to be found, with xeromorphic Carices or prostrate Salices where slight shelter

allows. On the most exposed barrens the chief and sometimes the only plant to

be seen is Saxifraga oppositifolia Saxifraga oppositifolia , growing in sparsely scattered tussocks

usually 5 to 15 centimeters in diameter, the associates being typically Lychnis

109      |      Vol_VI-0119                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

apetala , Cerastium alpinum , Braya purpurascens , Papaver radicatum , Draba

alpina var. nana , and Arenaria rubella . A close search over many square

meters will frequently reveal little more in the way of plant growth, the

cryptogams being few and even the dominant Saxifraga little in evidence

among the jagged limestone splinters with rough eroded surfaces. The oc–

casional erratic boulders or even small stones are, however, almost always

better vegetated with crustaceous lichens. The slightest change to a more

sheltered situation tends to be accompanied by a larger flora, including

such lichens as Cetraria nivalis , C. cucullata , and C. islandica s.l. —

with usually some Dryas , the whole passing with improved conditions to a

Dryas barren or even closed heath. The associates here include Carex misan –

dra, C. rupestris , C. scirpoidea , Salix arctica , Kobresia simpliciuscula ,

Polygonum viviparum , and sometimes a little Cassiope tetragona . The Dryas

forms tussocks of varying size up to half a meter in diameter, which tend

to be larger toward the bottoms of banks or depressions, and harbor or

actually support most of the associated angiosperms and relatively luxuriant

and exacting cryptogams. In more favorable and sheltered depressions,

Cassiope forms a fair heath, sometimes with associated Arctostaphylos , Rho –

dodendron , Lycopodium selago , Salix herbacea , S. reticulata , and others. In

still more favored, damp depressions and lakeside habitats there grow con–

trastingly luxuriant bushy willows and fine beds of Eriophora and Carices,

often extending far out into shallow water. The more important dominants

and characteristic associates in these marshes on the limestone include

Arctagrostis latifolia , Carex aquatilis var. stans , C. atrofusca, C. bicolor ,

C. membranacea , Chrysanthemum integrifolium , Deschampsia brevifolia , Epilo –

bium davuricum var. arcticum , Equisetum variegatum , Eriophorum an g tustifolium ,

110      |      Vol_VI-0120                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

Juncus albescens , J. biglumis , Saxifraga aizoides , S. hirculus , and Senecio

congestus var. palustris . In Figure 82 is shown such a limestone area as

is frequently encountered not many miles in from the coast; it consists

of intermittent marshy tracts or smaller clumps of Eriophora and Carex aquatilis

var. stans , interspersed by patches of almost barren though damp gravel. Such

vegetation looks unstable and the area young, as if it had only recently

emerged from the sea.

        Marshes occupy much of the low-lying country and may be continuous over

considerable areas, whether the substratum be gneissic or of limestone, al–

though more often they are subject to interruption by rocky ridges, gravelly

banks, or [ ?]merely drier areas that can still be described as marshy. Such

areas when lying well inland tend to be vegetated by a luxuriant sedgy-grassy

sward (see p.000). A less well-grown example near the sea supported 35 dif–

ferent entities of vascular plants in a small area, of which no less than 9

reached a frequency degree as high as la, as follows: Carex c f. aquatilis

var. stans x bigelowii , vad; Salix cf. calcicola x richardsoni var. mckeandii ,

f-lad; Arctagrostis latifolia , a; Hierochloe pauciflora , o-a; Salix arctica ,

xx o-a; Alopecurus alpinus , la; Carex membranacea , la; Eriophorum angusti –

folium , la; Salix reticulate , la. Various other associates and even dominants

occur in other places, the composition f varying from spot to spot. In this

instance the chief Salix formed bushes up to 30 centimeters high and spreading

laterally to attain a diameter of as much as 1 1/2 meters, although no proper

scrub was found, and indeed the grasses and sedges often overtopped the willows.

Such an area, with busy willows particularly prominent but still remaining

dwarf, is seen in Figure 83. Frequently the surface is somewhat hummocky

111      |      Vol_VI-0121                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

(Fig. 84), with tops introducing a drier, heathy facies including lichens,

though mosses such as Drepanocladus badius usually cover the surface between

the dominant vascular plants, which alone among themselves almost occupy the

area. Below this covering there may lie about 10 centimeters of dark and

wet, humous soil including mineral grits — some of which are apt to effervesce

with hydrochloric acid (HCL), the reaction being neutral. In one small area

listed, 8 species of mosses, 7 of lichens, and 3 of parasitic fungi were par–

ticularly p el le ntiful. The more swampy lakeside marshes of the type seen in

Figure 87 are usually less mixed, as are such young areas of damp limestone

gravel as that shown in Figure 82; the former type is usually well dominated

by such hygrophytes as Eriophorum angustifolium , Carex aquatilis , and Arcta –

grostis latifolia , and the latter usually as Eri o phorum angustifolium , Carex

aquatilis , and Arctagrostis latifolia , and the latter usually has Eriophorum

scheuchzeri plentiful and conspicuous.

