78 TYPICAL FLOWERS OF ALPINE PASTURES 



leaved Saxifrage, S. cotyledon, Linn., which is the 

 largest and most magnificent species occurring in 

 Switzerland. It is not, however, common, except 

 on granite rocks in Transalpine Switzerland and the 

 St Gotthard region. It occurs also on the slopes 

 of the Brevent, above Chamonix, where the tall- 

 branched flowering shoots, 2 feet high, are con- 

 spicuous objects. Its leaves possess chalk-glands 

 like those of S. aizoon. 



The Purple Saxifrage {S. oppositifolia, Linn.) is a 

 British plant of frequent occurrence in our moun- 

 tains. In Switzerland it is common in stony and 

 rocky places, especially in the High Alpine zone, 

 and not infrequently is much in evidence in the 

 Alpine region also. It is easily distinguished from 

 all other Swiss Alpine Saxifrages by the solitary 

 purple flowers, and the very small evergreen leaves 

 placed in crowded pairs opposite one another. Each 

 leaf has a single chalk-gland, situated at the blunt, 

 somewhat thickened tip. The small creeping stems 

 are much branched, and form a cushion composed 

 of Httle tufts of leafy shoots (see p. 186) which seldom 

 rise more than an inch above the surface of the 

 ground. Only one flower is borne at the end of 

 each branch, and these flowers, huge in size in com- 

 parison with the leaves (Plate XXXVI., Fig. 1), 

 form a conspicuous advertisement to attract the insect 

 world, especially butterflies. Thus cross-fertilisation 

 is ensured. 



There is also another but much less frequent 



