196 THE HIGH ALPINE PLANTS 



characters. The varieties are regarded by some 

 authors as constituting distinct species. 



The plants may have white flowers, and the leaves 

 be destitute of hairs {Papamr alpinum, Linn.), or the 

 flowers may be white with a yellow base, or again, the 

 flowers may be yellow and the leaves hairy (P. pyren- 

 aicum, Willd. =P. aurantiacum, Lois.). The shape 

 of the lobes of the much-divided leaves also varies in 

 great degree. 



The Alpine Bitteecress. 



The Alpine Bittercress {Cardamine alpina, Willd., 

 natural order Cruciferse, the Crucifer family) is the 

 representative of the Ladies' Smock or Cuckoo-flower 

 {Cardamine pratensis, Linn.) in the High Alpine 

 regions. It is a dwarf plant, from 1 to 5 inches in 

 height, with many long-stalked, undivided leaves 

 below, and numerous leafy shoots above. The 

 simple undivided leaves contrast with the compound 

 leaves of the Ladies' Smock. 



The Short-stemmed Hutchinsia. 



The Short-stemmed Hutchinsia {Hutchinsia brevi- 

 caulis, Hoppe) is possibly only a High Alpine variety 

 of the Alpine species, H. alpina, R. Br. Both 

 differ from our British Rock Hutchinsia {H. petrcea, 

 R, Br.) in the flowering stems being simple, un- 

 branched, and leafless. The white petals are also 

 much longer than the calyx, and therefore more 