        The snow effect , owing to the general flatness of the country, is less

marked and less frequently expressed in the vicinity of Coral Harbour than in

most other parts of our area. Nevertheless, there are two types of community

that appear to be maintained only in relation to drifted and rather late–

melting snow. The first is developed on the bouldery sides of occasional

morainic or rocky ridges such as are shown in Figures 84 and 85, where a great

drift of snow collects each winter and melts only well on in the summer (in

its center sometimes not at all in a cool summer), so that the growing season

is too short at least for the usual dominants, and even rapidly maturing

colonists are to be seen still in flower as late as the end of August. These

include Antennaria angustata , Arenaria sajanensis , Astragalus alpinus ,

Sardamine bellidifolia , Cassiope tetragona , Cerastium alpinum , Draba

112      |      Vol_VI-0122                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

fladnizensis s.l., D. fernaldiana , Eutn e ma edwardsii , Oxyria digyna , Oxytropis

maydelliana , Papaver radicatum , Pedicularis capitata , P. lanata , Poa alpina ,

Potentilla hyparctica , Ranunculus pygmaeus , Saxifraga cernua , S. tricuspidata ,

Stellaria longipes , and Trisetum spicatum var. maidenii . In a few places

where the snow lasts longest of all, even Salix herbacea and Saxifraga oppositi –

folia may be seen still in flower near its receding margin — even toward the

very end of summer in the center of such patches where Phippsia algida may be

the chief phanerogam.

        Earlier-melting areas surrounding the latest snow patches, and many exten–

[ ?] sive depressions and banks which are left bare at a similar time each sum–

mer, tend to be vegetated by dark Cassiope tetragona heath whatever the sub–

stratum may be (Fig. 85). A 4-meter quadrat in this zone had the Cassiope , vad,

Salix reticulata , f-a, Dryas integrifolia (including f. intermedia ), la, Salix

herbacea, la, and 24 other species of vascular plants of which several were,

however, apparently mere casuals. This was to be expected in view of the usual

strong dominance by the Cassiope , which often covered about three-quarters of

the area and grew 10 to 12 centimeters high, while other phanerogams occupied

most of the spaces between its tussocks. Nevertheless some 9 bryophytes and

10 lichens were important cryptogamic “fillers.” The soil was dark brown and

humous to a depth of 5 to 10 centimeters, and the pH was 7.2 in the quadrat,

although none of the grits or silt tested would effervesce with hydrochloric

aid (HCL) in the cold.

        Special localized habitats and communities are few and unimportant here–

abouts. They include “bird stone” effects such as that seen in Figure 86,

where, in relation to manuring, a luxuriant grassy sward is developed locally

around prominences to which scavengers and birds of prey repair, evenin the

113      |      Vol_VI-0123                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

the most exposed and otherwise barren situations. On gneissic or marainic

areas Hierochloe alpina and Luzula confusa are usually important in this

evidently nitrophilous community, but on the limestone Poa arctica or some–

times Alopecurus alpinus may be unaccompanied by other grasses. Somewhat

similar in grassiness, but with a tendency to more heathy (e.g., with Vac –

cinium uliginosum var. alpinum ) and beset with such rampant forbs as [ ?]

Saxifraga tricuspidata , are occasional small mounds looking like old skua

hummocks from two to four feet high and sometimes not much wider, composed

largely of peaty muck. They are to be met on the damp plains inland that

are often vegetated by rather scrappy, interrupted marsh (with patches of

heath on any slightly raised area), and are much visited by snowy owls

( Nyctea nyctea ), arctic foxes ( Alopex lagopus ), and other predators and

scavengers. Whatever the origin of these mounds, their effect is cumulative;

the bigger the prominence the more it is visited, the more manured, and the

richer the dependent growth, making it more conspicuous and furthermore

visited, and so on (cf. 44, p.219).

