Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Travel / Places to Visit => Topic started by: Maggi Young on June 21, 2019, 04:17:16 PM
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At the moment, Edinburgh SRGC Group convenor, John Mitchell (who works at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh) is leading a trip to the Chinese provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan for the Alpine Garden Society. SRGC Treasurer Richard G. and his wife Jan are two of those on the trip. Here are some of the photos John has posted on Twitter of the trip so far ....
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12th June " When in Sichuan on tour with the AGS you have to make a visit to see the pandas, a little light relief before the main trip begins"
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13th June "What a start to the AGS tour to China Balang Shan never stops to impress. Here are a few highlight from Meconopsis, Omphalgramma and the dark form of Cypripedium tibeticum."
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Lilium lophophorum
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14th June "Last day on the Balang Shan and did it deliver, never ever seen a white Omphalogramma before and the Meconopsis were out in full glory"
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16th June "Have moved on to Tagong plateau and a few of the highlights were Stellera, Meconopsis and Dolomiaea. Tibetan prayer chats were etched onto the rocks and boulders all down the river"
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Dolomiaea - perhaps D. forrestii
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17th June "Moved to Kanding and spent the day on Zheduo pass. 2 highlights were Primula melanantha & Pedicularis variegatea (?) and some more meconopsis."
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Pedicularis przewalskii ssp cristata
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Androsace
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Now pix from Richard Green 18th June "Meconopsis integrifolia by a glacial stream feeding the Grey Lake above Kanding, China, photographed earlier today. If you look closely you will see the rest of the AGS tour members making their way up the valley where we found many other good plants."
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Richard Green 19th June "Another one from the Grey Lake, Kangding with more yellow Meconopsis integrifolia on show. Sorry about the finger on the lens. We also found blue Mec. henrici and some lovely spikey Meconopsis rudis further up on the screes below the snow on the coll. No we didn't quite get to the tops which are over 18000 feet high."
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Richard 21st June "We are currently at 12000 feet at Litang in Sichuan. Having a great time with stunning plants and scenery."
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Primula sikkimensis in a seasonally wet hollow at the Scissors Pass, near Litang, China, taken earlier today.
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John Mitchell 21st June "Last time on Zhedu pass and the Rheum and Astragalus were the two of the highlights"
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John M. 21st June : "Heading over Gaoersi pass 4412m Cypripedium guttatum and Incarvillea were the two special plants seen today "
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John M. 21st "Today we reached 4625m on Scissor pass and growing on top of the pass Pleurospermum, Ajuga and Lamiopholmis"
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Wonderful pictures thank you. I particularly liked the Pedicularis.
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Simply beautiful, thaks for showing.
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Incredible pictures and like Shelagh I love the Pedicularis, is it in cultivation?
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Wow ! :-* Thanks for posting.
Whats the breathing like at 4625m Richard ?.
Cheers Dave.
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From John Mitchell's Tweet 22nd June "Quiet day today visited Qingker monastery and then went to the open meadows and found Androsace bisulca var aurata which was found 25 years ago on the ACE expedition which was funded by the AGS. Great to see it again in the wild and growers are still growing it.
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John Mitchell on 18th June : Went to grey lake just south of Kanding and walked up into the mountains at the back and found Rhodiola, Meconopsis rudis and a new location for Chionocharis hookeri
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Magnificience is the only word that pops into my mind, great travel :o
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Dave,
Everyone is having trouble of some sort, mild headaches, and stopping to gasp for breath after moving too quickly uphill. The worst is to kneel down, hold your breath whilst taking a photo and then standing up. This causes immediate dizziness and in some cases can cause fainting. We are being careful. It's the only place that hotel rooms are equipped with oxygen tubes as standard, and there is a permanent white coated Oxygen Manager on 24 hour standby in the lobby!
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From Richard 23rd : "We stopped on our way south from Litang and this area of limestone yak-grazed grassland was an absolute garden. Can you spot Incarvillea, Androsace, Polygonum, Stellera and others?"
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John Mitchell 23rd June : " Leaving Litang and heading down to Daocheng over Meizishan pass 4750 and found Solmslaubachia, Primula & Androsace - all new to me on this pass"
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Dave,
Everyone is having trouble of some sort, mild headaches, and stopping to gasp for breath after moving too quickly uphill. The worst is to kneel down, hold your breath whilst taking a photo and then standing up. This causes immediate dizziness and in some cases can cause fainting. We are being careful. It's the only place that hotel rooms are equipped with oxygen tubes as standard, and there is a permanent white coated Oxygen Manager on 24 hour standby in the lobby!
Thanks for the insight Richard, it sounds quite an adventure.Travel safe.
Cheers Dave.
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Let's see if John Mitchell's video clips will be viewable from these links ..
AGS tour members getting ready to tackle the screes at 4500m at Hong Shan
http://twitter.com/i/status/1143515730744418304 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1143515730744418304)
Still in Hong Shan and today we found the king of Rheums R nobile 4500m the icing on the cake and well worth the walk to see it
http://twitter.com/i/status/1143808068125429760 (https://twitter.com/i/status/1143808068125429760)
Super little rhododendrons around the Rheum !
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More from John....
