8 SUB-ALPINE PLANTS 



studying both the plants of the sub-alpine woods and meadows 

 and many of the higher Alpines, which prefer limestone soil. The 

 Jura has the double advantage of being a little nearer home and 

 less crowded by visitors than the Bernese Oberland and the valleys 

 south of the Rhone. The Flore du Jura, by C. H. Godet, published 

 in 1853, gives an ample description, covering 870 pages, of all the 

 flowering plants and ferns of this delightful mountain range. 

 The sylvan flora of the calcareous Jura chain is particularly in- 

 teresting. 



We h^ve already observed that the Alpine forest flora is, for the 

 most part, quite different from that of the meadows or the pastures. 

 We have also noticed that the Coniferous forests extend upward 

 to a height which varies considerably according to local circum- 

 stances. As a general rule, in Switzerland the upper limit of the 

 forests is from 6000 to 7300 feet, or some 2000 feet or more below 

 the line of perpetual snow. The pine forest zone may be anything 

 from 1000 to 2000 feet in vertical height, and the lower limit is 

 frequently between 4000 and 5000 feet above the sea. At that 

 height the Beech is replaced by the Spruce (Picea excelsa) and Larch 

 (Larix europcea). At a somewhat higher level the Mountain Pine 

 (Pinus montana) and, very locally, the AroUa Pine (P. Cembra) 

 usually take the place of the Spruce Fir. But, of course, the Spruce 

 and Larch are often found growing with the Beech, Birch, Sycamore, 

 and other trees in the mixed woods of the lower mountain region. 

 The Scots Pine (P. sylvestris) and the Silver Fir [Abies pectinata) 

 are common in the lowlands and sub-Alps, but are rarely seen 

 above 5000 feet. 



The Coniferous forests in Switzerland are under very strict regula- 

 tions in regard to the felling of the timber. But in times gone by 

 immense damage was done in many districts by the wasteful and 

 indiscriminate cutting, of the trees. 



Our artist has painted typical bits of Coniferous forest, skirting 

 a flowery meadow at a height of some 4500 feet in a granite district 

 above Argentiere in Haute Savoie. This is close to the Swiss frontier 

 and at the eastern end of the Mont Blanc group. The great granite 

 boulders strewn among the Firs and Larches afford an ideal home 

 for the Rhododendron, and for such handsome herbaceous plants 

 as the great mauve Mulgedium alpinum, the showy Rose-bay 

 Willow-herb {Epilohium angustifoUum) , and the rather scarce 

 Umbellifer called Laserpitium Panax. The rocks themselves are 

 sometimes partly hidden by dense mats of Saxifraga cuneifolia, 

 which is like a miniature London Pride ; but it sends out long 

 runners with rosettes of leaves at every few inches. The leaves are 

 often purplish beneath. 



The Whortleberry and Cowberry (Vaccinium Vitis-idcea) form 

 a thick undergrowth in many of these Alpine woods ; and Alnus 

 viridis is abundant in the more open parts, and forms an important 