        Freshwater habitats investigated in late summer here included persistent

trickles and puddles of water that supported green wefts or a yellowish scum

of filamentous algae, generally sterile Zygnema spp. Like some of the more

open, peaty depressions in marshes, the beds of these streams, where they

were lastingly damp and of moss or mud, supported various open-soil and

diminutive colonists such as Arenaria rossii var. daethiana , A. uliginosa ,

Braya sp., Cardamine pratensis var. angustifolia , Carex atrofusca and C. bi –

color , Chrys a nthemum integrifolium , Epilobium davuricum var. arcticum , Equise –

arvense and E. variegatum , Eutrema edwardsii , Juncus biglumis , Lychnis

apetala , Ranunculus hyperboreus , Saxifraga tenuis , S. Oppositifolia , and

S. rivularis .

114      |      Vol_VI-0124                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

        Deposits of mud about lakes were rich in desmids and other diminutive

algae, including in one [ ?] instance much sterile Zygnema sp. or spp. in which

were scattered the hitherto undescribed Closteriopsis brevicula , and also

Cosmarium subarctum , Staurastrum muticum , and S. proboscidium . Luxuriant

dark-brown beds of aquatic mosses covered the bottoms of many lakes, at

least near their margins. In one instance where the water was shallow (1

to 3 feet) the species concerned were Drepanocla [ ?] dus revolvens , D. sendtneri ,

and Scorpidium scorpioides . In some of the brownish-green, slimy deposit

taken in late August from the bottom of this lake near its margin were iden–

tified 33 different species of diatoms. Figure 87 illustrates how, where a

lake’s margin is of rock, phanerogamic colonists are usually absent, but

where it is of shelving mud or gravel there may be beds of semiaquatics ex–

tending out into the water. The plants that do this most actively are Carex

aquatilis , Colpodium fulvum var. effusum , Eriophorum angustifolium , and Hip –

puris vulgaris , and any of these may form luxuriant beds quite locally, at

least where the water is not more than 30 centimeters deep. Behind may

stretch luxuriant flat or tussocky marshes dominated by the Eriophorum or

Carex which may attain a height of 50 centimeters, and have associated

Sali ces Salices , Carex membranacea , C. physocarpa , and such tall and coarse grasses

as Arctostaphylos latifolia and Dupontia fisheri . Such a marsh is seen in

the foreground of Figure 87 and characteristically supports busy willows

toward its margin.

        Seashore and marine communities vary as usual with local habitat condi–

tions, and include fairly extensive salt-marsh areas and evidently plentiful

large algae — to judge by the Laminariaceae and other that are to be found

115      |      Vol_VI-0125                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

cast up on the shore in a fresh condition. The intertidal banks in most places

slant only slightly and near the Hudson’s Bay Company post consist of rounded

boulders of all sizes embedded in clayey gravel, which is light gray and com–

posed largely of limestone material. Here vegetation is plentiful. Fucus

vesiculosus is abundant almost everywhere that it can get a stipe hold, and

various associated smaller algae occur, including species of Cladophora , Enter –

omorpha , and Ulothrix even near high watermark. The shores above are in most

places of rocks or boulders that are devoid of higher plants where reaches by

waves, but behind soon come to support ordinary land vegetation. However, in

places small areas of mud or sand are found, which may support the usual com–

munity of such situations, namely, a tangled mat [ ?] of reddish Puccinellia

phryganodes , with associated P. paupercula , Stellaria crassifolia , S. humifusa ,

Cochlearia officinalis var. arctica and var. groenlandica , Matricaria inodora

var. nana , Carex glareosa var. amphigena , C. salina and its var. subspathacea ,

and in places C. ursina . Elsewhere there may be quite extensive mud flats and

salt marshes, or instead a shingly beach colonized by Elymus arenarius var.

villosus and Arenaria peploides var. diffusa , and, in sandy places higher up,

by a host of open-soil and other plants from the raised land behind.

       

West Coast of Hudson Bay

        This remaining phytogeographical subdivision of the Canadian Eastern Arctic

comprises the Hudson Bay and Roes Welcome coast of Keewatin and its adjacent

small islands, but for the present purpose it is taken to exclude areas that

lie more than a few tens of miles west of the general sea coast. It extends

from latitude 60° N. northward to the Arctic Circle (lat. 66°32′ N.). Although

it may be quite hilly in places, with elevations sometimes rising to about 1,000

116      |      Vol_VI-0126                                                                                                                  
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feet (305 m.), the region as a whole is rather low; thus the country belongs

to the coastal plains, most of which here emerged from the sea only in rela–

tively recent times (cf. 6, pp.5 et seq .). The surface may be rocky and

broken, as is also the coast in many places, but in a general way the whole

has been smoothed by glacial and wave action. Especially in the south is

the land low and flat; elsewhere the coast tends to be beset with islands

and reefs (cf. 65, pp.65-70; 5).

