32 TYPICAL FLOWERS OF ALPINE PASTURES 



of the Alpine meadows are, for the most part, distinct 

 from those which flourish in the pastures. We can 

 thus distinguish certain groups or associations of 

 Alpine plants, each fitted or adapted to flourish under 

 special circumstances. On the other hand, certain 

 Alpine species will be found to belong to more than 

 one association, and to be widely distributed through- 

 out the valley. 



The Alpine pastures and the valley meadows are 

 typical associations on a large scale. The Alpine 

 forests afford another instance. The conditions of 

 life which prevail in these three types of habitat are 

 very different, and since certain plants flourish 

 in one and not in the others, it may be assumed that 

 such species are specially suited to the particular 

 conditions under which they live, and are not adapted 

 to the circumstances which prevail elsewhere. Con- 

 versely, those species which are generally distributed 

 and frequent in more than one association, have 

 remained less specialised, and are therefore to be 

 found more widely. They, however, are comparatively 

 few in number. 



Within the great associations, such as the pasture 

 plants or the forest plants, are a number of smaller 

 communities, the units which build up the great 

 associations. Thus in the pastures we find typical sub- 

 associations in the rock plants and in the inhabitants 

 of the Alpine marshes. In the forests, we have the 

 plants forming the forests themselves, and other species 

 which thrive in their shade. 



