64 ALPINE FLOWERS AND ROCK GARDENS. 



includes the flowers that give such a rich colouring to 

 the moors, and provide such a plentiful supply of 

 berries. Of the thirteen species of Saxifrages figured 

 in the book of " Illustrations of the British Flora," 

 the accompaniment to Bentham's handbook, two- 

 thirds may be grouped amongst the Alpines. Refer- 

 ence has been made to the Purple Saxifrage (Saxifraga 

 oppositi folia,) and of its beautiful clusters of purple 

 bells in the natural rock gardens of the Alps. It is 

 equally at home in the corries of Wales, the Lake 

 District, and Scotland. Near it and in more open 

 situations may be seen the Mossy Saxifrage (S. hyp- 

 noides), with white flowers and feathery foliage, a plant 

 that has several varieties, and makes a brave show in 

 many gardens. The Yellow Saxifrage (S. aizoides), and 

 the Starry Saxifrage (S. stellaris), love the banks of 

 mountain rills, and the yellow to orange flowers of the 

 one and the white spotted petals of the other add 

 much to the beauty of many a rivulet and burn. 

 They have near relatives, the one in S. Hir cuius, 

 and the other in S. nivalis , which are less widely 

 distributed ; and then there are three rarities : 

 S. caespitosa, with crowded root leaves ; 5. rivularis, 

 the lowly stems of which root where they touch the 

 ground ; and 5. cernua, with small bulbs in the axils 

 of the upper leaves. One highland mountain is the 

 sole British habitat of the last of these, and a small 

 number of hills in the Grampians of the second one. 



If the Heath family is less exclusively confined to 

 the Alpine group than the Saxifrages its chief members 

 — ^the Ling (Calluna vulgaris), the Fine-leaved Heath 