        Broadly speaking, the geology of this district is simple, the northern

half being occupied by a single series of granites and gneisses, wh e reas the

bedrock in the southern half includes some quartzites and schistose diabases

or gabbros. Many, areas, especially where the land is low and flat, are covered

with rewashed morainic material and other postglacial deposits, including much

alluvium; indeed in the extreme south there is hardly any bedrock to be seen

in situ . Elsewhere the country tends to be rather more hilly, although the

whole shows conspicuous evidence of having been intensely glaciated. Al–

though the climate tends to become severe to the north and more favorable to

the south, Chesterfield Inlet, which lies about halfway down the coast, will

serve to suggest the sort of weather to be expected in other parts. In spite

of the coastal position, the climate of Chesterfield is continental in type,

showing greater extremes than almost anywhere else in our area; thus the

winter is bitterly cold (temperatures of [ ?]−60°F. have been recorded) and

the summer sometimes quite hot (temperatures over 80°F. are not infrequent). The

monthly means for July, August, September, and October are: 36.5°, 48.6°, 47°,

and 36.5°F, respectively. Although July and August are usually without frosts,

these can occur at any time in cold years. Inland, to the west, the climate

may be still more severe. The precipitation, too, is temporarily concentrated;

117      |      Vol_VI-0127                                                                                                                  
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generally it totals about 11 inches (28 cm.) in the year and is more thanhalf

in the form of rain, which falls during the four months from July to October.

        Regarding the vegetation it will again be necessary to select from the

general literature and personal observations such notes as seen most pertinent

for a brief survey from north to south, [ ?]along which line the vegetation

tends to increase in luxuriance, and the flora in numbers, as the climate

ameliorates (cf. 33, p.281). The Roes Welcome coast south of Repulse Bay is

reputedly barren, although to judge by the fame of its flat and monotonous

hinterland as a region for caribou in summer (cf. 5, pp.94 et seq .), there

must be considerable tracts of vegetation, probably closed and marshy. The

flora continues to be arctic in type past Wager Bay (33, p.281), but about

Cape Fullerton the vegetation seems less depauperate (cf. 60), and certainly

plant specimens from there tend to be better grown than from places to the

north. Of the nearby Wi [ ?] n chester Inlet it is reported that “The country is

underlain by Archaean crystalline rocks … Long, gently rounded hills, of

slight elevation, form the higher grounds, with wide, shallow valleys between

them. The whole has been intensely glaciated, and the abrasion of the great

ice-cap has reduced the general surface to as near a level surface as is pos–

sible … There is no soil upon the rocky hills, while that of the valleys is

largely boulder clay, in which the coarser material predominates, leaving

little room for the growth of Arctic vegetation upon the finer materials of

the soil. Boulders scattered in profusion over the rocky hills give to the

latter a peculiar ragged ap p earance. Lakes and ponds dot the valleys, and much

of the [ ?]land surrounding these is low and swampy” (27, p.19). Similar con–

ditions prevail around the mouth of Chesterfield Inlet (see below), while in–

land of Winchester Inlet, to the north of Chesterfield, the land from the air

118      |      Vol_VI-0128                                                                                                                  
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again appears monotonous and rather dark, with frequent small lakes that help

to make the terrain look like the gneissic parts of Southampton Island, though

often it seems more rocky and barren as regards higher vegetation, with lakes

more numerous and yellowish lichens more noticeable. Still farther inland

toward the eastern end of Baker Lake, however, the vegetation looks more lux–

uriant, with extensive marshes in the valleys and more browns appearing about

the gray and scoured hogback hills, whose rounded tops alone in places show

through the soft and usually heathy covering of changing browns and yellowish

browns.

        South of Chesterfield lies (quartzite) Marble Island, of which the shores

look glaring white; “the rocks being free from lichens, etc., and the hills

in the interior, which are rounded, are also pure white, and contrast strongly

with the dark brown of the peaty flats and hol l ows ( [ ?] 2, p.35DD). Rankin Inlet,

to the west, has “behind the beach … low grassy hills, with bosses of rock

projecting here and there through the turf” (74, p.82F). Although relatively

barren rocky hills and sandbanks persist in many places, conditions and the

vegetation on the whole improve as we go farther south, to judge from the ac–

counts of this last (generally quite reliable) author. Thus dwarf birches

( Betula glandulosa ) are plentiful around latitude 62° N., while a little south

of Wallace River, in about latitude 61°40′ N., “the tide runs out for a couple

of miles, leaving behind it a wide sandy flat, studded with boulders, and

partly covered with ropy seaweeds. Behind the beach is a wide grassy flat,

dotted with small lakes, which extends back a couple of miles” (74, p.86F).

Again, “For several miles south of McConnell River [lat. 60°50′ N. at its

mouth], a level well grassed sandy plain extends along the shore” (74, p.87F).

119      |      Vol_VI-0129                                                                                                                  
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In this southern portion occurs Zostera marina (60, p.193; 58, pp.91-94),

sometimes in great abundance [ ?] (T. C. Carmichael voce ), and there and to the

north are extensive beds of laminarians and other algae.

