this curious plant, is abundant in the Alps from the lowest levels right
up to 7000 or 8000 feet. It is found in dry places, on moors and heaths,
and in dry open woods. It sometimes forms an unwished-for inhabitant of
the mountain pastures where it is disliked by the herdsmen, for it is an
undesirable plant for fodder. The leaves, like those of the Edelweiss,
are covered with white woolly hairs, and the flower stems are also hairy.
The flowers, which are pink or white, are dioicious, that is to say, the
same flower does not produce both pollen and seed, and seed-forming and
pollen-producing flowers do not occur on the same plant. As the pollen
is not carried by the wind from flower to flower, the plant is entirely
dependent upon its insect visitors for the fertilisation of its seeds,
and without them no seeds will be formed. The plant is also spread by
means of runners, which extend over the soil and take root at intervals.
The Swiss peasants make wreaths of the Mountain Everlasting, which
they wear as a charm, especially on Ascension Day. The plant is widely
distributed, and is found in the North of England and Scotland, as well
as most parts of Europe and the Polar regions.
The Carpathians Cudweed (_Antennaria carpathica_), which is also common
in Switzerland, differs from the Cat’s-foot in that its flowers are brown
rather than white or pink, and that it does not send out runners.
[Illustration: PLATE XXIII.
ANTENNARIA DIOICA. GÄRTNER.
The Cat’s-Foot, Mountain Everlasting, or Mountain Cudweed. Gnaphale
dioique ou Pied de Chat. Echtes Katzenpfötchen oder Mayensässblume.]
The Arnica
(_ARNICA MONTANA_)
A bright conspicuous plant is the Arnica, with its yellow star-like
flower-heads. It grows in meadows, pastures, and on sunny moors, and is
widely distributed in the Alps, from the lower mountain regions up to
8000 feet. It is much less common in limestone than in other districts.
Four broad green leaves grow from the root in the form of a cross. In
the centre of these rises the erect flower-stalk some 8 or 9 inches
long, and covered with glandular hairs. On the flower-stalk are borne
the one or two pairs of leaves, without stalks, and arranged opposite
to one another. The flower-heads are drooping in the bud, but when they
open they are large and conspicuous and of a deep yellow colour. They
give forth a faint, resinous, not very pleasing, odour. The outer or ray
florets of the flower-head have long projecting strap-shaped petals.
Their purpose is to attract insects to the floral society, and the less
conspicuous florets in the centre of the flower-head produce just as good
seeds. At first but a single flower-head is formed, but later on, if the
plant is vigorous, buds appear in the axils of the opposite stem-leaves,
and two more flower-heads appear. This is what has happened in the two
specimens here photographed, and a second pair of buds is seen in one
of them. It is interesting to note that a mould-like fungus is found
constantly associated with the roots of the plant. It is believed that
the two plants grow together to the mutual advantage of each, the fungus
assisting the Arnica to obtain nourishment from the soil, and in return
receiving from it some of the organic matter manufactured from the air
with the help of light. The root has a bitter aromatic taste. From it
is made the tincture of Arnica, which is often applied to bruises,
apparently, however, without any very considerable influence upon them.
Several other Alpine plants, the Doronicum and Aronics, for example, have
bright yellow flower-heads like the Arnica, but as no similar Alpine
plant has pairs of opposite leaves on the flower-stem, the recognition of
the Arnica becomes a very simple matter.
[Illustration: PLATE XXIV.
ARNICA MONTANA. L.
The Arnica. Arnica. Echtes Wohlverlei.]
The Spiny Fuller’s Thistle
(_CIRCIUM SPINOSISSIMUM_)
(_See Frontispiece_)
This stately and beautiful plant is common in all parts of the Alps,
but is found nowhere else. It grows in moist places in the meadows and
pastures, and beside the streams, between 4000 and 7000 feet. It is
generally looked upon as a noxious weed by the herdsmen, but in one or
two places the upper and more succulent parts are gathered and preserved
as pigs’ food for the winter.
The thick evergreen leaves, armed with formidable spines, are paler
at the upper part of the stem where they surround the large brown
flower-head. Usually but a single flower-head is borne by each plant,
but each one produces some hundreds of seeds. Each seed has a feathery
wing-like appendage, so that it may be more easily distributed by the
wind. The Spiny Fuller’s Thistle is usually some 3½ or 4 feet high, as
was the specimen photographed, but in high altitudes the plant is more
bushy and stunted. Under these conditions it is not unlike the Stemless
or Alpine Carline Thistle (_Carlina acaulis_), which, in spite of its
name, has sometimes a stem some 8 or 10 inches long. But the Carline
Thistle has a larger and more flattened flower-head, and when the flowers
are in bloom they are of a purple colour, though they soon turn brown as
they get dried up.
