62 TYPICAL FLOWERS OF ALPINE PASTURES 



abundant. They also occur on the margins of woods, 

 flowering from the first sign of spring until June or 

 July. 



The genus is not found in Britain. In the Swiss 

 Alpine zone there are two common species : the 

 Alpine Soldanella {S, alpina, Linn.) and Soldanella 

 pusilla, Baumgarten, which we may call the Small 

 Soldanella. The former bears two to three flowers 

 on each flowering shoot (Plate XLIL, Figs. 2 and 3), 

 the large, pale lilac flowers being bell-shaped and 

 drooping. The petals are deeply fringed, the fringe 

 extending for half the entire length of the corolla. In 

 the Small Soldanella, the fringe is shorter, and does 

 not exceed one-third of the length of the petals, and 

 only one flower is, as a rule, borne on each flower- 

 stalk. The bell-like corollas are here usually violet 

 in colour. The leaves of both species are thick, dark 

 green, heart-shaped structures, mounted on long stalks, 

 which arise from the stem just below the surface of 

 the ground. The leaves persist throughout the winter, 

 and are recumbent on the soil. Below ground there 

 is a fairly stout stem giving off numerous roots. 



Like the Crocus, which we shall discuss in a later 

 chapter devoted to meadow flowers, the Soldanellas 

 often bloom before the winter's snow has melted. 

 A photograph of Soldanellas flowering in the snow is 

 shown on Plate XII. The flower matures gradually 

 during the winter months. At first it is quite a 

 small object, down among the bases of the leaves. 

 Long before the snow has begun to melt, the plant 



