128 INTERESTING PLANTS OF ALPINE PASTURES 



smaller and smaller towards the base. In the case 

 of the Creeping Avens the leaflets are pointed 

 and have sharp teeth, while in the Mountain Avens 

 both the leaflets and teeth are rounded. 



The yellow flowers, which are large and handsome, 

 are borne singly on long stalks, pinkish-brown in 

 colour. The calyx is double, a peculiarity also shared 

 by several other genera of Eosaceae, including the 

 Potentillas, a very abundant Alpine race, and the 

 Strawberry. Six outer members of the calyx alternate 

 with six longer inner sepals. The petals are usually 

 six in number, while the stamens are very numerous. 

 The pinkish-brown fruits have feathery plumes, like 

 those of the White Dryas already mentioned (Plato 

 XXX., Fig. 2). 



The flowers of the Avens are often unisexual, and 

 the same holds good also in the case of the White 

 Dryas. Some will be found to be perfect — that is to 

 say, they possess both stamens and carpels — while 

 others contain stamens only. This tendency to derive 

 unisexual male flowers, from perfect or hermaphrodite 

 organs, is not infrequent among Alpine species of 

 Eosaceae and Eanunculaceae. We have already noticed 

 another instance, in the case of the Alpine Anemone 

 (p. 39). 



The Long-spurred Violet. 



The Long-spurred Violet {Viola calcarata, Linn., 

 natural order Violacese, the Violet family) is frequent 

 in June and July on the slopes of the higher pastures 



