118 INTERESTING PLANTS OF ALPINE PASTURES 



referred to more than once, has specially enquired into 

 this problem. For this pm-pose he studied the flora of 

 three mountain regions, widely separated : the French 

 Alps of Dauphine, the Austrian Alps, and the 

 Carpathians. The distribution of the same plant was 

 observed in each of these three districts, especially in 

 relation to its soil. He found that some species, such 

 as the Glacial Buttercup {Ranunculus glacialis), 

 p. 193, the Stemless Catchfly {Silene acaulis), and 

 the Mountain House-leek (Sempervivum montanum), 

 p. 99, were calcifuge in two regions, though not in 

 the third. 



Other plants, such as the Alpine Anemone 

 {Anemone alpina), p. 37, the Alpine Buttercup 

 {Ranunculus alpestris), p. 112, and the White Dryas 

 {Dryas octopetala), p. 106, may be indifferent as to 

 soil in one or even two districts, yet in a third they 

 are distinctly calcicole. The Edelweiss {Leonto- 

 podium alpinum), p. 15, proved to be calcifuge in 

 Dauphine, indifferent as to soil in Austria, and 

 calcicole in the Carpathians. Hardly any Alpine 

 is confined to limestone soils in all three regions, 

 and only three species are absolutely calcifuge. 



It is thus obvious that while in one country such 

 as Switzerland a plant may be almost entirely 

 calcicole, it is quite likely that, in one of the other 

 mountain ranges of Southern Europe, it will be found 

 to be indifferent as to soil, and thus the influence of 

 the soil alone on distribution is, at the most, local 

 and not absolute. 



