You’d like to scan them in just one look, the Alps. But the spell is too powerful, extending for kilometers and kilometers with a variety the eyes struggle to take in.
And yet, the flora that inhabits the Western Alps can be seen in a single glance. It’s grouped in the rock garden in front of you: from the Maritime Alps to the Provence, passing through the Cozie and Graian Alps.
This is the home of Pulsatilla halleri. It’s in the Ranunculaceae family, but it distinguishes itself from the other ranunculi because of its unusual and comical fruit: you can see it in the summer, with its unique feathery filament. But its name comes from its flowers: in Latin, pulsare means to swing back and forth, as these flowers do when tickled by the breezes that caress the Alpine meadows.
