Abstract
IT is a notable fact that many travellers who have little or no knowledge of their native flowers often become keenly interested in the flora of the Alpine regions, and the reason is not far to seek, for the attraction lies in the richness of colour and lavish abundance which characterise the flowers growing on the mountains. There is therefore a demand for a book, with illustrations, preferably coloured, and written in fairly simple language, which will enable the amateur or novice to name his botanical specimens. Such is mainly the object of the present book, originally written in German and translated for the benefit of English travellers. It is naturally a difficult matter to decide which flowers to represent in a small book of moderate price, the limitations of which are imposed by the cost of production of coloured plates, and the selection is on the whole judicious. There are a few plants, such as Hacquetia epipactis, Lilium carniolicum, which are not found, or rarely so, in Switzerland and the Tyrol, which might have been excluded in favour of others of more common occurrence. The colour contrasts are good, excepting for a weakness in the tone of the pinks, and a similarity of blue in the gentians. Mrs. Gepp has. introduced more precise terms in the English edition, which add to its scientific value, and yet should not offer any difficulty to the amateur, since a glossary is provided. The book may advantageously be used with Gremli's “Flora fur die Schweiz,” and will be a material help to those botanists who have not previously visited the European Alpine ranges.
Alpine Flora.
By D. J. Hoffman, translated by E. S. Barton. Pp. xii + 112. (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1903.) Price 7s. 6d. net.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Alpine Flora . Nature 68, 175 (1903). https://doi.org/10.1038/068175c0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/068175c0