25th June "Hong Shan and the plant of the day Corydalis benecincta again another plant reintroduced from the ACE expedition 1994 great to see again on the screes in abundance"
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"Hong Shan 4300m Corydalis hamata, Primula boreiocalliantha growing under Rhodo. roxieanum Forests and lovely meadow of Primula sikkimensis & secundiflora"
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"In hong Shan and this place is a must on a tour in Sichuan Saussurea leucoma , Cremanthodium decaisne & Meconopsis rudis all over 4500m"
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"AGS China group photo snuggled next Rheum nobile in Hong Shan"
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Tweets by John Mitchell today - some photos and a link to a little video.....
Last day in Hong Shan and two very nice Corydalis melanochlorea & C. calicola
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Last day in Hong Shan and we found the rare Fritillaria delavayi growing in the screes and also nice to see young plants growing around it
https://twitter.com/i/status/1144231138006712321
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Long overdue... also from me some words of enthusiasm. The shown pictures confirm my opinion that perhaps the most beautiful plants inhabit the screes... no matter if in Asia, America or NZ. What beautiful little treasures... unbelievable. The happy faces of the expedition members say everything.
Thank you very much for passing it on... Maggi.
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We spent an idyllic day in the high screes of the Hong Shan, and some of us actually cuddled the Rheum nobile with delight, they are such characterful plants. It was also very good to see masses of seedlings at this location. Clearly they are not harvested as happens in many other places.
I have not added any more Corydalis pics as John Mitchell's are sufficient, but it was wonderful to see the blue and purple splodges all over the hillside in such profusion.
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Richard 28th June " Primula secundiflora in my garden today - I wish! No, actually this was on the way to Tianchi Lake near Shangri La earlier today."
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From John ...
"Tianchi lake today and 25 years exactly to the month the Ace expedition visited this area but this time we had jeeps on Ace we had to walk the last mile Lilium soulei and Adonis davidii brought back to cultivation from expedition"
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and another video .... "A final look at Hong Shan and some remarkable plant etched into memories a wonderful place"
https://twitter.com/i/status/1144382218787332102
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From Mark Matthews on Twitter, who is also on this tour ....
"Discovered a new species of Helianthus in the depths of China"
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New discovery on @Alpinegardensoc tour in Chin lead by @jmitchell_RBGE - I'm looking forward to the write-ups of this!
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Incredible scenery and plants, a trip to be remembered!
Lucky for us that were able to follow and enjoy it even if virtually - many thanks to all!
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Richard : "Primula zambalensis flooding down a damp gully at over 4200 metres in the Baima Shan. I have never seen so many primulas of all types as on this trip. Leaves me breathless just looking at them!"
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John Mitchell : " Moved to the Bai ma Shan our last place and its so nice to be back here after 12 years. Found the rare Lilium eucanthum growing through carpets of Cassiope pectinata "
video link https://twitter.com/i/status/1144915841747734529
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Gorgeous pictures, overwhelming landscape. Thank you for the posting :-) ..... even if I've gotten quite a longing for China now :-)
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Latest from Richard .....
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" I am very sorry that our current hotel in Dechen, Yunnan, won't allow any of my usual pleasures."
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"Here is a Chionocharis hookeri at the Baima Shan, they look to be growing so easily here that it is not at all obvious why they are impossible in cultivation, apart from the fact that they only grow in granitic soils on north facing slopes which are over 4,400 metres in height."
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John Mitchell's video on the Chionocharis "Bai ma Shan it’s been 25 years to the month that I have been coming here and this is the first time I have seen Chionocharis hookeri twice on the same trip but Bai ma Shan is the best"
https://twitter.com/i/status/1145261264597372928
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Again from John : "Great day on Bai ma Shan Meconopsis speciosa Corydalis hemidicentra and a plant I have not seen since ACE expedition Gentiana wardii var emergins"
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"Meili snow mountain in it full glory highest mountain in Yunnan and a sacred mountain for the Tibetans "
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From John M. today :
"Bai ma Shan Eritrichium dequinense, Saussurea medusa & the very small Cremanthodium microglossum great day on the limestone"
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"Last day on Bai ma Shan but what a way to finish Paraquilegia anemonoides growing on limestone cliffs"
Video: https://twitter.com/i/status/1145627257458876416
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And from Richard ....
"Here is a real rock garden - Paraquilegia anemonoides growing on a limestone cliff at 4,500 metres (13,500 ft in old money) in Yunnan today."
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Richard is homeward bound - and apparently enjoyed a full English breakfast at London Heathrow airport this morning - in contrast to this ...
"Never tried Sweet Corn ice cream? Then come to Chengdu airport for the experience of a lifetime. One of our group tried it, and said it was "strange"!"
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One of our group tried it, and said it was "strange"!"
Isn't that the point of travelling, for 'strange' ;D
Thanks for all the wonderful photos on this thread.
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It was both strange and wonderful to see so many weel-kent plants in their natural habitat. I am going to continue to remember this trip for a very long time to come.
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Absolutely stunning photos, I am green with envy!
Any chance of a little more text / habitat information to give some more clues to the cultivation of these....? I'd love to find out more as I have a number of seedlings of some of these plants.