Alpine Types wm the Vegetation of the Cape. 163 
more considerable vegetation. Every ledge, every corner, every 
crack is filled with it, and often one finds on the very top of the 
mountains thickets of shrublets covered with flowers, wherever there 
is a place sheltered by the boulders against the wind. Yet every one 
of the plants, with the exception of those which grow under rocks or 
in caves or in other sheltered places, shows unmistakably its xero- 
philous nature. lLeathery leaves and coatings of felt and hairs are 
as numerous here as in the valley, for the insolation of the sun is 
intense and the rarefied air favours evaporation. [See Plate XXII.] 
If one ascends one of the higher mountains, e.g., the Great 
Winterhoek near Tulbagh, one passes the last arborescent shrubs at 
an elevation of about 4,000 feet, where in ravines and sheltered 
corners Cunonia capensis, Olea verrucosa, Mimetes cucullata, and a 
few others manage to find sufficient moisture even in summer. 
Higher up only low shrubs of heath, composites, Bruniacee, 
Rutacee, Thymeleacez, &c., cover the slopes, becoming smaller 
and more compact the further one ascends. [See Plate XXII] 
There is, however, no perceptible change in the general appear- 
ance of the vegetation until one reaches an altitude of about 6,000 
feet. Then only forms appear which remind one of the peculiarities 
of Alpine vegetation, and the higher one rises the more numerous 
become these types. 
There are not many mountains in the South-Western part of the 
Colony which exceed that height, and about some of them, e.g., the 
summits of the Zwartebergen range, nothing is known botanically. 
The Hex River range, which culminates in the Matroosberg, 7,430 
feet, possesses several peaks which are between 6,000 and 7,000 feet 
above sea-level, but, with the exception of the Matroosberg itself, 
they have not as yet been explored. Besides these, there are only 
the Mostert’s Hoek, 6,670 feet; the Du Toit’s Peak, 6,580 feet; and 
the Great and Little Winterhoeks, near Tulbagh, 6, 840 and 6,400 feet 
respectively, which exceed a height of 6,000 feet. 
It was on these five mountains that I gathered, above that level, 
the 72 plants mentioned in the following list. They do not, 
however, represent the whole flora, for I have visited some of 
these mountains only once, and others, e.g., the Great Winter- 
hoek, always at the same season, viz., in midsummer. 
Anemone capensis L. var. 
Heliophila nubigena Schlechter. Leaves hairy. 
Drosera paucifiora Banks, var. acaulis. A very dwarf form, but the 
flower as large as a leaf. 
Cerastwwm capense Sond. 
