Cazorla, Spain

[ashley]

Helleborus foetidus
Paeonia broteroi     widespread and self-seeding extravagantly in places.  Must be a sight in flower.

[fermi de Sousa]

Ashley,
Looks like you had a rewarding plant hunt.
The only thing better would be to return when the seed are ripe
cheers
fermi

[Armin]

Phantastic images from a marvelous area - many thanks for your report Ashley
My favourites are Narcissus hispanicus ssp bujei and Ornithogalum collinum.

[ashley]

Yes seed would be nice Fermi, but I was very happy just to see them in flower.
This was my first time seeing narcissus in the wild Armin, because until now it's been hard for me to travel at this time of year.

Heading west, we visited the beautiful town of Úbeda before continuing to Córdoba.  Temperatures were now rather high for April (up to 39°C), so after sightseeing we retreated to the Botanic Gardens for some cool green shade.  Of particular interest were the modern museum with an excellent display of plant fossils, including several beauties from Ireland and Britain that were new to us.  Perhaps ironically for an inland city there’s also a nice collection of endemic plants from the Canary and Balearic Islands, although the houses were so hot and humid that it was hard to linger.

Córdoba BG conifer collection
Gladiolus illyricus ?
Urtica atrovirens bianorii    endemic to Mallorca & a rather handsome nettle
Mezquito grill with stylised plant (tulip?) ornamentation
Entrance to Museum of Fine Arts

[ashley]

The backstreets of Córdoba offer tantalising glimpses of cool internal courtyards.  For garden lovers the Palacio de Viana is worth a visit. 

[ashley]

Some more from Viana

[ashley]

On the bank of the Guadalquivir opposite a school it looked as though bicycle thieves had been very successful, but the significance is probably less prosaic and more romantic (but not always simple)

[ashley]

Now some orchids and other plants from the limestone Sierra del Torcal, south of Antequera:

Barlia robertiana
Ophrys lutea
Ophrys speculum
Ophrys tenthredinifera

[ashley]

Ophrys tenthredinifera
Orchis anthropophora
Orchis conica
Orchis italica
Orchis mascula

[ashley]

Orchis mascula olbiensis
Orchis papilionacea
Anacamptis champagneuxii       thanks Kristof

[ashley]

Some other plants:

Asphodelus albus
Erinacea anthyllis
Hyacinthoides hispanicus
Iris subbiflora

[ashley]

Iris subbiflora varied in stature, flower form and colour, from pale blue to purple and plum.

[ashley]

Lathyrus sp.
Muscari comosum
Ranunculus rupestris
Saxifraga sp.
Silene sp.

[Armin]

  wunderful images, Ashley.
Nature can be so fascinating.

[Gerry Webster]

wunderful images, Ashley.
Nature can be so fascinating.

So can culture,  judging by Ashley's pics in Reply #21 on: May 07, 2013, 09:23:08 PM »