Alpine Flowers. Gillian Price
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Название: Alpine Flowers
Автор: Gillian Price
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Биология
isbn: 9781783620326
isbn:
Creeping Azalea, Alpine Azalea
Loiseleuria procumbens – Azalée des Alpes – Alpenazalee – Azalea delle Alpi
Clusters of minuscule light pink flowers shaped like bells grow amongst dark green oblong leaves with rolled edges. A woody shrub, it forms extensive mats that hug the ground, hence the tag which means ‘prostrate’. While not terribly common, it is found across the Alps up to 3000m altitude on dry rocky terrain often in windswept spots, and flowers June–July. The plant’s reduced dimensions and ground hugging profile make it easy to distinguish from similar Dwarf Alpenrose.
Cyclamen, Sowbread
Cyclamen purpurascens – Cyclamen pourpre – Europäisches Alpenveilchen – Ciclamino delle Alpi
A beautiful plant with deep purple-carmine nodding flowers. Its heart-shaped leaves are dark green and glossy with light vein tracings. The common English name derives from the Medieval Latin, a reminder that it was swine feed, whereas the Cyclamen family name comes from the Greek for ‘circle’, plausibly due to the round tuber. It flourishes in well-shaded damp woods, especially beech, and flowers July–September as high as 1800m altitude. It is found everywhere but the far southern Alps.
Dwarf Alpenrose, Ground Cistus
Rhodothamnus chamaecistus – Rhodothamne ciste nain – Zwergalpenrose – Rododendro cistino
This is exactly what the name says – a dwarf version of the attractive and widespread Alpenrose. The low-lying woody shrub has hairy branches and very small tough leaves that are bright green. The flower has five separate pale pink petals but its distinguishing feature are the showy long white filaments that end in dark brown anthers surrounding a pink stigma. It flowers May–July across the eastern Alps on dry open slopes and rock surfaces up to 2400m altitude. An even smaller similar plant is prostrate Creeping Azalea.
Dwarf Soapwort, Pygmy Soapwort
Saponaria pumila – Niedriges Seifenkraut – Saponaire naine – Saponaria minore
The pretty deep rose pink flowers with five separate notched petals are more or less stemless. They sprout from a cushion crowded with small fleshy oblong leaves. The low plant spreads across meadows and rocky terrain. A rare find, it grows in the central-eastern Alps up to 2600m altitude. It flowers July–September. The tag means ‘dwarf’. See also Rock Soapwort, which has rather smaller flowers.
Dwarf Valerian
Valeriana supina – Valériane naine – Zwerg-Baldrian – Valeriana sdraiata
The unusual eye-catching plant forms attractive thick carpets composed of posies of delicate pink flowers. These nestle in a tight mesh of light green oblong leaves, whose edges are turned inwards like scoops. It flowers July–August up to 2900m altitude on rocks and screes, often close to snow. Valerian may be dedicated to Roman emperor Galerius Valerius who prescribed it for insomnia, though it was Hippocrates in the 4th century bc who described its hypnotic effect. It was also well known to the Mayans. See also Red Valerian.
Hairy Alpenrose
Rhododendron hirsuta – Rhododendron cilié – Bewimperte Alpenrose – Rododendro irsuto
This miniature rhododendron shrub smothered in pretty pink bell-shaped flowers forms evergreen thickets across mountainsides and open woods. Unlike the similar and more common Alpenrose, this has dark green leaves that are both hairy and shiny, and it is also slightly lower in stature. It is found up to 2600m across the Alps with the exception of the western regions, and flowers May–July.
Hoary Plantain
Plantago media – Plantain moyen – Mittlerer Wegerich – Piantaggine media
Plantains are common countryside plants with some 200 types in the genus, but this one grows as high as 2450m altitude across the Alps and is easily recognisable by its pretty pink-lilac hue. Tall spikes carry rather inconspicuous and mildly fragrant flowerheads comprising long filaments tipped with a white-brown anther. The oval leaves are ribbed and downy, and grouped around the base of the stalk in a rosette formation. It flowers May–September on stony terrain. Its medicinal applications from olden times range from the treatment of toothache to constipation.
Large Pink
Dianthus superbus – Oeillet superbe – Gewöhnliche Pracht-Nelke – Garofano superbo
Simply superb, these pretty pink flowers with long straggly fringed edges share a branched stalk with slender leaves like blades of grass. Producing a delicate scent, it flowers June–September up to 2400m altitude in patches over most of the Alps. See also Carthusian, Maiden and Three-veined Pink.
Maiden Pink
Dianthus deltoides – Oeillet à delta – Heide-Nelke – Garofano deltoide
The deep pink flower of this attractive Pink is recognisable by a darker coloured central ring along with faint spotting across the petals. It is has no fragrance to speak of and grows in dry sun-blessed meadows and open woods up to an altitude of 2000m. It is widely distributed across all but the central Alps and flowers June–September. See also Carthusian, Large and Three-veined Pink.
Martagon Lily, Turk’s Cap Lily
Lilium martagon – Lis martagon – Türkenbund – Giglio martagone
A magnificent lily found all over the Alps, this is immediately recognisable by its gorgeous wine-red blooms with dark spots. The petals curve backwards into a distinctive shape – in fact the martagon tag derives from the Turkish for turban or cap – and it features prominent stamens. It flowers June–July in meadows and open woods up to 2800m altitude. See also Yellow: Carnic and Lesser Turk’s Cap Lily.
Mezereon