        Inland in the north the country tends to be low and flat, with numerous

lakes and tarns which are often rounded, at least in the less rocky terrain

(Fig. 88). Figure 90 shows country in latitude 65° N. and longitude 93° W.

having more physiographic relief, with some beach ridges and a little surface

water in the foreground but rocky hogbacks and numerous irregular lakes behind.

Still farther to the southwest, on Christopher Island, which lies near the

eastern end of Baker Lake, the writer made more detailed observations in 1946.

This island is of irregular outline and rather hilly; built of acid-weathering

rocks, it nevertheless bears a copious veneer of boulders over much of its

surface (Fig. 90), and large beds of marine shells that introduce a considerable

calcareous element at the lower levels. Although extensive scrub is absent,

the vegetation is almost continuous in favorable areas. The flora, too, is

considerable, and includes several angiosperms that are unknown to the east,

at least so far north in Canada. The vegetation survey involved the following

main categories: damp mossy heath, dry lichen-rich heath, mixed willow-birch

scrub, sandy and other lakeside slopes, marshes and lakeside flats, hilltop

rocks and boulders, tarns and their marginal communities. In spite of the

fresh-looking shells and other indications that the smooth lowland plains

had risen out of the sea only in comparatively recent times, the soil develop–

ment was fair. However, little humous accumulation was observed and the soil–

water reaction was usually near [ ?] neutrality. The highest type of vegetation

was the loose willow-birch scrub up to two feet high that was developed on

some of the most favorable sandy or bouldery slopes and supported a fair

ground-shrub layer beneath the dominants (cf. 44).

120      |      Vol_VI-0130                                                                                                                  
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        South of Christopher Island for 100 miles and more the terrain from

the air looked similarly monotonous, with the vegetation dwarfish. Water

usually occupied at least one-quarter of the area, another one-sixth or so

being of rather barren-looking, [ ?]dark-gray hills or bouldery slopes, and

the remainder of brownish or sometimes yellowish vegetation. The lake shores

appeared shelving, but the waters fairly deep farther out. Usually the mar–

gins were boulder-strewn, with boulders sticking out of the water; sandy

beaches were fewer and usually of small extent. Giant or other polygons or

solifluction streaks were often well marked, the latter sometimes extending

quite deep into the lakes. Farther south near the shores of Hudson Bay the

rocky prominences of the north gave way to flattish plains, but, although

the vegetation appeared green and more nearly contin u ous, from the air only

occasional patches of taller scrub were visible in the most favorable situa–

tions, particularly along streams. Nothing approaching tree growth was to

be seen north of the sixtieth par a llel.

        As our example for more detailed description we will take Chesterfield

post, which lies in latitude 63°20′ N. and longitude 90°42′ W. on the south

side of the entrance to Chesterfield Inlet, the outlet from Baker Lake, The

surrounding country is rocky but flat and monotonous (Fig. 91), with only a

poor plant investment except in sheltered depressions. The fundamental rocks

are gray gneisses of vari [ ?] ous types, rendered more or less reddish brown by con–

tained iron salts. The surface has been smoothed by glacial or submarine action

and is in places littered with rounded boulders. The valley depressions, which

alone are at all well vegetated, are lined with rewashed glacial material that

is usually rather shallow and contains little if any limestone and generally

few shells. The hills are low and rolling, largely devoid of soil, and,

121      |      Vol_VI-0131                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

consequently, of higher vegetation. Most of them have rather the form of

ill-defined, rocky ridges, and few, if any, in the vicinity exceed 200 feet

(61 m.) in height. Although intersected by numerous narrow ravines and lakes,

these ridges project sufficiently to give to the country a desolate, rock–

bound appearance, whose gray and ragged stoniness is further accentuated

in some places by an abundance of rounded erratic boulders (cf. Fig. 90

taken some 120 miles to the west). There is little comminuted soil, so that

only a small proportion of the area is occupied by substrata that are suit–

able for the roots of vascular plants. The climate, as has already been

indicated, is continental in type in spite of the coastal position.

        The raised ridges are comparatively low, rocky, and barren, with tops

that are typically of s moothed gneiss about half covered with dark Gyrophorae

and other foliose and [ ?] cr ustaceous lichens — especially species of Lecanora ,

Lecidea , parmelia , and Rhizocarpon . In crevices and slight depressions where

they can get a hold, mossy mats (generally of Rhacomitrium lanuginosum ) occur,

in which quite numerous phanerogams may root. These may include almost any

of the hardier xerophytes of the heathy and other areas developed lower down,

although Hierochloe alpina and Luzula confusa are the most typical (almost

constant) members. A 5-meter quadrat (in which the former was f-lvad and the

latter f) included among additional vascular plants only Festuca brachyphylla

and Silene acaulis var. exscapa that had frequency degrees of more than vr,

and only three more or less casual “extras.” Among mosses the usual Rhacmomi –

trium and [ ?] Nierochloe made the terrain look straw-colored from a distance.

