16 INTRODUCTORY 



interested themselves in Alpine plants are aware that 

 it can often be gathered near many of the Alpine 

 centres without the trouble of forsaking a well- 

 made path. This is true, for instance, of some of 

 the hills above Zermatt and Saas. Yet if we were 

 to set forth in order to collect this plant, our chances 

 of coming across it would usually be quite small, unless 

 we were guided by the experience of others. 1 The 

 explanation is that the Edelweiss, while not a rare 

 plant, is exceedingly local in its distribution. It 

 does frequently occur among the most inaccessible 

 of crags, but even there it is often not to be seen. 

 On the other hand, it will sometimes cover a stony, 

 dry, almost level alp by the acre. Why its distribution 

 should be so local is a question which cannot be fully 

 answered at present. The fact remains that it is 

 usually restricted to the driest of situations in which 

 plants can flourish. Many other Alpines, such as 

 the Saxifrages, cling to the crevices of a cliff, but 

 these nearly all require some degree of moisture in 

 the scanty soil, or some situation well exposed to the 

 weather. Where the conditions are such that a 

 minimum degree of moisture is alone available, there 

 the Edelweiss will outstrip its competitors, and succeed 

 in the struggle for existence. Where it occurs in 

 surroundings in which other plants can flourish, there 

 it must compete against them for a bare livelihood. 

 Thus, as a rule, Edelweiss is restricted to the 



1 Edelweiss is usually to be found in one or more localities near all 

 the great Alpine centres of Switzerland in the month of August, 



