Thanks for all of your comments and especially to you, Hjalmar, for telling me what my mystery "snake" was. Good to know that it was harmless.
Hans, I can't remember if we saw Epimedium alpinum or not. I have seen an awful lot of it in the Balkans and we did visit one Helleborus atrorubens site close to Zagreb where epimedium forms groundcover, but the whole area was under several inches of late snow.
Paul, the hercegovinus were growng in a range of conditions. The biggest plants and those with the most finely divided foliage were growing out in the open. They were exposed to the elements and must get a hiding from strong winds and high summer temperatures/strong sunlight. No doubt this is why this species has evolved pubescent, finely divided leaves to minimise moisture loss. We did see plants growing in shade in Bosnia but these were generally smaller plants with wider leaflets and fewer flowers.
