THE DWARF HABIT 177 



plants are distinctly shorter, and much more compact 

 in build than in the Lowlands. There is a marked 

 absence in Alpine plants of those features which 

 gardeners term "leggy" or "weedy." The stems are 

 relatively shorter, and in many cases are buried below 

 the surface of the soil. The axes of the flowering shoots 

 are also less extended. Yet the average Alpine plant 

 can hardly be called a dwarf, if by that term we imply 

 a plant which only rises from 1 to 4 inches (2 to 10 

 cm.) above the level of the soil. 



Among the lower Alpine species, such plants 

 as the Alpenroses, the Yellow- and Eed-flowered 

 Gentians, the White Veratrum, the Monkshoods, and 

 the Martagon Lily are very far from being dwarfs. On 

 the other hand, the majority of the lower Alpines 

 are short in stature, though not true dwarfs. The 

 rosette and carpet plants may be regarded as the best 

 examples of the dwarf plants, but these types of habit 

 are far from being universal. 



When we turn to the High Alpine flora, we find 

 a decidedly larger number of dwarf plants. The 

 stature of these species is on the average distinctly 

 shorter than in the lower region. Yet all High 

 Alpine plants are not dwarfs, for Adenostyles leuco- 

 phylla, Reich., is often 3 feet high, Doronicum 

 (Aronicum) scorpioides, Lam., is from 6 inches to 2 

 feet in height, and Empetrum nigrum. Linn., is a 

 shrub varying from 6 to 18 inches in height. On 

 the other hand, the majority of High Alpine species, 

 as contrasted with their near relatives flourishing in 



