41 THE ALPINE FLORA 



Lentibulariae, etc. 



Our survey of the great kingdom of the Exogens is, 

 so far as concerns the alpine garden or even the collector 

 of alpine wild flowers, coming fast to a close. There 

 remains but one genus of supreme merit, the Daphne or 

 Garland Flower, one of curious interest, Pinguicula or 

 Butterwort, and two perhaps of some garden value, 

 Globularia and Polygonum. The rest of the remaining 

 orders, if represented in alpine flora, is little more than a 

 wilderness of weeds, given over to the Dock and the 

 Nettle, or the temple of noble forest trees, chief of 

 which upon the high hills is the gallant and sturdy pine. 

 For the latter we refer readers to our work jNos Jlrbres. 

 The wilderness one may well hasten over, glancing at the 

 following. 



Pinguicula 



Eng. : Butterwort ; Fr. : Grassette ; Ger. : Fettkraut. 



A member of the Lentibulariae with the characteristics 

 of that order : leaves radical, rosulate, glandular-viscous ; 

 flowers solitary, irregular; calyx two-lipped or five 

 partite; corolla monopetalous, irregular, the lower lip 

 spurred; two stamens; one very short style. It is the 

 most carniverous of Swiss plants, being furnished with 

 glands visible to the naked eye, the leaves serving as 

 veritable traps for insects. The viscid secretion acts as a 

 bait to tiny, thirsty flies, which are caught in it, killed, 

 torn to pieces and finally absorbed into the leaf. The 