Probably the nearest relation of the plant here photographed is the
Common Fuller’s Thistle (_Circium oloraceum_), abundant in moist places,
both in the Alps and lowlands. It is a plant that would seem to be
protected by its resemblance to other members of its family, for though
it appears spiny, it is soft and succulent, and bears not a single
prickle anywhere. The leaves, which are sparsely distributed on the
slender stem, are of a dirty grey-green colour, and though as tall as its
spiny relative, the plant is much less robust.
The Round-Headed Rampion
(_PHYTEUMA ORBICULARE_)
In England we have only two kinds of Rampion and both are rare, but in
Switzerland there are no less than ten different species, with blue
and white flowers, and some of them are extremely abundant. One of
the commonest of the blue-flowered varieties is here photographed. It
grows in mountain pastures and poor meadows between 3000 and 8000 feet,
and is found not only in the Alps but all over Central Europe, though
absent in the North. It flowers in July, and the size of the plant
undergoes considerable variation according to the altitude at which it
grows. Sometimes the flower-stalks are but 3 or 4 inches long, at others
16 or 18. The leaves, which grow from the root stock, have serrated
edges, and are frequently a good deal larger than those of the specimen
photographed. The methods adopted by the plant for the distribution
of its pollen and the fertilisation of its seeds through the agency
of insect visitors are of particular interest. Each flower of the
flower-head is formed of a blue tubular structure (corolla), which is at
first closed above. In the centre of this is the style covered by short
hairs and surrounded by the five stamens. While still in the bud the
stamens shed their pollen, which collects in the tube around the style
and is retained in position by the short hairs. Now the flower opens
at its tip, and while maintaining its tubular character above splits
longitudinally below into five or six segments, so that linear openings
are formed. The result is that when an insect settles on the flower the
tubular corolla is very easily depressed, exposing the style surrounded
on all sides by pollen. Any pollen that is not removed by the insect
falls from the style, for the short hairs on the style by which it is
held in position very soon fade. The style then splits above into three
segments, exposing for the first time the sticky stigmatic surface now
ready for pollination.
The Round-headed Rampion is one of the five Swiss species with rounded,
not elongated, flower-heads. Three of them can at once be put aside,
because they are usually much smaller plants and have less than twelve
flowers to a flower-head, whereas the Round-headed Rampion has always
more. _Phyteuma Scheuchzeri_ is distinguished from this plant by its
lilac flowers, longer stalked and usually broader basal leaves, and
especially by the circle of leaves immediately beneath the flower-head,
which are longer than the flowers themselves.
[Illustration: PLATE XXV.
PHYTEUMA ORBICULARE. L.
The Round-headed Rampion. Raiponce à Capitules Arrondies. Kugelköpfige
Rapunzel.]
The Bearded Bell-flower or Campanula
(_CAMPANULA BARBATA_)
Of the numerous Bell-flowers which abound in the Alps none is more
quaint and beautiful than the one here photographed. The whole plant,
stem, leaves, and flowers, is covered with short hairs, but around the
mouth of the bell the hairs are longer and stiffer, and pure white. It
is interesting to note that when cultivated in rockeries in England the
hairy character of the plant almost entirely disappears. Some three to
five pendent flowers are borne by each flower-stalk, all turned in the
same direction. Occasionally a single flowered variety is met with,
usually at a high altitude. The ordinary pale blue colour of the flower
may disappear entirely, and specimens with pure white blossoms are not
infrequent. The plant is found abundantly all over the Alps and Sub-Alps,
in meadows and pastures, and to a less extent in open woods, from 3000
feet almost to the snowline (7000 to 9000 feet). It is usually less
abundant on limestone than on other rocks. The Bearded Bell-flower is
also met with in the Carpathians, Jura, southern parts of Norway, and in
other mountainous districts in Europe. It is probably a native of the
Alps.
No difficulty will be experienced in recognising the Bearded Campanula.
No other Bell-flower has little projections between each of the five
teeth of the calyx which are turned back towards the stem. Only one
other Bell-flower (_Campanula Zoysii_), and that a species not always
recognised as distinct, has a light blue corolla with long hairs around
its mouth. But here there is a constriction just immediately below the
opening of the bell, and the plant is smaller and very rare, and occurs
only in Eastern Switzerland.
