Borovichev E.A. Botanical excursion on the Northern Soroya. Hammerfest, 2014.

official medicine as a diuretic, cholagogue, diaphoretic, bactericidal, anti-inflammatory and in wound-healing remedies. Birch is a host tree o f parasitic fungus Inonotus obliquus (a birch fungus, chaga mushroom), which is widely used in Russian and Eastern European traditional and official medicine. The subalpine forest also holds some other trees in addition to the dominant birch: Mountain Ash ( Sorbus aucuparia ssp. glabrata), Goat Willow (Salix caprea) and Asp (Popitlus tremula) which occurs only as high bushes or stunted single trees. Species composition o f birch forest is almost the same as in the lower pail of alpine belt or in some meadows. Among species generally limited to the forest and adjacent lower alpine (tundra) belt are Swedish Cornel (Cornus suecica), Cow-wheat (Melampyrum pratense. M. sylvaticum), Arctic Starflowcr (Trientalis europaea). Very peculiar forest species are Wintergreens ( Pyrola minor. P. norvegica) with small, white-pinkish, bell­ shaped flowers in dense raceme. In the cold days o f September an orange- Ferns are widely distributed in mountain bircli forest and in the lower alpine zone, usually in shady places, on wet andfertile substrata, sometimes in rock crevices Phegopteris connectilis The sterile conk o fthe parasiticfungus Inonotus obliquus (chaga mushroom) on a birch trunk. The Norwegian name ('kreftkjuke) means "cancer polypore" and is explained by thefungus' appearance or supposed healing properties 30