SWISS WILD FLOWERS WOOD 



509 



they have yielded up their carbon compounds as fuel to melt a 

 tunnel in the ice, and the production of the buds and blossoms on 

 the flower stem above the ice mantle. The illustrations (figs. 1, 2, 

 and 3) attempt to show the progress of the flower stalk from the 

 autumn leaf beds to the full development of the flowering plant 

 the following spring. (See also pi. 2, fig. 1.) 



The Swiss Orchidaceae have already been mentioned, but their 

 number and the beauty of their blooms call for special reference. 

 Man}^ have fragrant flowers, beautifully colored, wdth fantastically 

 shaped separate flowers or flowerlets borne on long spikes. They 



Figure 3. — Soldanella flowers that have by their own heat tunneled 

 a passage to light and air through the overlying sheet of ice. 

 (After Grant Allen.) 



are commonly found at middle and high altitudes. The great 

 majority of Alpine orchids are also native elsewhere — in Europe, 

 Asia, and America. 



These highly valued plants are generally thought to be difficult 

 of cultivation, and it is true that some of them do not readily bloom 

 after transplantation. All of them require a deep planting, many 

 in a limestone soil mixed with peat. They should never be moved 

 except in the late autumn after flowering and plant grow^th have 

 ceased. A few of the most interesting are as follows : 



The green- winged orchid {Orchis morio) has four color varieties — 

 mauve, purple, pink, and white. They have erect stems G to 8 

 inches high, and the flowers are disposed in a handsome, loosely 



