Table 1.

Characteristics of the ten high-mountain plant species included in the study

Growth form	Plant species	Abbrev.	Mountain belta	Vertical distribution (m a.s.l.) in the Alpsb,d	Sampling sitec	Life formd	Type of reproductive shoot	Habit typee	Flowering time
Dwarf shrub	Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull	Cal vul	Colline–alpine	0–2,700	P	Phanerophyte	Inflorescence	EAC	Late (July–September)
	Loiseleuria procumbens L.	Loi pro	Subalpine–alpine	1,800–2,800	P	Chamaephyte	Inflorescence	PAA	Early (May–June)
	Rhododendron ferrugineum L.	Rho fer	Subalpine–alpine	700–2,500 (3,000)	P	Phanerophyte	Inflorescence	EAC	Mid (June–July)
Cushion plant	Saxifraga bryoides L.	Sax bry	Subnival–nival	>2,000 m (4,200)	S	Chamaephyte	Solitary flower	PAC	Late (July–August)
	Saxifraga caesia L.	Sax cae	Alpine	1,600–2,600 (3,000)	H	Chamaephyte	Inflorescence	PAC	Late (July–August)
	Saxifraga moschata Wulfen	Sax mos	Alpine–nival	>1,600 (4,200)	H	Chamaephyte	Inflorescence	PAC	Mid (June–July)
	Saxifraga oppositifolia L.	Sax opp	Alpine–nival	1,600–3,800 (4,500)	H	Chamaephyte	Solitary flower	PAA	Early (May–June)
	Silene acaulis (L.) Jacq.	Sil aca	Alpine–nival	1,500–3,700	H	Chamaephyte	Solitary flower	PAA	Mid (June–July)
Perennial herb	Cerastium uniflorum Clairv.	Cer uni	Subnival–nival	2,000–3,500	S	Hemicryptophyte	Terminal flower	PAA	Late (July–August)
	Ranunculus glacialis L.	Ran gla	Subnival–nival	>2,000 (4,275)	S	Cryptophyte	Inflorescence	PAC	Early (June–July)

^aMountain belt in the European Alps: subalpine, treeline ecotone; subnival, alpine–nival ecotone; nival, ice-free areas within the glacier zone

^bVertical distribution according to Hegi (1975), Kaplan (1995), Landolt (1992), Zimmermann (1975), and Körner (2011); numbers in parenthesis give the highest localities recorded in the Swiss Alps

^cSampling site: H, Mt Hafelekar (2,350 m a.s.l.); P, Mt Patscherkofel (1,950 m a.s.l.); S, Stubai Glacier foreland (2,880 m a.s.l.)

^dLife forms according to Raunkiaer (1934)

^eHabit type: EAC, vegetative shoot erect, reproductive shoot acaulescent in bud stage b1, caulescent from bud stage b2 onward; PAC, vegetative shoot prostrate, reproductive shoot acaulescent in bud stage b1, caulescent from bud stage b2 onward; PAA, vegetative shoot prostrate, reproductive shoot acaulescent in all reproductive stages