110 THE VEGETATION OF TEMPERATE AND ALPraE SIKHISI, 



their peculiar character to guard them against cattle and other 

 herbivorous animals. 



The second class of noteworthy plants are those manifestly 

 endowed with protection from the moisture and inclemency of the 

 climate As examples, the following may be cited : Rheum 7iohik, 

 Eriophiiton Himalaiciim, Saussurca ohvallata, and Saiissurea gossDpiphora. 

 Rheum nohile has the divisions of its inflorescence hidden under over- 

 lapping bracts; the leaves of Erio-plvjton are of the same service to its 

 flowers ; Smissurea ohoallata has flower heads enclosed in a hollow ball 

 of inflated papery bracts ; while Scmssurea gossypiphora is completely 

 enveloped in a woolly covering. Were all the plants found in com- 

 pany with these furnished with similar or equally eflicacious protection, 

 the fact would admit of easy solution; but the majority are absolutely 

 naked as regards vestiture, and no reason can be advanced to prove 

 why a few species, belonging to widely different orders, should be 

 invested with safeguards against climate and other circumstances, 

 while most of their congeners are destitute of such aids for successful 

 existence. Although these protected plants are seemingly more 

 adapted to their environment, they certainly cannot show, by numeri- 

 cal superiority, that they have gained any advantage in the struggle 

 for life. 



The last class of vegetation to be noted is composed of the procum- 

 bent species of rhododendron (R. nivale), with Diplarche multiflora and 

 D. pmiciflora^ and many plants of diverse genera (some formerly 

 enumerated) growing in dense, hard, hemispheric tufts. The situations 

 in which these plants are found produce numbers of others, of normal 

 form, distinctly Siberian in character. Two reasons may explain 

 these curious methods of growth — one, that plants growing so closely 

 to the ground benetit from the heat absorbed by the stony soil, their 

 density of growth assisting them to conserve the warmth thus obtained; 

 another, that their humble stature saves them from being broken by 

 the winds which blow continuously over this region. Their habit, 

 together with their small harsh leaves, may also save them from being 

 browsed on by animals. 



Grasses and sedges form a close herbage over many tracts, and 

 the same winds, which probably force the bulk of high Alpine vege- 

 tation to creep on the soil, assist in the scattering of their pollen 

 and seeds. The pollen and seeds of Coniferce and the light feathery 

 seeds of willows are carried hither and thither by the same means. 

 The fructification of Alpine plants is another subject which would 

 well repay a more than casual investigation. 



The list of orders with soft, fleshy fruits is short; for instance, 

 Berheridece, Rosaccc (^P//rns, Fragarki), Saxifragacea; (^Eibes), Capri- 

 foliacece, Vacciniacece, Ericacea (Gatilthcria). SolanacecSf Laurinece, are 



