94 SWISS FLOWERS. 



leaves closely packed in little rosettes. Each rosette rests 

 on the summit of a little column of old brown and dead, 

 but hidden half-dried and persistent, leaves." When these 

 rosettes are a silvery white, the plant goes by the name of 

 A. tomentosa, from the white hairs which cover it. The little, 

 almost sessile, flower springs from the middle of the rosette. 

 It is white, purple in the tube and at the throat. A variety 

 with rose, or deep purple, goes by the name of A. minor. 

 Zermatt. 



A. Heerii (Fig. 73). This is closely allied to A. Hel- 

 vetica, but is known by its pretty pink flowers, which 

 become blue in drying, and which usually spring almost 

 sessile from the side of the stem. At first sight it looks 

 like a patch of the Moss-Campion, but it is even more 

 beautiful than that, though its colour is nearly the same. It 

 may be distinguished therefrom by having its petals joined 

 in a tube, with five instead of ten stamens, and not having 

 such finely-divided leaves. The leaves are thickly imbricated 

 on the branches, more in the style of the Stonecrops. The 

 flower also lasts much longer than that of the Moss-Cam- 

 pion, which withers very quickly, while we have seen 

 little patches of the blue Gentian, and pink Androsace, 

 open their bright blossoms to the sunshine days after being 

 gathered. High on Alpine mountains : the Riffel. Our 

 coloured plate may give some idea of it. 



A. carnea (Fig. 74) is perhaps not quite so pretty, but 



