ALPINE PLANTS AND LOWLAND PLANTS – ALPINE PLANTS
The alpine plant is usually richer in its constituents and medicinal value than its lowland relative. I have proved this for myself through analysis. For example, the lowland yarrow contains less essential oil and is less aromatic than the highland yarrow from the Engadine, the Lower Engadine to be exact. Mind you, it may be true that the soil and the abundant sunshine and warm atmosphere, also the greater intensity of ultraviolet rays, exert an influence on the quality of the plant.
The conclusions drawn from Professor Flueck’s experiments were arrived at with little, if any, consideration of the influence of ultraviolet radiation and this would lead one to believe that these rays are not so important in plant life, at least as far as their principal active elements are concerned. However, there are other constituents to be reckoned with, even though they are not generally considered ‘active substances’. These elements, especially the trace elements, seem to depend upon ultraviolet light to a far greater extent than the more common principal substances, although little is known about the relationship between trace elements, ultraviolet radiation and mountain climate, as Professor Flueck admitted.
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