THE ALPENROSES 21 



two more of its near relatives — the Everlastings, 

 belonging to the same order — which are much more 

 frequent in the Alps. One of these, Antennaria dioica, 

 Gartn., with white or rose-coloured heads, is fairly- 

 common with us in Britain. The other, Antennaria 

 carpatMca, Bl. and Fing., is a High Alpine, and has 

 brownish heads. Both have a similar cottony coat to 

 that of the Edelweiss, though shorter, but the woolly 

 bracts surrounding the flower-heads, which are so 

 prominent in the case of the latter, are very much 

 smaller and less conspicuous. 



They grow in dry, stony places, and, as in the 

 case already discussed, their cottony coats prevent 

 excessive loss of moisture. 



The Alpenroses. 



The Alpenroses, of which there are two — the 

 Common Alpenrose, Rhododendron ferrugineum, Linn., 

 and the Hairy Alpenrose, R. hirsutum, Linn, (natural 

 order Ericaceae, the Heath family) — are, equally with 

 the Edelweiss, national flowers in Switzerland. 



They are, however, very much more abundant and 

 more easily obtained, and so are more in evidence 

 as personal decorations, on the not-infrequent 

 occasions on which the Swiss peasants make sport or 

 holiday. In the little hamlet of Sils, in the Engadine, 

 an excellent botanical centre, there are two rival inns : 

 the Edelweiss and the Alpenrose. Both names are 

 frequently used to designate hotels all over Switzer- 



