Rubus L

Except for the Wild Raspberry (Rubus idaeus), and the Stone Bramble (R. saxatilis) very few of this large genus are ever seen in the sub-alpine region of Switzerland.

Rubus Saxatilis L. Stone Bramble

Rootstock woody but slender, with a few creeping runners rooting at the nodes, and erect or ascending simple stems, 5-10 inches high, slender and either unarmed or with a few small prickles. Stipules lanceolate. Leaflets usually 3, pale green and thin in texture. Flowers on slender pedicels, 2-3 in the axils of the upper leaves, forming very short racemes. Petals very narrow, dirty white or greenish yellow. Fruit red, shining, with only 2 or 3' large drupes.

Open woods and steep mountain sides. Flowers in June; fruit in August.

Distribution

Spread over the mountain regions of Europe, Central and Northern Asia, and descending to lower elevations in more northern latitudes. British.

Rosa L

This well-known and well-marked genus is widely diffused over the northern hemisphere, in the new world as well as the old.

In the sub-alpine region of Switzerland and the Jura, the chief species are the following:

R. alpina L., R. pomifera Herrm. (with very large fruits); R. spinosissima L. (fairly common in the Jura); R. tomentosa Lin., R. agrestis Savi, R. elliptica Tausch, R. eglanleria L., R. abietina Gren. and R. glauca Vill.

Rosa Alpina L. R. Pendulina L. (Plate XII)

Stem 1-4 feet high, according to position. Prickles straight, horizontal or pointing downwards, crowded on the barren shoots, usually wanting on the flowering stems. Leaflets in 3-5 pairs, elliptical, serrate, glabrous or hairy beneath, dark green on upper, lighter on under side. Flowers solitary, deep rose-red, fragrant, the size of an ordinary dog-rose. Calyx-teeth entire, broader near the apex, as long or longer than petals. Hip scarlet, elliptical, but narrowed to a neck at the top, or rarely globular, and sometimes flask-shaped, fleshy, drooping, crowned by the erect calyx-teeth.

Margins of woods, stony pastures, and bushy places from 3000 to 8000 feet, but not often above 6000 feet. June, July.

Distribution

Vosges, Jura, Cevennes, Corbieres, Pyrenees. Alpine chain from east to west. Dalmatia, Croatia, Transylvania.

Rosa Pomifera Herrm. (Plate XII)

Leaflets 5-7, lanceolate or elliptical, greyish green beneath, or sometimes purplish, usually glandular-pubescent on both sides. Sepals glandular-ciliate, usually all pinnatifid, as long as the petals. Fruit globular, large, often covered with bristles, but very variable. A rather low, tufted bush.

1. ROSA ALPINA. 2. ROSA POMIFERA. 3. VACCINIUM VITIS IDAEA. 4. ARCTOSTAPHYLOS UVA URSI.

Plate XII.

1. ROSA ALPINA.

2. ROSA POMIFERA.

3. VACCINIUM VITIS-IDAEA.

4. ARCTOSTAPHYLOS UVA URSI.

4/7 NATURAL SIZE.

Roadsides and mountain slopes up to 5000 feet. June, July.

Distribution

Eastern, Central, and Western Alps; rare in the Jura; Central Europe; Western Asia.

Sorbus L. Sorbus Aria Crantz. White Beam-Tree. (Plate XVIII)

Sometimes a mere shrub, but growing into a moderate-sized tree. Leaves ovate or elliptic, green and glabrous on upper side, covered with a soft white cotton on the under side, doubly toothed, or occasionally slightly lobed, the lobes decreasing towards the base. Flowers white, in corymbs at the ends of the short leafy branches. Styles 2. Fruit an orange-red globular berry, with mealy pulp and slightly acid taste.

Woods and rocks among the mountains, extending at least to 4500 feet, as on the Col des Montets and the Col des Aravis in Haute Savoie. On the latter Col there is a fine tree above the village of La Giettaz. It flowers in May, and the fruit is ripe in September.

Distribution

Central and Southern Europe, extending northward into Scandinavia and the British Isles, Central Asia, Altai and Himalaya; N. Africa.

N.B. - See p. 261 for the closely allied S. scandica, etc.