Mountain life

This sugarbush is an endangered plant in its native South Africa.

The tall flower spikes develop quickly in spring. Many heads of bright yellow flowers burst out of each rosette.

These tightly curled heads of pink buds open into blue flowers.

Star-shaped B flowers attract pollinating bees. roadleaf stonecrop

Fleshy blue-green leaves are spade-shaped.

Life up a mountain is harsh. At high altitude, plants are exposed to extreme temperatures, freezing weather in winter, and intense sunlight in summer.

The thin soil is dry. Yet some hardy plants manage to survive here. Many have short stems to keep out of the wind and small leaves to reduce heat and water loss. They usually hug the ground in clumps. Some plants even have silver or white leaves to reflect sunlight.

The alpine pink’s tiny leaves are almost hidden by large flowers in spring.

The spikes of nodding flowers may grow to a height of 24 in (60 cm).

(6,150 m) above sea level.

This wild plant stays very short to avoid strong winds.

Even the flower heads of the prostrate speedwell grow close to the ground.

This endangered Hawaiian plant grows on the edge of a volcano at more than 6,900 ft (2,100 m). Its swordlike leaves are covered in silver hair. Mountain life

Fine white hairs that look like cobwebs reduce heat and water loss.

This beautiful plant survives extreme cold, but not drought.

This rare plant is found only near Lake Tahoe in California.

Mountain plants have adapted to the dry climate of their habitat in different ways. The alpine spotted orchid and spotted fritillary survive the cold winter as bulbs, flowering in spring. The Himalayan may apple cannot tolerate bright, dry conditions, so it grows quickly in spring and then dies back underground for the rest of the year. Others, such as the broadleaf stonecrop, alpine pink, cobweb house-leek, and long-petaled lewisia produce short, sturdy leaves, and survive all year by staying close to the ground for protection from the wind.