TIIK r.lMTISII AND SWISS ALI'INK I'l.OHAS. 
55 
TAJiLE 111. 
British Suii-ALi'iNES. 
"*Trollius l^uropirus, L. *Carduiis heteropli}'llus, L. 
*Tblcispi alfestre, L. *Hieraciiira prenantlioidcs, Villars 
Subularia aquatica, L. ,, crocatuiii, Fries. 
*Viola arenaria, D.C. Phyllodoce cnerulea, Bab. 
"*Polygala amara, L. *Primula farinosa, L. 
*Arenaria lUiginosa, Scbl. *Gentiana verna, L. 
■*"Oxytropis campestris, D.C. *Melampyrum sylvaticuni, L. 
*Latbyrus niger, Wimm. *Ajnga pyramidalis, L. 
Saxifraga Geum, L. *Salix Arbusciila, L. 
* Hirculus, L. *Habenaria viridis, Br. 
*Sedum villosum, L. * albida, Br. 
*Circaea alpina, L. *Kobresia caricina, Willd. 
*Meum atbamanticnm, Jacq. 
The Swiss Alpine Flora. 
A detailed study of tbe Swiss alpine Hora would require a much 
longer time than we have at our disposal, and in the short period which 
remains I shall only be able to touch upon some of its most interesting 
and characteristic features. As is well known, the alpine tlora of 
Switzerland is a comparatively large one. The late Mr. John Ball,* in 
his paper on "The Distribution of Plants on the South Side of the Alps," 
estimated the entire flora of the Alps at 2,010 species, with 335 sub- 
species belonging to 523 genera and ninety-six natural orders. 
Of these, 1,117 species in 279 genera and sixty natural orders are 
confined to the upper or alpine zone. The area included in this estimate 
is, of course, considerably larger than that which we are here considering, 
namely, that of the Swiss Eepublic. In Switzerland the number of 
species absolutely confined to the alpine zone is given by Dr. Christ t as 
294. As to the actual number of species confined to the sub- alpine zone, 
we are only able at present to give an approximate guess. There is still 
much work to be done as to the distribution in regard to elevation of the 
species which make up the entire Swiss flora. There are probably 
between 150 and 200 sub -alpine species in Switzerland. A provisional 
and very rough estimate of the distribution in regard to altitude of the 
species stated by Gremli to occur in Switzerland is as follows : — 
Species confined to the alpine zone 300 
,, alpine and sub- alpine zones 350 
„ ,, sub-alpine zone 200 
Lowland species ... ... ... ... ... 1,500 
Total flora 2,350 
The flora of the alpine zone thus consists of some 650 species, to 
which must be added a large number of lowland species, many of which, 
* Ball, J., Trans. Linn. Soc, 2nd series, Bot., vol. v. 1896. 
t Christ, H., La Flora de la Suisse (transl. E. Tieche, 1883). 
