The beautiful little Alpine Aster is found all over the Alps. It flowers in July, August, and September, but occasionally it may be found in bloom even as early as May. It grows in dry Alpine pastures, sunny meadows, and rocky places, not infrequently in company with the Edelweiss, between 4000 and 9000 feet; in a few places it extends much lower. The plant consists of a rosette of woolly tufted leaves, with a central stem bearing the solitary flower-head. In the higher regions the flower-stem is short, perhaps only 4 inches in length, but nearer the plains it may be 8 or 9 inches. In any case, however, the flower-head is large, an inch or two in diameter, and conspicuous on account of the broad purple ray florets, which contrast strongly with the golden yellow centre. The Alpine Aster is very widely distributed, being found in Northern Asia, Arctic America, and in most of the mountain ranges of Central and Southern Europe, but not in the far North.
Closely resembling this plant is the Alpine Fleabane (Erigeron alpina). It has narrower ray florets, which are arranged in several rows and not in a single row like those of the Alpine Aster, and a branched flower-stem bearing several separate flower-heads. The much rarer Aster Amellus differs from the Alpine Aster in the possession of a branched flower-stem and blue, not purple, ray florets.
Plate XXII.
ASTER ALPINUS. L.
The Alpine Aster or Alpine Starwort. Aster des Alpes. Alpen-Aster.
The Cat’s-Foot, Mountain Everlasting or Mountain Cudweed
(ANTENNARIA DIOICA)
The Cat’s-foot, which is, after all, perhaps the most suitable name for this curious plant, is abundant in the Alps from the lowest levels right up to 7000 or 8000 feet. It is found in dry places, on moors and heaths, and in dry open woods. It sometimes forms an unwished-for inhabitant of the mountain pastures where it is disliked by the herdsmen, for it is an undesirable plant for fodder. The leaves, like those of the Edelweiss, are covered with white woolly hairs, and the flower stems are also hairy. The flowers, which are pink or white, are dioicious, that is to say, the same flower does not produce both pollen and seed, and seed-forming and pollen-producing flowers do not occur on the same plant. As the pollen is not carried by the wind from flower to flower, the plant is entirely dependent upon its insect visitors for the fertilisation of its seeds, and without them no seeds will be formed. The plant is also spread by means of runners, which extend over the soil and take root at intervals. The Swiss peasants make wreaths of the Mountain Everlasting, which they wear as a charm, especially on Ascension Day. The plant is widely distributed, and is found in the North of England and Scotland, as well as most parts of Europe and the Polar regions.