The Alpine Balsam is a characteristic rock plant of the limestone Alps. Taking root in the clefts of the rocks, it sends out radiating branches in all directions, which adhere closely to the surface. It may also be sought in dry mountain meadows and among the grass of dry stony slopes, and is fairly common between 4000 and 7000 feet. Sometimes it is met with at a lower altitude in rocky places. The leaves, which are broader at their free extremities and covered by short hairs, are crowded together at the base of the stem. They have deeply serrated edges. The violet-purple or occasionally white flowers, which are formed of five petals united at their bases, are borne at the extremities of the branches. The Alpine Balsam is found not only in the Swiss Alps but also in the Tyrol, the Jura, the Vosges and Pyrenees. It flowers from early June till August.

The flowers of the Bird’s-eye or Mealy Primrose (Primula farinosa) are not unlike those of the Alpine Balsam, at any rate at first sight. But each Mealy Primrose plant bears but a single leafless flower-stem which terminates in a cluster of flowers. Moreover, the Mealy Primrose is found in moist meadows and boggy places, and rarely among rocks, and its leaves have a grey, powdery bloom on their lower surfaces.