HIGH ALPINE CUSHION PLANTS 179 



THE CUSHION PLANTS. 



The cushion species present a type of plant 

 architecture or habit essentially characteristic of the 

 High Alpine region. In the flora of the lower 

 Alpine region, only two cushion plants, the Moss 

 Campion and the Purple Saxifrage, are met with, and 

 these, as we have seen, are also abundant in the higher 

 Alps. 



The cushion plants (Plates XXXIII. and 

 XXXIV.) are constructed on a definite plan. 

 There is a simple, unbranched stem buried deep 

 in the soil. Just above the surface of the soil, the 

 stem gives off a very large number of leafy shoots or 

 branches, radiating out, as it were, from the centre 

 of an hemisphere. The main branches give rise to 

 secondary branches, also clothed with leaves, which all 

 grow out to about the same length, and the whole of 

 the shoots are crowded together into the smallest 

 possible space (Plate XXXIV.), thus giving rise to a 

 compact, cushion-shaped structure. The exact form 

 or shape of the cushion varies in different species, as 

 illustrated on Plates XXXIV. and XXXV. The 

 cushions often grow to a very large size. The largest 

 cushion of the Moss Campion we have measured 

 was near the Hotel Weissmies (9,180 feet) above 

 Saas Grund. It was nearly circular, and the diameter 

 was 3 feet 4 inches, and the height about 4 inches. 



Cushion plants, it may be of interest to add, are 

 also found in many other parts of the world besides 



