216 MARSH PLANTS 



Alps, is used by the Laplanders to curdle milk. 

 This can be easily confirmed by the experiment of 

 placing a few pieces of the leaves in a little new milk, 

 and letting it stand for some hours. 



The other Alpine species of Butterwort, the 

 Common Butterwort {Pinguicula vulgaris, Linn.), and 

 the rarer Large-flowered Butterwort {Pinguicula 

 grandiflora, Lam.), the latter not occurring in Britain, 

 are biologically similar to the Alpine Butterwort, with 

 which they are often associated in marshy places and 

 on wet soils, such as a crevice in a rock filled with 

 damp moss. They both have blue flowers and longer 

 spurs than the Alpine Butterwort. 



The Grass- of-Parnassus. 



TheGrass-of-Parnassus {Parnassiapalustris, Linn., 

 natural order Saxifragaceae, the Saxifrage family) is 

 another Lowland marsh plant, common in Britain, 

 which ascends to the Alpine zone in Switzerland, 

 where it is abundant. Like Caltha and many marsh- 

 loving species, the whole plant is smooth and devoid 

 of hairs. The leaves, which spring from a very 

 short perennial stem, have fairly long stalks, and are 

 heart shaped. Each year the stem sends up an erect 

 flowering stem, which bears a single leaf, and ends in 

 a large white flower, the structure of which is very 

 interesting. 



There are five small, green sepals, and five white 

 petals, the latter with conspicuous translucent veins, 

 which add considerably to the attractiveness of the 



