ALPINE FRUITS AND BERRIES 13 



does not appear to grow in the Alps, but its large, solitary, white 

 blossoms, on stems only a few inches high, are often seen in turfy 

 swamps and wet heaths in Northern Europe, Asia, and America. 

 This species of Rubus is one of the few British plants not'found 

 at all in Switzerland or France. The berries are first red, and they 

 turn yellow on ripening. Of the ordinary kinds of Blackberry, or 

 Rubus, many of which grow in the Swiss lowlands, very few appear 

 to reach the mountain forests. Perhaps Rubus tomentosus is the 

 most distinct of any which flourish in such places. It is a pretty 

 Bramble, and easily known by the greyish tomentum or felt which 

 covers its leaves and calyx, and by its small yellowish white flowers. 

 It is abundant in the Eastern Pyrenees, and extends right across 

 Central Europe and as far east as Persia. Probably in that very 

 mountainous country it reaches a higher altitude than in Europe. 



Among Roses there are several in addition to the beautiful Rosa 

 alpina found in Alpine or sub-alpine regions. The true Alpine Rose, 

 or Eglantine, whose deep rose blossoms adorn the open woods 

 and broken, rocky pastures up to nearly 8000 feet in June and 

 July, usually has long, narrow hips of the richest red. The hips of 

 Rosa pomifem, which is widely spread throughout the Swiss Alps, 

 though very rare in the Jura, are very large and round and generally, 

 though not always, covered with bristly glands. In early autumn 

 their rich orange colour, deepening to a beautiful crimson, makes 

 them an attractive feature in the landscape. The pretty little 

 Burnet or Scotch Rose (Rosa pimpinellifolia) is very rare in Switzer- 

 land, except on the borders of the Jura. Though this very prickly 

 little rose grows close to the sandy seashore in parts of England 

 and Wales, we once found its delicate cream-coloured blossoms at 

 7000 feet in the south of Savoy. To find even a few plants of this 

 Rose on the stony southern slope of a mountain at that height 

 intermingled with some truly Alpine species, was one of the sur- 

 prises of an eventful season devoted to the exploration of the 

 Western Alps and their supremely rich flora. The fruit of the 

 Burnet Rose is nearly globular, and blackish red at maturity. 



The poisonous scarlet berries of the Mezereon (Daphne Mezereum) 

 are often seen hi the woods of the plains and on stony pastures and 

 slopes of debris up to about 7000 feet ; but, as in England, this 

 bush is more often seen singly or in pairs than in groups. The 

 pink, scented flowers appear in March, before the leaves, or a 

 month later in the higher elevations. 



There are two or three Alpine species of Honeysuckle, or Lonicera, 

 in Europe ; the Blue-fruited Honeysuckle (L. ccerulea) is a shrub 

 three to six feet high and of stiff habit. The yellowish white 

 flowers are scentless and in pairs, but their ovaries coalesce into one 

 globular and bluish-black berry. It is spread over the Coniferous 

 forest zone ; on moors it descends lower, and occasionally, as at 

 Saas Fee, it ascends the rocky slopes to a height of 8000 feet. 



