Strangest of all the plants is the Soldanellas, a small species which
exists on the lower slopes of the Alps. When the flower stems are in
their most active state of growth they release a considerable amount of
heat. In this way they will bore a course up through a thick coating of
ice and snow to the light and air above, when by some means the plant is
aware that the spring has arrived. There seems to be something more
wonderful in this than can be explained by mere mechanical causes.
Indeed, the sympathy of the plant with its surroundings is surely one of
those mysteries which are as inscrutable as life itself.