360 Phleum alpinum L.

This mainly arctic-montane species is widely distributed in Eurasia and N. America. Its dispersal has locally been favoured by clearings in the boreal forests, for instance in Fennoscandia. Of this species s. lat . two subspecies (also taken as species) have been distinguished, viz. subsp. alpinum in the C. European mountains (subsp. rhaeticum Humphr. in Fl. Eur. 5/1980, p. 240) and subsp. commutatum (Gaud.) Hult. there, toa, but also further in an arctic-subarctic, almost circumpolar area (subsp. alpinum in F l. Eur., I. cit.). The species s. lat. is reported among the amphi-atlantic plants (Hultén, Amphi-atl., p. 234 and map 216). It occurs also in Patagonia, probably as a native plant. Cf. also Meusel et al. 1965, map p. 55.