Cantabrian Mountains, N Spain

[ranunculus]

Wonderful images as usual, Ashley.

Ranunculus parnassifolius usually occurs in it's white form (see below) with less hairy, more shiny leaves.
Henry and Margaret Taylor introduced the superb pinkish-red Nuria form some years back, but even though I grow both, I don't consider the foliage on my plants to be as exquisitely shaped or hairy as the the example you have portrayed. We are hoping to visit this area next May or June and would love to photograph this form but fear we may be far too early?

[Lvandelft]

Lovely pictures Ashley.
Maybe I can help with some naming, your Teucrium = T. pyrenaicum and the small white plant with prickly looking leaves might be some Cerastium?
And your Sisyrinchium is definitely Aphyllanthes monspeliensis.

[Diane Clement]

Sisyrinchium sp. 

There's no Sisyrinchium this side of the Atlantic.  I think your picture is of Aphyllanthes monspeliensis (was it a bit more blue than the picture shows?)

Thanks for these, Ashley, super pix of an interesting area and one that I would like to visit, if I ever get time off for good behaviour in June 

[Gerdk]

Thanks for sharing the trip, it does look an idyllic place to visit.
The Ranunculus parnassifolius looks stunning.

Indeed,
another than the Nuria - collection.  Most interesting report - thank you Ashley.
(Sorry, can't help with the identification of the violet).

Gerd

[ashley]

Many thanks all for your comments and help with IDs.

Glad you weren't disappointed Cohan   I know very little about sempervivums so hope it's right.
Yes it's hard to see from my 'top down' pic but the Sorbus was actually a tree, about 3-4 m tall, and the only vegetation in the landscape anything like that size.  By growing on steep slopes and in gullies they tend to gain some protection from winds etc..

Cliff, yes I'd seen only white forms on the Forum so thought that maybe R. parnassifolius flowers 'went pink' like R. glacialis only as they matured and were perhaps considered less show-worthy.  I saw these plants in early July but at near 2,000 m, so populations at lower altitude might be earlier.  Anyway, PM me if you want the location.

Luit, many thanks.  I've corrected the text accordingly but unfortunately can't change the file names without help from above

There's no Sisyrinchium this side of the Atlantic.  I think your picture is of Aphyllanthes monspeliensis (was it a bit more blue than the picture shows?)

Or only the odd one   Thanks Diane.  Yes it was sky blue but unfortunately came out this washed-out colour when photographed in strong sunshine.
Somehow I had this one at the back of my mind and forgot to investigate further

Thanks Gerd.  Sorry to hear that you don't recognise the violet because I was depending on you

[Diane Clement]

There's no Sisyrinchium this side of the Atlantic.  I think your picture is of Aphyllanthes monspeliensis (was it a bit more blue than the picture shows?)

Or only the odd one   Thanks Diane.  Yes it was sky blue but unfortunately came out this washed-out colour when photographed in strong sunshine.
Somehow I had this one at the back of my mind and forgot to investigate further    

Interesting, I didn't realise there was a naturalised population in Ireland.  It must have escaped from someone's garden originally.  I guess that's fairly unlikely in Spain.  The leaves are quite different from the Aphyllanthes, in which they are almost rush-like (which looks likely from your picture) 

[ashley]

Yes I agree that the similarity is slight.  However there has been long debate as to whether S. bermudiana in SW Ireland is introduced or indigenous, details of which I don't have to hand at present.  As I recall, there are several predominantly North American taxa which also occur as natural populations on the Atlantic fringe of Europe.

[cohan]

interesting about the sorbus, will have to keep it in mind when looking at seedlists..usually i just thought of sorbus in terms of berries, but the foliage of this is really nice..

[fermi de Sousa]

Ashley,
thanks for a wonderful trip
I'm always happy to see the Aphyllanthes which I managed to germinate but have yet to flower. Maybe one day soon!
cheers
fermi

[ashley]

I'm sure you'll succeed Fermi.  Most of these plants should love your conditions.

[TheOnionMan]

Ashley, wonderful photos and plants.  

The prickley mat with white flowers down at the bottom of Page 1 -
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=6049.msg166997#msg166997
-reply 13,  picture file  labelled   "x white.jpg" -

looks like an Arenaria to me, not a Cerastium.  Typically Cerastium has 2-lobed apex to the petals (rarely entire).  But, this is just a hunch.

[ashley]

Interesting suggestion Mark.  Below are a couple of enlargements to show more detail.  The 4-fold leaf arrangement, most evident on the left of the second picture, somewhat resembles Arenaria tetraquetra  (e.g. here).  However that species has blunt leaf-tips rather than lance-shaped and pointed as in this plant.  According to the description in Flowers of South-West Europe by Oleg Polunin & BE Smythies this makes it more likely to be Arenaria aggregata.  

Here too is the picture of the crustose white saxifrage that I had problems loading before (see Maggi’s reply 6), with a detail, in case anyone recognises it.

S. paniculata perhaps. 

Thanks for your help.