Cantabrian Mountains, N Spain

[ashley]

Better late than never perhaps so here are some pictures taken in late June and early July this year in the Cantabrian mountains.

The Cordillera Cantábrica runs parallel to the north coast of Spain for about 250 km.  Toward the eastern end of the range the Picos de Europa is a predominantly limestone area with a rich flora and fauna as well as magnificent scenery.  In particular the little town of Fuente Dé attracts visitors of a botanical bent because its cable car offers fast and effortless access to an alpine wonderland on the plateau above  

IDs or corrections are very welcome.

Near the cable car station above Fuente Dé, view southward along the edge of the plateau   
Androsace villosa
Anemone pavoniana (x2)
A natural crevice garden with Globularia, Androsace & Helianthemum
Cerastium & Helianthemum
Erodium daucoides ?
Gentiana angustifolia (x2)
Limestone peak rising from the plateau

[ashley]

More from the Picos de Europa:

Erysimum duriaei ?
Genista & Thymus
Gentiana verna (x2)
Globularia repens (x2)
Helianthemum sp.
Cares gorge (x3)

[ashley]

Picos de Europa:

Iris latifolia (x2)
Lithodora diffusum
Merendera montana
Myosotis alpestris ?
Nigritella nigra
Ranunculus amplexicaulis
Natural rockgardens (x2)

[angie]

Lovely pictures I liked the Nigritella nigra  .
Thanks for sharing
Angie

[ArnoldT]

Ashley:

In the last picture it looks like an eryngium.

[Paddy Tobin]

Ashley,

Great set of shots, great light and you must have taken your better camera this time. The blues are brilliant.

Paddy

P.S. Hope to see you in Cork tomorrow evening. Planning to go to Kinsale first for lunch, onto Hosford's Garden Centre, back to Cork to collect some electrical thing which is in for repair for my son, something to eat and on to the meeting. Making a day out of it.

[Maggi Young]

Ashley's last picture of a Saxifraga sp. did not load properly..... I'm trying it again to see if it  will be okay now.......though I think there is still a strange red line across it.....

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Wonderful pictures Ashley !
Indeed a paradise for alpine lovers !   
You seem to have been a busy lad this Summer travelling from North to South - or was it the other way around  

Thanks for showing us !

[ashley]

I agree Arnold, maybe E. campestre ?

Yes it's a lovely little thing isn't it Angie, and an unusual colour for a European orchid.   However my blurry picture does it little justice.

Thanks Paddy; realistically the problem is not so much the camera as the eejit behind it  
I hope you have a good day tomorrow & will see you later at Ian's talk.

South with the family then north alone Luc  
This year I was lucky to get two very different mountain trips.


A last few from the Picos de Europa (IDs or suggestions appreciated):

Saxifraga felineri (x2)
Scilla sp.
Sedum sp.
Silene acaulis & Viola biflora
Sorbus sp.
Teucrium pyrenaicum (confirmed by Luit)
Viola sp.
… and a couple I probably should know but don’t recognise
Chaenorhinum origanifolium
Erinus alpinus    both kindly identified by Tony  

[tonyg]

Fabulous pictures Ashley - especially like the Globularia repens, reminds me of trips to the Pyrenees over a decade ago.  The sorbus is nice too .... was it a long way down?

The couple you do know but did not name might be Chaenorhinum origanifolium and Erinus alpinus perhaps.

[ashley]

Thanks very much Tony.  This Sorbus grows here and there on the limestone slopes above Fuente Dé.  Actually the photograph was taken near the upper teleférico station, down through the open grid floor of a viewing platform cantilevered out over the edge of the cliff

These following pictures are from various places along the southern side of the Cantabrian range, in Palencia and León provinces, and westward into Asturias.  Here there is much less forest cover than on the wetter, seaward side and agriculture remains fairly extensive so the natural vegetation is rich and diverse.  But quite apart from the wonderful plants the expansive scenery, picturesque villages linked by quiet country roads, excellent food and welcoming people make this an idyllic place to visit. 

A few general landscapes
Aquilegia vulgaris & Erica lusitanica
Digitalis parviflora
Echium vulgare (x2)
Eryngium bourgatii
Gentiana luteum
Helianthemum sp.

[ashley]

Some more plants:

Helianthemum sp.
Himantoglossum hircinum (x2) lizard orchid
Linum sp.
Phyteuma orbiculare
Ranunculus parnassifolius (x2), an exquisite plant on south-facing screen slopes near 2,000 m
Rosa pendulina ?

[Rob]

Thanks for sharing the trip, it does look an idyllic place to visit.

The Ranunculus parnassifolius looks stunning.

[ashley]

Thanks Rob.  It's a magnificent plant alright, and one I'd never seen before.  One of the highlights of the trip

Finally:

Saxifraga sp. ?
Sempervivum cantabricum
Viola cornuta & Anthyllis montana
Cerastium or Arenaria sp. ? (Luit's & Mark's suggestions, respectively)  a stiff, hard plant with sharply pointed leaves in 4-fold arrangement: Arenaria aggregata ?
... and some of the friendly locals  

Aphyllanthes monspeliensis  (identified by Luit and Diane)

Apologies for the incomplete identifications; any help much appreciated.

[cohan]

nice!
i was expecting the sempervivum as soon as i saw the title 
the first stunner for me was the glubularia dripping down the cliff, but the sax felineri on pure stone is lovely, and the sorbus! wow! is it a tree or a shrub?
of course that Ranunculus is like no other i have seen.....