42 TYPICAL FLOWERS OF ALPINE PASTURES 



moist but not wet. It differs from all the other Swiss 

 Anemones in the grouping of the flowers into stalked 

 heads, which the botanist terms umbels, the flower 

 arrangement so characteristic of the great family of 

 plants known as the Umbelliferse, which includes the 

 Parsley and Hemlock. Usually there are from five 

 to eight flowers in the umbel, but the number varies 

 somewhat. 



The flowers are white in colour, often streaked or 

 " blushed " with delicate rose-pink on the outside. 

 Just below the point at which the stalks of the 

 individual flowers unite, an involucre of three leaves 

 is seen, which are much less divided than in the case 

 of the other Anemones already discussed. 



The Narcissus-flowered Anemone is also distin- 

 guished by the fact that the fruits are not prolonged 

 into a hairy awn. They are, on the contrary, quite 

 simple, resembling those of our British Wind-flower 

 {Anemone nemorosa, Linn.), and are not specially 

 adapted to travel in the air. The flowers, like those 

 of the Alpine Anemone, are entirely devoid of honey, 

 in which they are rather exceptional among Alpine 

 flowers. 



The Gentians. 



The Gentians (natural order Gentianacese, the 

 Gentian family), like the Anemones, are highly 

 characteristic of Alpine regions, though by no means 

 confined to them. In Britain, in addition to the 

 Yellowwort {Chlora perfoliata, Linn.), the Centaury 



