54 MADRONO [Vol. 1, 



other hand the dwarfy growth is indirectly favored as a protection 

 against snow and wind, and as a means of better utilization of the 

 warmth of the soil and the greater dampness of the atmosphere near 

 the soil. The anatomical structure of the leaf shows many relations 

 to a greater assimilatory power in connection with the intense light. 

 The leaf is thicker, has well-developed palisade cells, many breath- 

 ing pores, abundance of chlorophyll, many intercellular spaces; in 

 short, it is a typical sun-leaf. The temporarily great power of evap- 

 oration of the air and the intense wind cause manifold zerophytic 

 adaptations ; an extreme one is the cushion habit. 



The short period of vegetation stands in relation to the rareness 

 of annual plants, because they have difficulty to ripen from seed 

 to seed in the short summer. It causes also the great percentage of 

 evergreens, which in spring are at once ready to assimilate. It favors 

 early flowering; it causes the small annual layers of woody plants. 

 We understand the brightness, the dominance of the flowers in com- 

 parison with the green body of the plant in considering the factors 

 which reduce the vegetative organs have no reducing effect on the 

 flowers. Also the intense light and the selecting influence of the pol- 

 linating insects play here a certain role. 



So we gain by the study of the alpine flora an insight in the nar- 

 row connections between the living nature and the surrounding fac- 

 tors. He who has an open eye for these fascinating studies will have 

 a double enjoyment in rambling through the lofty scenery of the 

 mountains. 



