THE ALPINE ZONE 5 



and less frequent as we pass upwards, and the 

 Alpine species, little by little, become more numerous 

 and important as characteristic features of the 

 flora. 



A few species are confined to the Subalpine region, 

 just as some Lowland plants do not extend beyond 

 their particular zone ; but these are not sufficiently 

 numerous to characterise the region in which they 

 occur. 



The Alpine zone will here be regarded as beginning 

 roughly at a height of 5,000 feet. At this elevation 

 the Beech, as a rule, ceases to flourish, and coni- 

 ferous forests of Spruce, Pine, and Larch replace 

 it and become important landmarks as regards 

 scenery and vegetation. It is the plants growing 

 above this altitude which we shall term Alpine 

 plants, and with these alone we are concerned in this 

 volume. 



As we have already indicated, all zonal limits are 

 purely arbitrary, owing to the exceedingly gradual 

 nature of the change in the vegetation as we ascend the 

 Alps. This is well illustrated by the fact that almost 

 all the botanists who have attempted to define the 

 Alpine zone within rigid limits, have arrived at totally 

 diff'erent conclusions. Thus a great Swiss authority, 

 Dr Christ, distinguishes the region above the limit of 

 the Pine and Larch forests as the Alpine zone — a 

 region which begins at more than 1,000 feet above 

 that here adopted. The late Mr John Ball, another 

 authority, divides the whole of Switzerland into two 



