PLANT LIFE IN 

 ALPINE SWITZERLAND 



CHAPTEE I 



INTRODUCTORY — SWISS NATIONAL FLOWERS : THE 

 EDELWEISS AND THE ALPENROSES 



Not SO very long ago — in fact, within the recollection 



of many — the object of a botanical study of a region 



such as Alpine Switzerland was merely to compile a 



list of the genera and species ^ of plants found within 



its limits. Such a catalogue, which the botanist terms 



a flora, though a highly necessary preliminary stage 



in the progress of our knowledge, is now no longer 



regarded as "the be-all and the end-all" of such 



enquiries. It is true that by its aid we learn the names 



of the plants we meet with in our wanderings among 



the Alps, and how to distinguish them from one 



another. This being accomplished, we may compare 



the Alpine flora of one country, such as Switzerland, 



with that of another, Britain ; thus an extremely 



^ See footnote, p. 15. 



A 



