CHAP. VII.] 



MOUNTAIN PLANTS. 



183 



species. At 6,000 

 feet, Raspberries 

 abound, and thence 

 to the summit of 

 the mountain there 

 are three species 

 of eatable Rubus. 

 At 7,000 feet Cy- 

 presses appear, and 

 the forest trees be- 

 come reduced in 

 size, and more 

 covered with 

 mosses and lichens. 

 From this point 

 upward these 

 rapidly increase, 

 so that the blocks 

 of rock and scoria 

 that form the 

 mountain slope are 



completely hidden in a mossy vegetation. At about 8,000 

 feet European forms of plants become abundant. Several 

 species of Honey-suckle, St. John's-wort, and Guelder-rose 

 abound, and at about 9,000 feet we first meet with the rare 

 and beautiful Royal Cowslip (Primula imperialis), which 



PRIMULA IMPERIALIS 



