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abundance of specimens is comparatively great. The ground in
the forests is always carpeted thickly with green.
Generally it is the leafy mosses that form the carpeting
(Hypnym splendens, Schreberi and triquetrum), but in the moss
there is always a small number of phanerogamous plants, which
appear in great quantities. The bilberry (Myrtillus nigra), for
instance, is a characteristic plant in the spruce woods; the
whortleberry (Vaccinium vitis idæa) is found most frequently in rather
open, dry spots, where the pine predominates. Of these two kinds
of berry, the Norwegian woods produce an enormous quantity
every year, most of which is left untouched, as it does not pay
to gather it on account of the expense of labour and inadequate
means of communication.
Among the wood plants we may name the pretty, fragrant
Linnæa borealis, which is found in great quantities, and different
species of Pyrola, with their evergreen leaves. The large brake fern
(Pteris aquilina) is especially conspicuous, and some few species of
Lycopodium.
In dry places where the soil is shallow, the woods are more
open. Here juniper (Juniperus communis), ling (Calluna vulgaris)
and black crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) are most abundant.
These little shrubs are among the most easily contented plants in
our flora, and have, therefore, a wide distribution over the whole
country, from sea-level to high up on the mountains.
The species of lichen also form an essential part of the
vegetation. The reindeer moss (Cladonia rangiferina) is found all over
the woods, especially on large stones or rocks; on dry soil in the
pine woods, it sometimes quite gains the upper hand, and covers
the ground with a light grey carpet. There are also many other
species, both on stones and trees. The species of Usnea (U.
barbata, U. longissima) are particularly conspicuous, covering the
branches of the spruces with long grey tresses.
Here and there in the forests there are bogs in which the
conifers cannot grow. Here the low growth is generally composed
of Sphagnum, and on the mounds grow sedges (Carex), ling
(Calluna vulgaris), bilberry (Myrtillus nigra) and blaeberry (M.
uliginosa). Here too are great quantities of cloud-berries (Rubus
Chamæmorus) with their pretty and palatable, orange-coloured fruit.
The undergrowth of the forest is somewhat more luxuriant
by deep water-courses, and on steep slopes covered with rich soil.
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