the east. Pine and birch are the trees of the west country. Their
upper limit is somewhat lower than in the east country, just as
the snow limit sinks as the sea is approached. The pine, for instance,
in the upper part of the Hardanger Fjord, is only found
up to about 2000 feet above the sea, the birch up to 3000 feet;
in the middle part of the fjord, at Strandebarm, the birch scarcely
reaches a height of 2000 feet above the sea.
Farther down the fjords, the east' country plants disappear
■one after another, as the climate becomes more insular, and the
upper limits of the various plants become lower. - This sinking of
the upper limits is also perceptible in the circumstance that several
pronounced arctic plants on the west coast find their way far down
into the lowlands, indeed, some, are found close to the shore, e. g.
-the graceful little Alchemilla alpina, with its silvery leaves, and
the thick-leafed rose-root (Sedum Bhodiola).
The great belt of islands round the coast are barren and bare,
•especially when seen from the sea; .but no sooner do we come
into places that are sheltered from the direct influence of the
■sea-breezes, than we find quite a rich vegetation. In the crannies
in the rocks grow thickets of oak and birch, aspen and rowan-tree,
indeed, here and there even a pine may be found in particularly
sheltered spots.
A number of the common east country plants are missing here,
but on the other hand, there are others, though not so many as
to allow of a comparison of this flora, as regards wealth of species,
with that of the east country. The hills are covered with the cross,
leaved heather and Scotch heather (Erica Tetralix-ajul cmerea), and
among them are found the slender yellow-blossomed species, Hypericum
pulchrum and Narthedum ossifragum, tufts of Bleehnum spieant and
Allosorus erispus. Most beautiful of all the coast plants is the
stately, poisonous fox-glove, Digitalis purpurea; it is found in great
abundance all over the coast. I t may be absent far up the fjord
valleys, where it is replaced by the east country plant, Aconitum
septentrionale. Of woody plants that are characteristic of the west
coast may be named the holly, Ilex aquifolium. Ivy (Hedera Helix)
is also a coast plant, which, however, also penetrates into the
Kristiania Fjord.
The effect of the damp climate on the west coast is also evident
in the far greater number of bogs than in the interior. In
the belt of islands, little peat, bogs may be found, not only in
hollows and on flat country, but also on slopes. The rocky knolls
round about are carpeted with bog-moss (Sphagnum,), and taller bog-
plants flourish: For this reason, bog-plants • occur in greater numbers
than in the east country, and thus often impress the vegetation
with their character. We may name,' as an example, the
spotted orchis (Orchis maeulata); it is a characteristic plant in the
• west country, and is found in quantities on the rocky knolls, while
in the east country it grows almost, exclusively in swampy meadows.
The typical west country plants, the Ericas and Harthecium,
must also be described as bog-plants.
The west coast is especially rich in mosses. Several naturalists
have here, found a number of Atlantic forms, which are most
widely distributed in more southerly regions.
North of the Dovre Mountains, the flora most resembles that
of the east country. Around the Trondhjem Fjord there are large
tracts of flat cultivated .land, and, as in the east country, the
spruce J|s the predominating tree. The whole of the district of
Trondhjem and the southern part of Nordland is described as an
undulating sea of spruce-woods, in which higher mountains, woods
of other trees, large bogs and cultivated fields are only to be
regarded as islands of no great extent. The flora of the spruce
woods is very poor as regards species, and, as in the south, the
undergrowth is composed of mosses, bilberry and a few other
vascular plants.
The upper, limit of growth is lower here than south of the Dovre
Mountains. In the valleys of the interior, the birch grows up to
3000 or 3300 feet, on the coast, much lower; the limit of the pine
in the interior is about 2000 feet above sea-level, but is lower on
the coast, as for instance in Hevne, 1100 feet, on the large island
of Hitteren, 600 feet above the sea. The higher latitude also
shows its influence on the vegetation in the arctic: plants which
begin to appear in the lowlands.
The extreme coast region is destitute of forest, and is also
without a number of continental plants that are found inland.
But the coast plants of Western Europe also gradually disappear
north of Stad., The coast, therefore, possesses a very scanty flora
of common species.'
Within the ■ polar circle the spruce woods, disappear. The birch
s here the most important forest tree, while the pine -is found
y in the inland valleys. The extent of the birch-woods depends