BOTANICAL NOTES FROM THE SWISS HIGHLANDS. 



I. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS : LUCERNE. 



MB ARRAS de 

 richcsse — that is 

 the impression not 

 unfrequently made 

 upon the tourist 

 of an "inquiring 

 turn of mind " on 

 his first introduc- 

 tion to the Alps 

 of Switzerland, 

 whether the bent 

 of his inclinations 

 be the pursuit of 

 some scientific 

 hobby, or simply 

 a search after all 

 that they afford of 

 the sublime and 

 picturesque in 



nature. Where 

 shall we begin ? 

 Which of the many localities which bear upon our 

 particular vanity shall we first undertake ? The 

 botanist at any rate will have to regulate the work 

 before him by the season of the year : his lower 

 levels must be done before the higher ones, and the 

 snow-line, generally speaking, reserved for the last 

 weeks at his disposal ; otherwise it matters little 

 where -he commences. Let us say, then, Lucerne 

 and its neighbourhood. But as a certain resemblance 

 to each other obtains among the mountains and 

 valleys, a few preliminary remarks upon alpine vege- 

 tation in general, to avoid repetition, may not be 

 out of place. In the forests which clothe the slopes 

 Abies exceha is the prevailing tree, extending to 

 about 5000 feet above the sea ; less frequent is 

 A. picea, which stops short at 4000 feet. Finns syl- 

 vestris is uncommon in some parts, less so in others ; 

 about Thun, for instance, on the Griisisberg, it is 

 frequent. The mountain-pine does not grow above 

 an altitude of 6000 feet. The larch occurs in the 

 No. 193. — January 1881. 



Bernese highlands only as an escape from cultiva- 

 tion ; birch and pomaceous shrubs here and there 

 at all altitudes up to the level of the pines. The 

 beech is not seen above 4000, nor the oak above 

 3000 feet ; barley disappears with the one, and 

 wheat with the other. The forest trees are of more 

 varied character about the mountain bases, espe- 

 cially in sheltered situations. Ash, maple, aspen 

 and holly are frequent and extend sparingly to the 

 oak level. By the water-courses in the valleys, 

 black poplars, alders and willows are plentiful ; 

 while dwarf willows and Abuts viridis are often 

 to be found high up in wet rocky places as far as 

 the limits of the mountain-pine. The elm and 

 Tilia parvifolia occur, but are rather scarce in a 

 wild state. Hornbeam is more of a lowland tree ;* 

 yew incidental. Broom rarely seen ; furze unknown. 

 Hedges there are none away from the towns, what- 

 ever may obtain to the contrary in the more open 

 parts of the country ; bramble and briar, whitethorn 

 and blackthorn are therefore far less en evidence 

 than with us. There are dewberries on the banks 

 of the rivulets, but the most frequent brambles ' are 

 R. tomentostcs, R. saxatilis and R. Ida:iis. Of the 

 briars Rosa alpina may be met with up to the limits 

 of the pine trees. 



The first part of an alpine ascent is generally in a 

 steep zigzag for one or two thousand feet through 

 forest, or it may wind in a more gentle rise over 

 prairies and orchards, and enter a pine forest high 

 up. On emerging from this the way will perhaps 

 lead onwards and upwards, over a long stretch of 

 "alpe" or pasturage, interspersed with chalets or 

 cattle-sheds, to the bottom of a steep stony gorge or 

 gully ; the rocky slopes or precipices which enclose 

 this on either side are bare, or their nakedness is 

 sparingly relieved by gnarled and stunted growths of 



* "As also the vine, which ceases to grow at 2000 feet, and is 

 rarely seen in the Highlands, except in the Rhine and Rhone 

 valleys, but chiefly on the banks of the lakes of Geneva and 

 Neufchatel, of which the height above the sea is about 1200 and 

 1400 respectively." 



B 



