THE GLOBUL ARIAS AND BUTTERCUPS 111 



occur in Britain. In Alpine Switzerland they are an 

 invasion from the Mediterranean subtropical flora. 



The Alpine Globularias are typical carpet plants, in 

 habit quite like those which we have just discussed. 

 They are common on flat-topped rocks and in stony, 

 dry places, and are easily recognised by their little 

 dense heads of blue flowers borne erect on long stalks, 

 which are leafless except for one or tw^o very small 

 bracts. The arrangement of the flowers in compact 

 heads closely resembles that characteristic of the 

 order Compositse, the Daisy family, though here 

 there is no involucre of bracts below the flower- 

 head or capitulum. The flowers are two-lipped, and 

 are for the most part fertilised by butterflies. In 

 both species the leaves may occur in httle rosettes 

 on some portions of the trailing stems, while else- 

 where they are scattered in their arrangement. In 

 the Round-leaved Globularia (the leaves of which, by 

 the way, are more spoon-shaped than round, despite 

 the specific name) numerous runners are produced. 

 These are not found in the case of the Bare-stemmed 

 Globularia ; of. also Geum reptans and Geum aJpinum, 

 p. 127. 



The Alpine Buttercup. 



The Buttercups, or Ranunculi (natural order 

 Ranunculacese), are particularly numerous in tlie 

 Alps. Some have yellow flowers, others white. 

 Tliey flourish under a great variety of circumstances, 

 and are remarkable for being very little modified 