[Illustration: PLATE XXVI.
CAMPANULA BARBATA. L.
The Bearded Bell-flower or Campanula. Campanule Barbue. Bärtige
Glockenblume.]
The Dwarf Hair-Bell or Bell-Flower
(_CAMPANULA PUSILLA_)
The photograph gives a good general idea of the tufted growth of the
Dwarf Bell-flower. The plant is quite small, rarely more than 3 or 4
inches high, and forms dense close-growing tufts of some size. The
smooth or hairy flower-stalks bear one to six pale blue flowers and the
narrow leaves, which are most numerous and have serrated edges below.
There are also short flowerless branches covered with similar leaves,
and a few broader leaves with longer stalks grow directly from the root
stock. These last are not well seen in the photograph. The plant is very
abundant in dry rocky and sandy places, in dried up torrent-beds, by the
roadside and on the tops of walls. It is found from the lower mountain
region up to some 8000 feet, and descends with some of the rivers towards
the plains. It is also found in the Jura and parts of the Black Forest.
The Dwarf Bell-flower will be recognised from most of the other species
of Campanula which abound in Switzerland by its broad basal leaves, its
narrow stem leaves, and its erect seed pod. But, unfortunately, there
are three other Swiss species to which this description equally well
applies. Of these the rare _Campanula excisa_ is at once picked out by
the deep rounded clefts between the five segments of its bell-shaped
flower. _Campanula Scheuchzeri_ is a larger plant of more open and less
tufted growth and with fewer flowerless leafy shoots. Its bell-shaped
flowers are usually of a darker blue, are more conical, and have a
wider opening; they are, in fact, less truly bell-shaped. _Campanula
rotundifolia_, the common Hair-bell of our heaths and downs, which occurs
also in Switzerland, is slightly taller than our plant and has also more
cone-shaped flowers. Its flower buds are held erect, while those of the
other three Bell-flowers we are considering are dependent. In a general
way, the low stature and tufted growth of the Dwarf Bell-flower will, in
most cases, suffice for its recognition.
[Illustration: PLATE XXVII.
CAMPANULA PUSILLA. HÆNK.
The Dwarf Hair-bell or Bell-flower. Petite Campanule ou Campanule Naine.
Kleine Glockenblume.]
The Hairy-Leaved Alpenrose
(_RHODODENDRON HIRSUTUM_)
The Alpenrose is the commonest and best known of all the Alpine plants.
It abounds almost everywhere; were it not so it would have become
practically extinct years before, for it is gathered unmercifully. Nor
are the visitors to Switzerland alone responsible for this. Every Sunday
throughout the summer, crowds of the native peasants, both children and
adults, may be seen returning home, each bearing in his arms an immense
bunch of the favourite flower, and often with a second and smaller
nosegay tied round the top of his alpenstock.
There are really two distinct species of Alpenrose, the Hairy-leaved
(_Rhododendron hirsutum_), and the Rusty-leaved (_Rhododendron
ferrugineum_) varieties, and a hybrid or cross between them is also
less commonly found. Both varieties are low evergreen shrubs with thick
leathery leaves which only fade after three or four years. Both have
raised brown spots on the lower surfaces of the leaves, only they are
much more numerous on the Rusty-leaved species, so that the under surface
of the leaf is completely covered with them while they are only sparsely
scattered on the leaf of the Hairy-leaved variety. They contain a balsam,
and are thought to be of use to the plant in preventing its drying up.
They may also assist in the absorption of water. The flowers of both
species are admirably adapted for cross-fertilisation by the humble-bees
which visit them. The stamens first mature, and not until the great
part of the pollen is shed does the stigma lengthen and become ready
for pollination. The long hairs growing from the stalks which bear the
stamens interlock with similar hairs on the inside of the corolla, and
thus effectively prevent the entrance of smaller insects which might
visit the flower in search of the abundant honey, but which would fail
to effect its fertilisation. The flowers of the species here illustrated
are usually a little paler in colour, slightly smaller, and open a
little later than those of the Rusty-leaved variety. The plant usually
forms a lower and more thickly branched shrub, with rather shorter
twigs. But the essential distinguishing features between the two are
to be found in their leaves. The leaves of _Rhododendron hirsutum_ are
usually broader and less pointed, green underneath, and have well-marked
hairs all round their edges. In _Rhododendron ferrugineum_ the leaves
tend to be narrower, darker green above, and brown underneath, and are
entirely devoid of hairs, but have rolled back edges. Both species are
found abundantly in rocky places between 4000 and 8000 feet, and flower
in June, July, and August, and may be seen at their best in July. The
Rusty-leaved variety seems to prefer a rather moister spot and may also
be found on peat. It is most abundant on primary granitic rock, while the
other species grows best on limestone.
