THE ALPINE GENTIANS. 259 



The purple gentian (Gentiana purpured), and the spotted 

 gentian (Gentiana punctata). These are distinguished by 

 their plentiful appearance : their large oval leaves, and the 

 height of their vigorous stems, recall those of the yellow 

 gentian. The features which separate these two species are 

 not very distinct : the corolla of the former is purple without 

 and yellow within ; that of the latter is of a bright yellow, 

 marked by spots of deep purple, which, however, are not 

 permanent ; the calyx is campanulated, with upright and 

 lanceolate foliola. 



The Gentiana acaulis contrasts singularly with the preceding 

 species, its stem being so short that one is almost tempted 

 to deny the existence of any j its large corollas, of a bright 

 celestial blue, lie on the ground as if they had fallen 

 fresh from a bouquet. We must not confound this species 

 with the Gentiana pumila, a much smaller plant, with a very 

 elongated calyx, which grows abundantly on the turf of 

 Mont St Bernard. 



The Gentiana verna and the Gentiana nivalis, with a corolla 

 of the finest azure, inhabit the loftiest points of the Alps, where 

 all vegetation begins to disappear. The former, or the gentian 

 of spring, flowers, in these frozen regions, in June and July ; it 

 is one of twenty-four phanerogamous plants of the last vegetable 

 station of Mont Blanc. This station is formed by a series of 

 vertical layers of protogene, which separates the upper part of 

 the Glacier des Bossons from that of Taconay. The debris of 

 the rock, decomposed under the influence of atmospheric 



