Le Lac Agnel

2 points of interest

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  Flora

  Rosebay willowherb (Chamerion angustfolium)

  A companion of the fir and the spruce, assisting their reproduction, rosebay willowherb lights up the clearings with its purple flowers from June to August. Its flowers develop in bunches at the end of a long stalk which can reach 1.2m in length, giving rise to light seeds with silky hairs, allowing them to be easily carried off by the wind which distributes them onto the northern faces of mountains and beside mountain streams up to 2000m in altitude.

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  Flora

  Survival at altitude

  With altitude, the temperature falls by around 0.5°C every 100m and this is a determining factor in the plants which can be found on the mountainside. The “combat zone” from 2000 to 2400m, is an area which is hostile for trees. The wind dries everything out. The sunlight is intense and the vegetative period is too short. In this unstably balanced environment, any human intervention has major consequences. Today, actions aimed at repopulation are underway, but the difficulties relating to the environment and the 100 years required for repopulation to be established make this a dangerous business.