In the virtual absence of mineral soil, except for a few s plinters and grits

that gravitational and other forces had thrown together in depressions and

122      |      Vol_VI-0132                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

crannies, the phanerogams were practically confined to the more luxuriant

areas of moss, whose closely molded and woven mats came away cleanly from the

limited Rhacomitrium mat, forming a domed tussock supporting Hierochloe , etc.,

is seen on the left in the foreground of Figure 92. The figure giving the

scale is standing in a larger mat supporting a few scrubby willows, and

there are other, smaller, young moss “bobbles” in front, behind the pool of

water. The whole is in a depression in the top of a rocky ridge, the surface

of which was evidently smoothed by wave action before emerging from the sea,

and in many places still supports only lowly cryptogams. Indeed, in places

where the rock was smooth and unbroken, there were often no higher plants at

all over areas many meters in diameter; conversely where the surface had

begun to crumble there were numerous plants, including such heaths as, par–

ticularly, Empetrum nigrum var. hermaphroditum . Figure 93 shows a little of

the Empetrum * (below) and Potentilla vahliana (in flower, above), both having

attained ecesis apparently without the aid of a moss mat in crevices of an

old, broken, rocky surface that is elsewhere largely covered with lichens

of good growth. Figure 94 shows a large, tangled plant of Saxifraga tricus –

pidata in flower on a frost-shattered, rocky surface whose youth and attendant

instability has precluded extensive lichen growth; in a crevice on the left is

seen a poor, thin plant of Poa glauca .

        The general plains , apart [ ?] from the marshy and snow-patch series

described below, are chiefly occupied by two main types of community, each of

which comprises a whole series of variable facies that merge into one another

and into the other vegetational types of the district. The first is a series

of barrens and half-barrens that are extremely various in type but altog [ ?]ether

123      |      Vol_VI-0133                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

cover a large proportion of the land area: in them such vascular plants as

Hierochloe alpina , Saxifraga tricuspidata , Epilobium latifolium , Festuca

brachyphylla , Vaccinium vitis-idaea var. minor , Dryas intergrifolia , Luzula

confusa , Oxytropis bellii , Potentilla nivea and vars., and Poa arctica tend

to be the most important, and between them occupy up to about one-third of

the area — e.g., on gravelly material where the cryptogams are apt to be

numerous and much mixed. In the slightest of depressions there are often

to be found quite plentiful heathy plants.

        The other main series comprises the proper heaths developed on marine

depos i ts or alluvial or comminuted substrata in sheltered situations. They

are generally luxuriant and fully closed and consolidated, but much mixed.

Thus a 5-meter quadrat had Vaccinium uliginosum var. alpinum , a-lvd; Empetrum

nigrum var. hermaphroditum , f-lvad; Ledum palustre var. decumbens , f-lacod;

Arctostaphlos alpina , a; Vaccinium vitis-idaea var. minor , a; Salix herbacea ,

f-a; Carex bigelowii , f; Cassiope tetragona , o; Luzula confusa o; and only

half a dozen other vascular plants — altogether a small flora, owing to the

over [ ?]whelming if mixed dominance of the heaths. Cryptomgams, however, were

numerous and of good growth, including a considerable number of mosses and

several hepatics. Rhacomitrium lanuginosum was still the most plentiful moss,

but the lichens included various large species of Cetraria and Cladonia , and

also Dactylina arctica , Lobaria linita , Peltigera leucophlebia , Sphaerophorus

globosus (va), and Stereocaulon alpinum . An unusual number of saprophytic

fungi, many of them with large fruiting bodies, were noted in this habitat

in August, and also several parasites. Beneath the heathy sward there may

be a few centimeters of humous soil, although frequently this is so meager as

to suggest emergence from the sea only in quite recent times. Such heaths

124      |      Vol_VI-0134                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

cover altogether considerable areas, chiefly on low-lying flats and slight

slopes of marine veneer, although they may also extend over smooth or broken

rock surfaces; but they rarely persist for many meters in any one direction

without being interrupted by projecting boulders or some other habitat or

community. Sometimes there may be associated prostrate Betula glandulosa

var. sibirica , or low but scrubby willows including Salix alaxensis and, in

one instance that the author saw, upright bushes, 1 meter high, of S. plani –

folia . However, these “trees” were all more or less isolated [ ?] individuals

that appeared to be limited to areas which were drifted over deeply with snow

in winter, no extensive scrub being encountered.

