22 ALPINE PLANTS 
is another daintily charming little plant of like character 
of growth, but both of these will grow equally well on a 
bed of sandy or stony soil. - 
Androsace lanuginosa likes to get its roots into the 
crevice between two boulders, sending its trailing stems 
over a ledge to hang over a perpendicular face of rock. 
Thus, the silky foliage may shake itself free of moisture 
and bask in the heat reflected from the rock during the 
brief but strenuous Alpine summer. 
A good many plants emulate the example of Androsace 
lanuginosa, and success is best achieved with these in 
British gardens when their roots are placed in a big body 
of soil, a perpendicular stone providing a shield for the 
roots and a background for the herbage. 
Ramondias, and also Haberlia rhodopensis are fre- 
quently found wedged between closely-fitting rocks with 
their broad flat foliage nestling close to the perpendicular 
face of the rock. At such an angle no moisture can settle 
in the crown or “heart” of the plant, and in our home 
cultivation, whether we grow these plants in perpendicular, 
sloping, or flat positions, their strong antipathy to stagnant 
moisture must be remembered and guarded against. It 
is also a noteworthy fact that the Ramondias choose for 
themselves positions in ravines where shade from fierce 
sunshine is afforded. 
It is a mistake to suppose that all alpine plants are 
found embedded in stones. The mountains do not ascend 
in uniform gradient like the Pyramids, nor are they com- 
posed of solid masses of unbroken and uncovered rock. 
There are many deep cavities which have gradually, become 
