17
Botanical Congress.
The official checklist of flowering plants
amounts to 250 species and it seemed to be our
leader's intention to see all of them, whereas
my more modest wish was to come home with a
selection of good plant portraits of flowers
new to me. Choosing the specimen to photograph
(if there is a choice), setting up my modified
tripod, judging the best depth of field and
waiting for movement to stop takes time so I
was prepared to lag behind the party of twelve
and miss out on many of the specimens.
The dominant tree species is Birch (Betula
tortuosa) giving way at higher altitude to
Dwarf Birch (B. nana) and Willow (e.g. Salix
hastata and S. reticulata). Juniper is
mixed with it, also of dwarf stature. As one
would expect at this level, the Heath family is
well represented, in particular by Mountain
Heath {Phyllodoce caerulea), Bog Rosemary
(Andromeda polifolia) and Cranberry (Vaccinium) .
Here too are various mosses and lichens,
especially Reindeer Moss, and two ferns which do
not look like ferns at all: Northern Grape Fern
(Botrychium boreale) and Moonwort (B.
lunaria).
At base level there are wildflowers which can be
seen in lowland Britain, but not necessarily
common, e.g. Red Campion (Silene dioica),
Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia palustris).
Tufted Vetch (Vicia cracca), Wintergreen
(Pyrola minor), Cow-wheat (Melampyrum
pratense) and Harebell (Campanula rotundiflora).