        Marshes are variable and numerous but usually of small extent, as the

habitats change drastically from spot to spot. The vegetation has in general

little real grip on the terrain and alters rapidly in composition and luxury–

iance, in space and also apparently in time. Frequently the marshes are mossy

and well consolidated, but still very mixed as regards dominance; thus in

one small area near the margin of a tarn 25 species of vascular plants oc–

curred, of which the following appeared to be the most ecologically important:

Dupontia fisheri (including var. aristata ), a-lvad; Carex aquatilis approach–

ing var. stans , f-lvad; Salix arctophila , a; Hierochloe pauciflora , f-la;

Carex chordorrhiza , a-la; Carex physocarpa with C. saxatilis , o-la; Poten –

tilla palustris , o-la; Arctagrostis latifolia (including f. aristata ), f;

Poa arctica , f; Saxifraga hirculus var. propinqua , f. A dozen mosses (include–

ing Sphagnum squarrosum , Drepanocladus revolvans , and two species each of

Aulacomnium , Calliergon , and Meesea ) consolidated the surface, and there were

also several parasitic and saprophytic fungi. But although some mesophytic

125      |      Vol_VI-0135                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Arctic

mosses such as Polytrichum juniperinum occurred, there were no mature and

identifiable lichens. A marshy area interrupted by irregular hillocks is

seen in Figure 95, and a close-up with a small, frost-heaved mud patch in

Figure 96. Other noteworthy marsh plants that may be fairly plentiful locally

around Chesterfield include Andromeda polifolia , Carex rariflora , Eriophorum

angustifolium , E. chamissonis f. albidum and E. scheuchzeri , Juncus albescens

and J. castaneus , Luzula spadicea , Pedicularis sudetica , Ranunculus lappon –

icus, and Rubus chamaemorus, all of which except the Eriophora and Junci are

characteristic chiefly of the most luxuriant boggy areas, were Sphagna are

usual l y much in evidence. Even here there is rarely if ever a humous deposit

of any real depth; when the feet sink into a “squish” lakeside swamp they

generally meet a hard rock or stony substratum not far down. The mosses are

frequently much permeated by lemming runs, but the vegetation does not appear

to suffer sriously from the attentions of these animals, even the bulbils of

Polygonum viviparum and Saxifraga cernua being frequently left alone.

        The snow effect is not well marked at Chesterfield, with the small snow–

fall, regular topography, and warm summer. However, latist snow patches are

fairly frequent in depressions or behind rocky ridges where drifts form so

deeply in winter that the growing season is appreciably, though not drastically,

shortened by their late melting in summer. The characteristic community here

is a dark heath dominated by Cassiope tetragona , a 5-meter quadrat in a typical

example having 16 species of vascular plants, of which only the following were

really important: Cassiope tetragona , vad; Salix herbacea , a; Ledum palustre

var. decumbens , f-a; Rubus chamaemorus , f; Vaccinium vitis-idaea var. minor , f;

all the others had lower frequency degrees and seemed to belong rather to the

surrounding damper ground. But in spite of this dampness which had allowed

126      |      Vol_VI-0136                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

the ecesis of several marsh species, the Cassiope was overwhelmingly dominant,

covering about three-quarters of the area though rising only 8 to 11 centi–

meters above the surface. The soil beneath was dark and humous to a depth

of 12 centimeters before the coarse, snady substratum was reached. Crypto–

gams were plentiful and mixed; they included an abundance of several differ–

ent species of mosses as well as of brown Cetrariae and, in a damp depression,

a close investment of Gymnomitrium corrallioides . The poorness of the flora

is due in some measure to the luxuriance of the dominant Cassiope ; where

this was more interrupted and patchy, various other associates were to be

found.

        Freshwater habitats were numerous and variable. Small streams, besides

having their beds frequently clothed with luxuriant felty mats or tassels of

aquatic mosses, where they are sluggish may bear brown or green deposits or

floating masses of algae — from three samples of which, taken in the third

week of August, no less than 41 species of algae (excluding diatoms) were iden–

tified. Similarly numerous and variable are the algae of tarns and peaty

pools. Thus, from one or more of five samples of filamentous or mud-binding

deposits or gelatinous colonies taken near the margins of such bod i es of stand–

ing water, there were identified 13 of the 41 species found in nearby streams,

and no less than 42 further species — again exclusive of diatoms. The desmids

(some of which were being attacked by parasitic fungi) and other small forms

were mostly enmeshed or enclosed in masses of filaments or gelatinous colonies

of other algae.

