12 SUB-ALPINE PLANTS 



delicate drooping crimson flowers on long slender pedicels are 

 fugitive and very difficult to find, being less conspicuous than the 

 well-known yellowish red fruit. We have not seen the Cranberry 

 at a higher elevation than 5000 feet, as, for example, in the marsh 

 by the picturesque Lac Champex in Switzerland. The stems are 

 very wiry, and the leaves quite small, rolled in at the margin, glossy 

 green above and glaucous beneath. 



Closely allied to the Vacciniums are the Bearberries (Arctosta- 

 phylos alpina and A. Uva ursi), both of which are distinctly Alpine 

 in character and habitat, though the latter species descenck to the 

 plains in Switzerland. The Alpine Bearberry has black berries, 

 which ripen the second year, and thin, netted veined annual leaves, 

 finely toothed at the margin. The Red Bearberry (Arctostaphylos 

 Uva ursi) has red berries and thick, leathery, evergreen leaves of a 

 glossy green on the upper side, with sunken dots on the under side. 

 It is chiefly found on limestone. Both species are found in Scotland, 

 and the latter appears also in the north of England and north-west 

 Ireland. Sometimes great mats are formed by these prostrate 

 shrubs. The flowers resemble those of the Arbutus more than those 

 of any other plant. 



The Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) is a low, wiry shrub, with 

 heath-like leaves and small blue-black fruit, smaller than those of 

 the Bilberry, which often ascends to a high altitude and sometimes 

 covers enormous areas of moorland where little else wUl grow but 

 lichen. It grows not only in the mountains of Europe, and in the 

 British Isles, but penetrates the Arctic regions of Iceland, Green- 

 land, Siberia and Labrador. It gives its name to the extremely 

 small family of EmpetracecB, which comprises only four species in 

 the whole world. 



Among other low bushes bearing berries in the mountains is the 

 Stone Bramble {Rubus saxatilis), which is frequent in Scotland and 

 the north of England, as well as in some of the hills in South Wales 

 and the West of England. In the Alps it is found in open woods 

 and bushy places, and it is scattered over the mountain regions of 

 Europe, Central Asia, and Siberia. The Stone Bramble is a very 

 dwarf and distinct species, whose rootstock sends out a few creeping 

 runners rooting at the nodes and ascending stems often only six 

 or eight inches high, with a few small prickles, though sometimes 

 quite unarmed. There are usually three pale green leaflets, rather 

 thin in texture and resembling those of the Dewberry ; and the 

 petals are a dirty white or greenish colour and very narrow. The 

 berries or drupes are a rich red, few in number, but large and 

 tempting to the eye in their luscious transparency. However, they 

 are disappointing when eaten, for they are strongly acid and each 

 drupe consists chiefly of a large pip or seed. The Cloudberry 

 {Rubus Ckamcemorus), so well known in Norway, where its orange- 

 red fruit is stewed and served at table under the name of Multebcer, 