[Illustration: PLATE XXVIII.
RHODODENDRON HIRSUTUM. L.
The Hairy-leaved Alpenrose. Rhododendron cilié ou hérissé. Bewimperte
Alpenrose, oder Wimpern-Alpenrose.]
The Lesser Winter-Green
(_PYROLA MINOR_)
The plant here photographed derives its English name from the evergreen
character of its leaves. It is in fact a British plant, being found
somewhat rarely in Scotland and in the North, but is much more common
in Switzerland. It grows among the moss in shady woods, from the plains
right up to the tree-limit and may even reach 8000 feet or higher, where
protected by shrubs and bushes. The plant is widely distributed in
Switzerland and is also found in Vosges, Pyrenees, and Jura. It flowers
in July.
The Lesser Winter-Green will be recognised by its short, straight style,
which does not project beyond the flower and which is closely surrounded
by the stamens which converge toward it. Of the four other Swiss Pyrolas
which resemble the above, two only are at all common, and these two will
alone be mentioned. _Pyrola secunda_ will be recognised by its longer
straight style, which projects beyond the petals and by its greenish
white flowers, which are all turned in the same direction. Its leaves are
more pointed and have deeper notches than those of our plant. _Pyrola
rotundifolia_ has also a style that projects beyond the petals, but it is
curved so that the stigmatic surface at its extremity is far below the
centre of the flower.
[Illustration: PLATE XXIX.
PYROLA MINOR. L.
The Lesser Winter-green. Petite Pyrole. Kleines Wintergrün.]
The Stemless Gentian
(_GENTIANA ACAULIS_)
Many species of Gentian are met with in the Alps. One of the best known
of the smaller varieties is the Stemless Gentian or Gentianella, which is
a frequent inhabitant of heaths, meadows and pastures all over the higher
parts of Switzerland, and is also found in the Jura and Carpathians,
being less common on limestone soil and more abundant on primary granitic
rock. The plant grows at an altitude of 4000 to 8000 feet, and flowers
in June, July, and August. Occasionally it descends much lower and may
even be found below 1500 feet in a few special localities. Each plant
consists of a small rosette of leaves, a very short stem, and a single
bell-shaped flower of deep azure blue. Very often two or three plants
are found growing together and a small group such as that photographed
is not infrequent. Occasionally also specimens with pale blue, rose red
or even white flowers may be seen. When the flower has been fertilised,
and while the seeds are maturing, the brightly coloured corolla shrivels
up and surrounds the seed vessel, at the same time becoming of a green
colour and perhaps taking on a vegetative function. The leaves are rather
leathery, narrow, and pointed.
It is often quite a difficult matter to distinguish between the Stemless
Gentian, here illustrated, and the Carved Gentian (_Gentiana excisa_),
not only because the two plants are so much alike but also because
intermediate forms exist; indeed, it is open to question whether the
two plants are really to be regarded as distinct species. In the Carved
Gentian the calyx lobes become contracted just above their bases, to
widen out again above, and the recesses between the lobes are more
rounded and less pointed. The leaves also are broader, less leathery, and
not nearly so sharp pointed as those of the so-called stemless variety.
The flowers of the Marsh Gentian (_Gentiana Pneumonanthe_) are also not
unlike those of the plant here photographed, but it should be readily
distinguished because its leaves are much narrower and several flowers
are borne by a single plant.
[Illustration: PLATE XXX.
GENTIANA ACAULIS. L. (GENTIANA CLUSII).
The Stemless Gentian. Gentiane à Tige Courte. Stengelloser Enzian oder
Erd-Enzian.]
The Short-Leaved Gentian
(_GENTIANA BRACHYPHYLLA_)
A particularly fine group of this beautiful little Gentian is here
photographed. It is typical of the high Alps or snow region, and is
rarely found below 6000 feet, and while scarce above 9000 is to be
gathered even at 12,000 feet on the Matterhorn. But a single flower is
borne by each little plant at the top of a short stem, which also bears
the small, thick, closely packed leaves. The plant is found growing in
the turf of mountain pastures and rocky places in the central parts of
the whole Alpine chain. It is moderately common particularly on primary
rock, and is also met with in Dauphiny and the Pyrenees.
