In reply to UKC Articles:
Nice article! I quite enjoyed it, along with the geology series, detailed but still accessible for the layperson.
Although they are not exactly plants, lichens are also very interesting. There is over 3000 documented "species" in the Alps. Species in quotes, as it is more like a composite organism of two or three symbiotic species - algae or cyanobacteria, multicellular fungi and (as recently discovered) an unicellular yeast!
And yes, anything that manages to grow up there, in the dry, buffeted by winds, temperature changes and high UV radiation should not be trodden upon... It would be a shame if most of the world's alpine clubs had to change their logos (just making a point - I know that the edelweiss is hopefuly a species of least extinction concern among all the fragile alpine flowers, but it's the best known one).
Post edited at 14:19