120 INTERESTING PLANTS OF ALPINE PASTURES 



is another plant which is rare except in damp places 

 near cow-chalets, as on the Engstlen Alp (Canton 

 Berne). 



The Alpine Dock {Rumex alpinus, Linn., natural 

 order Polygonaceae, the Dock family), with very 

 large leaves borne in massive clumps, is frequently 

 to be seen near chalets. It is largely cultivated by 

 careful manuring, and is made use of as a fodder. The 

 leaves are cut two or three times during the course of 

 the summer and boiled down, the concoction being 

 laid by for the use of the cattle in winter. The 

 German-speaking Swiss call this dock "Blacken," 

 and the patches of dock "Blackengarten." The 

 same name is also sometimes found applied to certain 

 pastm^es, such as the Blacken Alp on the Surenen 

 Pass, where this plant is abundant. 



The White Veratrum. 



We will now discuss some further pasture plants 

 of interest, beginning with the White Veratrum 

 {Veratrum album, Linn., natural order Liliaceae, the 

 Lily family) (Frontispiece, and Plates XXVII. and 

 XXVIII.), which is a stout herb very common in 

 the pastures. The stem is tall and the leaves light 

 green in colour, large and broad. The flowers are 

 greenish-white, the perianth leaves being widely open, 

 and the anthers globular in form. The specific name, 

 " album," = white, if it refers to the flowers, is certainly 

 a misnomer, for their colour is, as a rule, much nearer 

 green than white. 



