Planche 25. 



Flore des ,,eombes de neige". 



Ces plantes habitent de petites depressions 

 ou la neige disparait plus lentement, ce sont 

 souvent les premiers pionniers de la vegetation 

 dans les hautes regions al pines, la periode 

 annuelle de vegetation de toutes cos plantes ue 

 durent que quelques courtes semaiues. 



Fig. f Polytriche des Alpes. Forme des 

 touffes compactes d'un vert noiratre, surtout 

 BUT un sol granitique, elle evite le calcaire 

 1660 a 2870 m, aussi une des mousses les plus 

 repandues dans la region arctique. 



Fig. 2. Sabline a deux fleurs. Assez commun 

 dans cette region, surtout aussi sur les schistes. 



Fig. 3. CeraVste a trois styles. La capsule 

 est allongee et cornee eomme chez toutes les 

 Cera'istes, mais elle porte 3 styles comme les 

 Stellaires. 



Depressions enneigees, hautes paturages 

 humides de 1600 a 3000 m. 



Fig. 4. Cardamine des Alpes. Une petite 

 Crucifere, tres parent du Cresson des pres, 

 mais les feuilles basilaires sont entieres et les 

 fleurs en petites corymbes blanches. 



Region nival e des Hautes- Alpes, prefSre les 

 endroits humid es, les eboulis de 1900 a 3330 m 

 manque dans le Nord. 



Fig. 5. Alchemille a cinq feuilles. Les 

 feuilles sont divisees jusqu'a la base en 5 parties 

 obloogues, glabres et a forte endenture. 



Region subnivale des flautes-Alpes, 1900 a 

 3000 m. 



Fig. 6. Voir planche 12, fig. 1. 



Salex herbacea (pi. 2, fig. 8); Meum Mutellina 

 (pi. 26, fig. 1); Plantago alpina (pi. 26, fig. 2); les 

 Soldanelles (pi. 23, fig. 5 et 6); Leucanthemum 

 alpinum (pi. 14, fig. 3) et Veronica alpina (pi. 23, 

 fig. 8) appartiennent aussi a cette formation. 



, Alpenflora. 



Plate 25. 

 Flora of the Snow valleys. 



The expression snow valley (,,Schneethal- 

 chen") originated with Oswald Heer. He denoted 

 thereby small hollows and northern slopes 

 where the snow lasts for a long time and where 

 the ground is saturated with the ice-cold water; 

 after the melting of the snow a blackish earth 

 is left proceeding from the mineral dust and 

 organic detritus which have collected on the 

 snow. 



The arctic Polytrichum (P. septentrionale) 

 usually appears as the pioneer of vegetation in 

 such localities and covers the ground with a 

 dense, soft, dark green carpet of moss. Soon 

 afterwards the two-flowered sandwort (Arenaria 

 biflora) begins to penetrate this carpet with its 

 delicate shoots; its slender stems and small 

 roundish leaves are half hidden in the moss, 

 so that the pretty stellular flowers seem to be 

 scattered over the green carpet as if by accident, 

 an affecting spectacle in the solitude of the 

 high Alps. Next the creeping radiating beds of 

 the three-styled alpine chickweed (Cerastium 

 trigynuin) associate themselves with these two 

 plants; here and there the small trusses of the 

 Alpine meadow-cresses appear singly above the 

 moss. Later on the dwarf Cudweed (Gnapha- 

 lium supinum) steps on the scene or the long, 

 red , creeping shoots of the five-leaved lady's- 

 mantle become interlaced, so as to form con- 

 nected masses. The species mentioned above 

 are illustrated on the accompanying plate; be- 

 sides these the dwarf willow (Salix herbacea, 

 plate 2, fig. 8), the spignel (Meum Mutellina, 

 plate 26, figs, la, 1 b), the Alpine plantain (plate 26, 

 fig. 3) and the Soldanellas (plate 23, fig. 6 and 6), 

 the Alpine Ox-eye (plate 14, fig. 3) and the Alpine 

 Speed well (plate 23, fig. 8) make their appearance. 



Fig. 1. Arctic Polytrichum. Covers the 

 ground with dense dark -green carpets; espec. 

 frequent on the crystalline schists, less common 

 on gneiss and granite, is hardly met with on 

 chalk 15602870 m. 



Fig. 2. Two -flowered Sand -wort. Pretty 

 common espec. on the primary formations: 

 Calfeisergrat, GlSrnisch, Hausstock etc., widely 

 distributed in the Valais and the Grisons. 

 20003200 m. Only in the Alps, Carpathians, 

 Siebenburgen and Albania. 



Fig. 3. Tristyled chick-weed. Distinguished 

 from the other (5-styled) chick-weeds by its 

 three styles and from the other chickweeds which 

 also have 3 styles by its prolonged capsule. 

 Snow valleys and pastures from 1600 3000 m. 



Fig. 4. Alpine Bitter -cress. A small cru- 

 ciferous plant closely allied to the meadow- 

 bitter cress (cuckoo flower) of the plains but 

 with undivided radical, and with en tire -mar- 

 gined or three-lobed stem -leaves. Flowers in 

 small white corymbs. High -Alps espec. in 

 somewhat damp localities, among gravel, on 

 rocky debris, etc., from 19003330 m. 



Fig. 5. Five-leaved Lady's-mantle. Belongs 

 to the same genus as the common lady's- 

 mantle, but the radical leaves are divided al- 

 most to their bases, the obovate segments are 

 sharply indented and quite hairless. The small 

 green corymbs are terminal. 



Sub-nival region of the High-Alps, likes 

 mossy, somewhat damp localities, and frequents 

 the snow-valleys 1%0 3000 m. 



Fig. 6. Has already been described on 

 plate 12, fig. 1. 



7 



