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But, of course, the main interest is in seeing
species not growing in Britain, or are rare,
and among the most common in this category are
two species of Milk—Vetch - Astragalus al pinus
and A. frigidus which seemed to be everywhere.
A strange Catchfly is Silene wahlbergella: its
petals do not emerge from the sepal tube, but
another, Lychnis alpina, given a good specimen,
is quite photogenic, as is the taller and
plentiful Northern Wolfsbane (Aconitum septen-
trionale). Among the Saxifrages I would single
out S. stellaris, and S. adscendens.
I was pleasantly surprised to find Orchids in
such a northerly latitude. The most attractive
is the Fragrant Orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea),
but only one other seen, the False Musk Orchid
(Chamorchis alpina) is restricted to mountain
areas of northern and central Europe.
Some other flowers worthy of mention are:
Alpine Bistort (Polygonum viviparum)
Mountain Sorrel (Oxyria digyna)
Mountain Sandwort (Minuartia rubella)
Moss Campion (Silene acaulis)
Water Avens (Geum rivale)
Mountain Avens (Geum octopetala)
Yellow Wood Violet (Viola bit lor a)
Chickweed Wintergreen (Trientalis europaea)
Alpine Gentian (Gentiana nivalis)
Northern Bedstraw (Galium boreale)
Alpine Bartsia (Bartsia alpina)
Alpine Speedwell (Veronica alpina)
Rock Speedwell (Veronica fruticans)
Lapland Lousewort (Pedicularis lapponica)