The Alpine Balsam 



(ERINUS ALPINUS) 



THE Alpine Balsam is a characteristic rock plant of the 

 limestone Alps. Taking root in the clefts of the rocks, it 

 sends out radiating branches in all directions, which adhere 

 closely to the surface. It may also be sought in dry 

 mountain meadows and among the grass of dry stony slopes, 

 and is fairly common between 4000 and 7000 feet. Some- 

 times it is met with at a lower altitude in rocky places. The 

 leaves, which are broader at their free extremities and covered 

 by short hairs, are crowded together at the base of the stem. 

 They have deeply serrated edges. The violet-purple or 

 occasionally white flowers, which are formed of five petals 

 united at their bases, are borne at the extremities of the 

 branches. The Alpine Balsam is found not only in the Swiss 

 Alps but also in the Tyrol, the Jura, the Vosges and 

 Pyrenees. It flowers from early June till August. 



The flowers of the Bird's-eye or Mealy Primrose (Primula 

 farinosa) are not unlike those of the Alpine Balsam, at any 

 rate at first sight. But each Mealy Primrose plant bears 

 but a single leafless flower-stem which terminates in a 

 cluster of flowers. Moreover, the Mealy Primrose is found 

 in moist meadows and boggy places, and rarely among rocks, 

 and its leaves have a grey, powdery bloom on their lower 

 surfaces. 



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