Links and references
SWISS WEBSITES
InfoFlora is the Swiss National Centre for botanical records and information on the Swiss flora. The website has interactive mapping for all Swiss species, as well as species descriptions and photographs from Flora Helvetica (see below). This site has the most up-to-date nomenclature, compared with the books/apps detailed below. Members of the public are able to register their own plant observations (either on the website or on an app) in their own project area within the database. The records will then appear on the map. I currently have >1000 records from Zermatt registered on the site. I would like to thank members of staff of InfoFlora for helping me (i.e.correcting me!) with some identifications.
Swiss Web Flora is an older botanical database with species distribution maps. It appears not to have been updated since 2006. I do occasionally refer to it.
The Botanical Society of Switzerland is the scientific hub for botany in Switzerland, promoting research, and the exchange of information between botanists. It publishes a scientific journal Alpine Botany, organises excursions and conferences.
OTHER UK BOTANICAL WEBSITES
A Flora of Anglesey The sister website to this is a similarly structured collection of photographs of the flora of the Island of Anglesey off the coast of North Wales, UK. This website is currently under construction. It will comprise mostly photographs from Anglesey, but will also include photographs from other parts of the UK and especially from Snowdonia, across the Menai Straits from Anglesey.
The Wildflower Society A society for amateur botanists organising meetings and field excursions.
The Alpine Garden Society A society for the cultivation, conservation and exploration of alpine and rock plants in the garden and in the natural environment.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Flora Helvetica (2012) by Konrad Lauber & Gerhart Wagner, revised by Andreas Gygax, 4th edition, Haupt, (French edition). This is the standard text for the Swiss flora, with plant descriptions and photographs that are now reused on the InfoFlora website. This is a heavy tome of some 1600 pages. Happily there is an app version, to which has been added the line drawings and descriptions of the Flora Vegetativa (below). This app now gives you all you need to have for identification in the field.
Flora Vegetativa (2013) by Stefan Eggenberg & Adrian Moehl, 2nd edition, Rossolis (French edition). This is an excellent book with line drawings of the critical vegetative features of all Swiss species and subspecies, concise descriptions of each feature and small distribution maps. The drawings have recently been added to the app version of Flora Helvetica, where they accompany the photographs. It can be used as a field guide, though the pages are thin (to keep the book within reasonable proportions), so be careful when turning the page!
Our Alpine Flora (2003) by E. Landolt revised by K. M. Urbanska, Swiss Alpine Club, (English translation). This is a superb and beautifully produced little book. It begins with excellent essays on the origins and ecology of the Swiss flora, climate, geology & soils, and human impacts. This is followed by short descriptions and good quality photographs of a very representative, though not comprehensive, selection of species.
The Alpine Flowers of Britain and Europe (1979) by C. Grey-Wilson and illustrated by Marjorie Blamey, Collins. The book describes alpine species for the whole of western Europe and Scandinavia. It is a useful book which can be carried in the field. Mine is an early edition, and as a result a lot of the taxonomy is now out of date (there is a more recent edition from 1995 which I have not seen), so needs to be used with care.
Flore de la Suisse (2005) by D. Aeschimann & Herve Burdet, Haupt. The standard key for the Swiss flora. Similar in size and content to Stace's Field Flora of the British Isles.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the staff of the Antika Hotel in Zermatt for many enjoyable stays - and I hope many more in the future.