        Colonizing shallow water around the margins of permanent tarns and lakes

were to be found luxuriant beds of, particularly, Carex aquatilis agg.,

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EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

Colpodium fulvum var. effusum , Eriophorum angustifolium , E. scheuchzeri ,

Ranunculus trichophyllus var. eradicatus , and Hippuris vulag ga ris . Figure 97

shows a dense bed of the Hippuris (a close-up of the sparser margin of such

a stand is seen in Figure 98) pioneering where the bottom is muddy, succeeded

by an equally dense bed of the beautiful Eriophorum scheuchzeri . Often, how–

ever, the bottoms of the lakes were devoid of higher pla n ts and even of macro–

scopic algae. In shallow pools and around lake margins where the level is

likely to recede considerably in late summer, Ranunculus hyperboreus var.

turquetilianus and such mosses as Campylium stellatum , Cinclidium subrotundum ,

Philonotis tomentella , and Splachnum vasculosum frequently form luxuriant mats

that higher up may support a sward of Epilobium palustre , Koenigia islandica ,

Montia lamprosperma , and Stellaria crassifolia . On the drying muddy bed of

one tarn were discover e d Callitriche verna var. minima , Eleocharis acicularis ,

and Ranuchulus reptans ; around grew Desch a mpsia pumila , Carex [ ?]bicolor ,

and C. holostoma , and, at the margin where the water disappeared early in sum–

mer, characteristic long runners of Carex chordorrhiza or large clumps of

C. physocarpa , the resulting community being frequently interspersed by more

barren muddy areas whose surface was darkened by a dried and cracking deposit

of colonial Cyanophyceae (Fig. 99).

        Behind such lake marginal communities marshes were usually developed wher–

ever local topography allowed; these were of varying types and frequently

remained so wet and boggy even in late August that one sank in them halfway

to the knee, although below there was generally a rocky of stony bed, all

these areas near the coast being evidently young. Their emergence from the

sea only in comparatively recent times is further evidence by the slight

brackishness of some of the lowest-lying lakes — especially as indicated by

128      |      Vol_VI-0138                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

their algal flora and the occurrence around their margins of such salt-marsh

plants as Carex glareosa var. amphigena , C. ursina , phases of C. Salina ,

Chrysanthemum arcticum, and Stellaria humifusa . Even Puccinellia phryganodes

was twice encountered in such situations well away from the sea.

        Seashore and lagoon habitats at Chesterfield included rocks and boulders

between tidemarks (spring tides are reported to rise about 18 feet — (75,

p.403)) that supported at all points visited an abundance of Fucus vasiculosus

with associated smaller algae, especially Pylaiella littoralis, which fre–

quently grew as an epiphyte on the Fucus stipes. No larger laminarians were

observed growing, although a few were to be found cast up on the beach in a

fresh conditi o n; however, tidal pools supported an abundance of small algae,

including, in addition to the Pylaiella , Anabaena variabilis , Calothrix con –

tarenii , Dichotrix rupicola , Enteromorphy intestinalis , Tolypothrix lanata ,

and Ulothrix flacca . Some of these were best developed near high tidemark,

where the water was at times only brackish and the Fucus was absent; here on

sheltered and shaded rocks the Pylaiella and Ulothrix often formed a greenish

“felt,” with associated larger thalli of the Enteromorpha . A b ove high tidemark

the sandy or gravelly beaches often supported plentiful Elymus arenarius var.

villosus (approaching var. villosissimus ), Arenaria peploides var. diffusa , and

Mertensia meritima var. tenella , as well as a host of smaller colonists includ–

ing Arabis arenicola , Artemisia borealis , Carex maritima , Castilleja pallida ,

Matricaria indora var. nana , and Sagina intermedia .

        A lagoon, where water was quite drinkable but presumably somewhat brackish,

supported an abundance of algae which included a few desmids, Pediastrum bory –

anum , Scenedesmus obliquus , Cladophora kuetzingiana , and Zygnema spp. Around

129      |      Vol_VI-0139                                                                                                                  
EA-PS. Polunin: Canadian Eastern Arctic

its margin persisted a salt-marsh community dominated by Puccinellia phry –

ganodes , Dupontia fisheri , and Carex ursina , with such associated seashore

plants as C. glareosa var. amphigena , C. salina approaching var. subspathacea ,

Chrysanthemum arcticum , Cochlearia officinalis var. groenlandica, Matricaria

indora var. nana , Potentilla egedii , Puccinellia paupercula , Stellaria

crassifolia , and S. humifusa . This seeming relic was being invaded by more

or less freshwater hygrophytes including Deschampsia caespitosa var. lit –

toralis agg., Epilobium palustre , Eriophorum scheuchzeri , Juncus arcti c us,

Koenigia islandica , Luzula spadicea , Sagina intermedia , Salix arctica , and

Saxifraga spp., the whole being woven into a close mat by such mosses as

Calliergon giganteum and Campylium stellatum . Behind these was rather rapid

transition to one of the heathy or other communities of the general hinterland—

as on the open coast, where something less than a meter above the level reached

by the highest tides was usually sufficient to see the disappearance of almost

all seashore species, though where the ground shelved gradually these often

extended well back.

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EA- II PS . Polunin: Regional Flora

---

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Nicholas Polunin