Coniferous forests

Conifers generally tolerate higher altitudes than deciduous trees. The needles are just leaves transformed so as to reduce contact with the cold air. The larch is the only conifer in the French Alps that loses all its needles every year; the other species (spruce, mountain and arolla pine etc) renew just some of their needles each year.

The Arolla Pine (Pinus cembra) is one of the first trees to grow above the limit of the heath, so it is exposed to hard climatic conditions and its growth is very slow. Those trees that manage to survive for centuries are often shaped like chandeliers; some branches grow out from the main trunk and then rise up vertically with it. The wood is often used by sculptors, for it is not hard and does not split. You can recognise the arolla pine by the needles which grow in groups of five.
Arolla Pine
Pinus cembra
© PNV / Philippe Benoît
 
     
The Twinflower's latin name is Linnaea borealis,after Linné, the father of biological classification. The plant is widespread in arctic regions and in the Alps where the Vanoise is the western limit and the only place in France where this protected plant is found. It likes to grow in moss, in the shade of arolla pine or spruce.  
Twinflower

Linnaea borealis
© PNV / Jacques Perrier