30 TYPICAL FLOWERS OF ALPINE PASTURES 



the flowering period is more generally distributed 

 throughout the spring and summer, and even extends 

 into the autumn. 



In the Alps, the great majority of plants are in 

 flower, or have passed the flowering stage, by the 

 beginning of July, though some continue to flower 

 during the early summer. Moreover, a large number 

 of Alpine plants are specially constructed with a 

 view to flowering at the earliest possible moment, as 

 we shall see in subsequent chapters. There are only 

 two other floras which exhibit this peculiarity in the 

 same degree the vegetation of the Arctic regions, 

 and of the Cape (S. Africa). 



The chief reason which has led to this peculiarity 

 is to be found in the shortness of the summer season 

 in the High Alps. The flowering period is but one 

 stage, almost the preliminary step, in the process of 

 reproduction. At its close much remains to be done 

 before the seeds are ripened. Time must also be 

 allowed for their distribution, and for them to obtain 

 a firm hold in their new surroundings, before the 

 winter's snow rings down the curtain. 



It may be of interest to note the succession of 

 flowering among some of the earlier spring flowers. 

 The dates naturally vary somewhat from year to year, 

 and according to the locality. 



Dr Christ states that a Swiss botanist, named 

 Brugger, observed at St Moritz, in the Upper 

 Engadine, the following order of flowering among 

 the heralds of spring. In the particular year in 



