Norway and its Glaciers; followed by Excursions in the High Alps of Dauphiné. By J. D. Forbes.
The following works also treat more or less of the districts referred to in this chapter:—
| Outline Sketches in the High Alps of Dauphiné, by T. G. Bonney. | |
|---|---|
| Histoire des Hautes-Alpes, by J. C. F. Ladoucette. | |
| Itinéraire du Dauphiné, by Adolphe Joanne (2nd part). | |
| Tour du Monde, 1860, edited by Ed. Charton. | |
| The Israel of the Alps, by Alexis Muston. | |
| A Memoir of Felix Neff, by W. S. Gilly. |
Good pictures of Dauphiné scenery are to be found in Voyages Pittoresques dans l’ancienne France, by Ch. Nodier, J. Taylor, and A. de Cailleux, and in Lord Monson’s Views in the Departments of the Isère and the High Alps.
This mountain is the culminating point of the group, and is named on the French map, Pointe des Ecrins. It is seen from the Val Christophe, and from that direction its ridges completely conceal Mont Pelvoux. On the other side—that is, from the direction of La Bessée or the Val Louise—the reverse is the case: the Pelvoux completely conceals it.
Unaware that this name was going to be applied to it, we gave the name Pic des Arcines or des Ecrins to our summit, in accordance with the traditions of the natives.
Those which I collected were as follow:—Myosotis alpestris, Gm.; Veronica alpina, L.; Linaria alpina, M.; Gentiana Bavarica, L.; Thlaspi rotundifolium, Gaud.; Silene acaulis, L. (?); Potentilla sp.; Saxifraga sp.; Saxifraga muscoides, Wulf. I am indebted for these names to Mr. William Carruthers of the British Museum. These plants ranged from about 10,500 to a little below 13,000 feet, and are the highest which I have seen anywhere in the Alps. Several times this number of species might be collected, I have no doubt, within these limits. I was not endeavouring to make a flora of the Matterhorn, but to obtain those plants which attained the greatest height. Very few lichens are seen on the higher parts of this mountain; their rarity is due, doubtless, to the constant disintegration of the rocks, and the consequent exposure of fresh surfaces. Silene acaulis was the highest plant found by De Saussure on his travels in the Alps. He mentions (§ 2018) that he found a tuft “near the place where I slept on my return (from the ascent of Mont Blanc), about 1780 toises (11,388 feet) above the level of the sea.”
Mr. William Mathews and Mr. Charles Packe, who have botanised respectively for many years in the Alps and Pyrenees, have favoured me with the names of the highest plants that they have obtained upon their excursions. Their lists, although not extensive, are interesting as showing the extreme limits attained by some of the hardiest of Alpine plants. Those mentioned by Mr. Mathews are—Campanula renisia (on the Grivola, 12,047 feet); Saxifraga bryoides and Androsace glacialis (on the summits of Mont Emilius, 11,677, and the Ruitor, 11,480); Ranunculus glacialis, Armeria alpina, and Pyrethrum alpinum (on Monte Viso, from 10,000 to 10,500 feet); Thlaspi rotundifolium and Saxifraga biflora (Monte Viso, about 9500 feet); and Campanula rotundifolia (?), Artemisia spicata (Wulf.), Aronicum Doronicum, and Petrocallis Pyrenaica (Col de Seylières, 9247).
Mr. Packe obtained, on or close to the summit of the Pic de Mulhahacen, Sierra Nevada, of Granada (11,600 to 11,700 feet), Papaver alpinum (var. Pyrenaicum), Artemisia Nevadensis (used for giving the flavour to the Manzanilla sherry), Viola Nevadensis, Galium Pyrenaicum, Trisetum glaciale, Festuca Clementei, Saxifraga Grœnlandica (var. Mista), Erigeron alpinum (var. glaciale), and Arenaria tetraquetra. On the Picacho de Veleta (11,440 feet), and on the Alcazaba (11,350), the same plants were obtained, with the exception of the first named. At a height of 11,150 feet on these mountains he also collected Ptilotrichum purpureum, Lepidium stylatum, and Biscutella saxatilis; and, at 10,000 feet, Alyssum spicatum and Sideritis scordiodes. Mr. Packe mentions the following plants as occurring at 9000 to 10,000 feet in the Pyrenees:—Cerastium latifolium, Draba Wahlenbergii, Hutchinsia alpina, Linaria alpina, Oxyria reniformis, Ranunculus glacialis, Saxifraga nervosa, S. oppositifolia, S. Grœnlandica, Statice Armeria, Veronica alpina.
Information on the botany of the Val Tournanche is contained in the little pamphlet by the late Canon G. Carrel, entitled La Vallée de Valtornenche en 1867; and a list of the plants which have hitherto been collected on the glacier-surrounded ridge (Furgen Grat) connecting the Matterhorn with the Col Théodule, will be found in Dollfus-Ausset’s Matériaux pour l’étude des Glaciers, vol. viii. part first, 1868. In the Jahrbuch for 1873 of the Swiss Alpine Club it is stated that on an ascent of the Finsteraarhorn (14,106 feet) the following were collected within the last 1000 feet:—Saxifraga bryoides, S. Muscoides, Achillea atrata, and Ranunculus glacialis.