In coming up this far, you have passed through almost all the five altitudinal zones of the Valle d’Aosta. One after the other, they passed under your nose and perhaps you didn't have the time to observe them properly. The lowest is the foothills: you do not find many wild plants there, if not near the rivers, where reeds and woods composed of Ontans, Poplars and Willows grow. Going up you were welcomed by the plants of the montane zone: you will find the pine forests of Scotch pine, the White fir and other trees such as Birches, Mountain Maples and Aspens. In the subalpine zone, you saw the coniferous forest, formed mainly by Spruces and Pines, the cembra or Swiss mountain types. In this regard, could you distinguish a fir from a pine tree? It’s not hard, just look closely at a branch and see how their needles are arranged: those of the Fir are very short and attached directly to the branch, while those of the pine are long and arranged in pairs or tufts. But let’s go back to our altitudinal zones: there are only two missing and right now you’re standing in one of them. It’s the alpine zone, the one abundant in pastures and scarce in shrubs, such as Rhododendron, Blueberry, Japanese garden juniper and Green Alder. The top level, the highest of all, is above you: it is the snow zone, the one in which the snows never melt and plant species are scarce. Only mosses, algae, lichens and very few plants that have adapted to such difficult conditions can survive there.
Which is the smallest region in Italy? You learned it in elementary school: the Valle d’Aosta. And yet, even though it accounts for just 1% of the territory, this region is home to 40 percent of the flowers in Italy. In fact, the Valle has many different altitude habitats, from hilly to mountain to alp to the perennial snows...