36 TYPICAL FLOWERS OF ALPINE PASTURES 



flower-stalks, the involucre segments, and the outer 

 surface of the perianth members. These hairs add 

 greatly to the beauty of the plant (Plate IV.). They 

 are commonly regarded as serving to keep the plant 

 warm during the season of melting snows. It is very 

 unlikely, however, that this is their real use. It is 

 more probable that they tend to lessen the risk of 

 excessive transpiration (see p. 12) from the upper 

 portion of the plant. It must be remembered that 

 when this Anemone flowers, the soil in which the 

 roots are buried is at a very different temperature 

 from the atmosphere. The sun during the snow- 

 melting season is hot, but the soil is still either 

 frozen or very cold. Hence if the above-ground 

 portion of the plant were to lose water too rapidly, 

 the loss could not be made good by the roots. The 

 hairs probably serve to lessen this risk in much the 

 same way as those of the Edelweiss, discussed in the 

 last chapter. 



The fruit of the Spring Anemone (Plate V., Fig. 1) 

 is a very common " find " in the pasturages in summer. 

 It is not only beautiful, but botanically interesting. 

 It is closely similar to, though smaller than, that of 

 the Alpine Anemone, which we will shortly describe 

 in detail (p. 39). 



Before leaving the Spring Anemone, we may 

 mention that in the Zermatt and a few other valleys 

 of Canton Valais, another species, Haller's Anemone 

 (Anemone halleri, All.), is found, which very closely 

 resembles the Spring Anemone in many points. This 



