104« DISTRIBUTION OF BRITISH PLANTS 



the ocean, our author changes the nomenclature of his 

 regions, the better to correspond with the physical confi- 

 guration of the surface, which, unlike the gradual descent 

 on the Swedish side, is here formed of rapid and precipitous 

 slopes. 



1. (Sno.) The Higher Declivities of the Alps, being 

 situate near the snow-line, are always irrigated by the 

 waters of dissolving snows, and contain few plants. 



2. (Alp.) The Lower Declivities of the Alps, commonly 

 destitute of snow patches but scarcely drier than the 

 former, chiefly support Betula nana (in the more dry 

 places), Veronica alpina, Juncus trifidus, and Azalea 

 procumbens. 



3. (Sub.) The Bases of the Alps are where Betula alba 

 appears, but not Pinus sylvestris. Among birches scarcely 

 6 feet high grow Saxifraga oppositifolia, S. nivalis, and S. 

 cernua, in wet places. In the lower places, where tall 

 birches occur, Sonchus alpinus and Ribes rubrum are 

 found. 



4. (Sub.) The Maritime Alps are the islands and pro- 

 montories producing vegetation of an alpine character 

 more by reason of their exposure to the sea winds than by 

 their elevation. They are so denuded of trees and shrubs, 

 as not even to produce the juniper, and scarcely any of 

 the little shrubs of the alps; but they are adorned by 

 Silene acaulis, Saxifraga oppositifolia, and Dryas octo- 

 petala. Saxifraga caespitosa, Erigeron alpinum, and Sedum 

 villosum also occur. 



5. (Lap.) The Inferalpine Places and Valleys are 

 marked by the growth of Pinus sylvestris, with which 

 associate Convallaria verticillata, Campanula latifolia, and 

 Fragaria vesca; but no alpine plants grow with them except 

 Saxifraga stellaris. (For additional particulars respecting 

 the vegetation of Lapland, the reader may consult the 



