180 THE HIGH ALPINE PLANTS 



the high Alps, where one or more of the physical 

 conditions are similar. They are found in the Arctic 

 and Antarctic regions, in deserts such as the Sahara, 

 and in the Steppe region of Russia. 



The Common Moss Campion. 



The moss-like cushions of the Common Moss 

 Campion {Silene acaulis, Linn., natural order Curyo- 

 phyllacese, the Pink family) are one of the most 

 familiar sights in Alpine Switzerland. They are 

 dark green in colour and flat topped. The leaves, 

 which arise in opposite pairs, are short, narrow, 

 and awl-shaped. Each cushion produces an enormous 

 number of rose-coloured or pink flowers, each borne 

 singly on a very short flower-stalk, arising ft'om the 

 axil of a leaf. 



There are three kinds of cushions : those bearing 

 flowers with both stamens and carpels, which are 

 rare; those with male only, and those with female 

 flowers, in which stamens are absent. The last are 

 smaller than the others. 



This British plant is not only common at 5,000 feet 

 in the Alps, but extends upwards to nearly 12,000 feet. 



The Sessile-flowered Moss Campion. 



The Sessile-flowered Moss Campion {Silene 

 exsoapa, All.) (Plate XXXIII., Fig. 1) is a very near 

 relative of the species just discussed, and may be 

 only a variety of it. It differs in having only a very 

 short flower-stalk, which is winged, and in certain 



