94 ALPINE FLOWERS AND GARDENS 



affect awesome cliffs and precipices — although, no 

 doubt, it may at times be found so situated that 

 the gathering of it would, for those who wish, 

 entail some risk. And in a humbler, less noisy- 

 way it is popular — if nomenclature is any test of 

 popularity — for it is known variously as Mountain 

 Cudweed, Chast weed, Mountain Everlasting, 

 Cat's-ear, and Cat's-paw. It has, too, variety of 

 blossom in its favour. On the male plant tlie 

 flowers are round, and on the female they are long; 

 while the range of colour in both male and female 

 runs from white, through pink, to a deep rose. I 

 know of few things more charming in this regard 

 than a bouquet of this little flower in all its various 

 tints. And if the Edelweiss is beloved of sheep 

 and chamois, well, so also is the Mountain Cud- 

 weed, with its soft, woolly leaves ; moreover, it is 

 used most readily by the peasants for the making 

 of an effective cough-mixture. 



But the Mountain Cudweed cannot pretend to 

 be purely and simply an Alpine ; although it is 

 found up to about 8,500 feet on wellnigh every 

 mountain, it is common in the plains. There is, 

 however, an Alpine * everlasting ' which might 

 reasonably oust the Edelweiss from some of its 

 pride of place. This is Erynf^ium alpinum^ the 



