178 WILD FLOWEBS OF STJMMEB. 



takes its name from the odour of its woody root : its 

 unbranched stem, some eight or ten inches high, 

 bears a cluster of yellow flowers and flat and oblong 

 leaves. On the mountain summits the small yellow 

 flowers of the Procumbent Sibbaldia (Siblaldia pro- 

 cumbem) are often mistaken for those of the tor- 

 mentil. Here also are found the rare Pipewort and 

 the rarer Mountain Spiderwort, but we cannot linger 

 over these. The Alpine Bistort (Polygonum vivipa- 

 rutn) is, however, abundant amongst the midsummer 

 flowers : its narrow, green, grass-like leaves clasp the 

 slender stem at its upper part, but the lower leaves 

 are stalked. On the upper part of the stem a few 

 flesh-coloured flowers appear. Amongst the lower 

 flowers are a few red bulbs, by which the plant is 

 propagated, a process not uncommon amongst Alpine 

 plants whose seeds cannot ripen. 



The lesser-flowered Cow-wheat (Melampyrum syl- 

 vaticum) is of a much deeper yellow tinge than its 

 woodland namesake, which it much resembles. It is 

 frequently found in North Wales and in some parts of 

 Scotland. 



The white Mountain Avens (Dry as octopetala) loves 

 to dwell in the fissures of the lower mountain lime- 



