PLANT LIFE IN 

 ALPINE SWITZERLAND 



CHAPTEE I 



INTKODUCTORY — SWISS NATIONAL FLOWERS : THE 

 EDELWEISS AND THE ALPENROSES 



Not so very long ago — in fact, within the recollection 

 of many — the object of a botanical study of a region 

 such as Alpine Switzerland was merely to compile a 

 list of the genera and species ^ of plants found within 

 its limits. Such a catalogue, which the botanist terms 

 a JUyra, though a highly necessary preliminary stage 

 in the progress of our knowledge, is now no longer 

 regarded as "the be-all and the end-all" of such 

 enquiries. It is true that by its aid we learn the names 

 of the plants we meet with in our wanderings among 

 the Alps, and how to distinguish them from one 

 another. This being accomplished, we may compare 

 the Alpine flora of one country, such as Switzerland, 

 with that of another, Britain ; thus an extremely 



' See footnote, p. 15. 



A 