Of the twenty or more species of Gentian that occur in Switzerland,
some are tall, stately plants, bearing numerous blue, yellow, or purple
flowers. Others are much smaller and bear relatively few flowers, or
even one only in small feeble plants. A few never have more than a
single blossom to each little plant. Among these last are the Stemless
Gentian with its bell-shaped flower, figured on the previous plate,
and the Short-leaved Gentian with its star-like flower, which we here
illustrate. As a matter of fact, there are really three single-flowered
Star-Gentians and to distinguish between them is not easy. Of these the
Bavarian Gentian (_Gentiana bavarica_) is recognised from our plant by
its longer stem, perhaps 2 to 3 inches long, on which only two or three
pairs of opposite leaves are borne, and by the fact that the lower leaves
are smaller than the upper. The Spring Gentian (_Gentiana verna_) has a
very short stem, covered by closely packed leaves like the short-leaved
variety, and like it, too, the lower leaves are the larger, but its
leaves are harder, narrower, and more pointed, and short wing-like
projections are found on its calyx.
[Illustration: PLATE XXXI.
GENTIANA BRACHYPHYLLA. FROL.
The Short-leaved Gentian. Gentiane à Feuilles Courtes. Kurzblättriger
Enzian oder Eiförmiger Enzian.]
The Alpine Toad-Flax
(_LINARIA ALPINA_)
This beautiful little plant is abundant in all parts of the Alps. It
is one of the first to take possession of fresh soil, but disappears
rapidly under the stress of competition with other plants. Its numerous
winged seeds are carried far and wide by the wind, and take root and grow
rapidly on any open space. Hence it is found among the general rocky
débris of the mountain-side, on the moraines of glaciers, and on the
fresh soil brought down by avalanches, and is most abundant in limestone
districts. Its true home is the high Alps and the snow region, and it
flourishes best between 5000 and 9000 feet; but it is often carried down
to a much lower level by the rivers, and is even found locally in the
plains of Southern Germany. The Alpine Toad-flax is an inhabitant of most
of the mountain ranges of Central and Southern Europe, and is thought to
have taken origin in the South. It flowers from June till September, and
seems to have derived its name from its flax-like foliage.
From the root stock arise one or more prostrate branches which creep over
the rocks and soil, and turn upward at their extremities to terminate
in a bunch of the brightly-coloured flowers. The grey-green leaves are
narrow and succulent, and are arranged in whorls of four on the stem. The
flowers are furnished with a long spur which contains the honey, and
are only visited by bees and humble-bees. The common humble-bee has a
long enough tongue to reach to the tip of the spur and is the chief agent
in the fertilisation of the plant. The orange-yellow spot at the only
opening to the flower is equivalent to a notice “this way to the honey.”
Should no insect visit a flower self-fertilisation will nevertheless
occur and seeds will be produced all the same. A variety of this plant,
with flowers of a uniform red-violet colour and without any orange-yellow
spot, grows on primary granitic rock. A second and much rarer type has
pure yellow blossoms.
The plant is sure to be easily recognised. The prostrate stem, narrow
leaves, and entirely closed up flowers that grow together in bunches are
some of the more characteristic features.
[Illustration: PLATE XXXII.
LINARIA ALPINA. MILL.
The Alpine Toad-flax. Linaire des Alpes. Alpen-Leinkraut.]
The Alpine Balsam
(_ERINUS ALPINUS_)
The Alpine Balsam is a characteristic rock plant of the limestone Alps.
Taking root in the clefts of the rocks, it sends out radiating branches
in all directions, which adhere closely to the surface. It may also be
sought in dry mountain meadows and among the grass of dry stony slopes,
and is fairly common between 4000 and 7000 feet. Sometimes it is met
with at a lower altitude in rocky places. The leaves, which are broader
at their free extremities and covered by short hairs, are crowded
together at the base of the stem. They have deeply serrated edges.
The violet-purple or occasionally white flowers, which are formed of
five petals united at their bases, are borne at the extremities of the
branches. The Alpine Balsam is found not only in the Swiss Alps but also
in the Tyrol, the Jura, the Vosges and Pyrenees. It flowers from early
June till August.