Summer Flowers of the High Alps

The Long-Spurred Pansy flowers in June and July, and is a typical Alpine plant. The high mountain pastures are sometimes literally carpeted with its large purple flowers, all turned towards the sun. It is common on sunny slopes and among rocky débris between 5000 and 9000 feet, and prefers a limestone soil. The underground stem of the plant bears at its extremity a small rosette of leaves, and a short flower stalk terminated by the single large flower. The flower, which has a delicate and sweet scent, is usually of a rich purple colour, much more rarely yellow (var. flava). Sometimes the purple becomes paler and a lavender variety results, and, rarest of all, the flower may be pure white. From the many other violets and pansies which are found in Switzerland, the species we are now considering is recognised by its narrow, notched leaves, by the upward direction of the lateral petals, and especially by the long, narrow spur, which is quite as long as the corolla.

Unlike most of the violets which are fertilised by bees, the Long-Spurred Pansy depends entirely on butterflies for the conveyance of its pollen. The narrow opening to the flower and the long spur, at the bottom of which the honey is concealed, are only suited to insects such as butterflies and moths with relatively long tongues. It is pretty to see the butterflies flitting from flower to flower, and Müller observed a single insect visit no less than one hundred and ninety-four different blossoms in 6¾ minutes.