Memorable Topics – Threads and posts that are just too good to lose > Plant Information and Portraits

Flora of Nepal expedition 2014- Baglung, Rukum, Dolpa.

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ichristie:
Hello Alan just back from the SRGC discussion weekend where we saw so many wonderful pictures - now home to find your stunning pictures with report,  thanks, cheers Ian the Christie kind

alanelliott:

--- Quote from: ichristie on October 06, 2014, 06:41:00 PM ---Hello Alan just back from the SRGC discussion weekend where we saw so many wonderful pictures - now home to find your stunning pictures with report,  thanks, cheers Ian the Christie kind

--- End quote ---

Cheers Ian. We should have a catch up re-Botanists Garden at some point when I'm back up the road.

alanelliott:
From the Uttar Ganga Nadi we continued north now following the Phalguni Khola. Initally we were walking through cultivated land and pasture in the broad valley but soon we were in the forest again. Our Nepali colleagues had set off early to the Dorpatan office to hand in our paperwork to the Park’s officials which was about an hour away and in the opposite direction to where we were going.

 
We collected Crementhodium ellisii, Koenigia , Nepeta and Delphinium and Primula munroi in an areas of degraded pasture within the forest.


Primula munroi
 
We had managed to miss the trail and ended up going on an off piste adventure scrambling up and through dense Betula and Rhododendron forest before hitting a different good trail further up the slope.


Morina longifolia

By lunchtime Colin who had been feeling unwell since the morning was knackered and had no appetite. I offered to take his collecting kit off him and we carried on. We hadn't gone much further before Colin stopped for a rest and was in a worse state than just half an hour before. With that our Sherpa's took his rucksack from him he was ordered just to walk to camp and not collect. We were also assured that camp was just round the corner.

Partick meanwhile was busy collecting Pedicularis siphonanatha, P. scullyana and P. megalantha.

I stopped to collect a big Swertia growing with its feet in a flowing burn, leaving Colin to plod on with his field assistant. I was with Tenzing who stopped to ask a group of women at a farm where our campsite was likely to be. They pointed way off into the distance and Tenzing look a bit shocked and got out his map. They oldest woman pointed to just below the pass and said thats were the next sensible place to camp is. It turned out that was another 4km and 500m of altitude gain away. After that I had lost any enthusiasm for collecting as I was feeling pretty tired too and just walked on and catch up with Colin. Tenzing decided to say behind and wait for Patrick and hopefully Ganga and Subash who were supposed to catch us up to hurry them along because it was already mid-afternoon.

Walking up through the forest I saw large plants of Clematis buchananiana in fruit and flower growing up and over the Rhododendrons but as I said I had no enthusiasm for collecting.

I eventually caught up with Colin at a large landslide where the river in spate had clearly done some damage. Again despite the large population of Meconopsis paniculata in flower and fruit these were left well alone in favour of getting to camp. We had also caught up with the porters who were complaining about the length of the day and altitude gain. They were carrying 40kg so it was justified!


Meconopsis paniculata

alanelliott:
I get up to camp and dumped my gear and went back down to buddy Colin the rest of the way. When we got back up to camp I got him a seat and asked the kitchen guys for some hot juice for him while a couple of us got his tent up. Once Colin was on his back, and with it only an hour and a bit until it got dark I headed back down to find out how far away Patrick, Ganga and Subash were.


Colin making the best of it once in camp.

I met Patrick and his Sherpa assistant not too far down but then carried on a bit further to meet Tenzing who assured me Ganga and Subash were just 10min behind him. Knowing they would make camp before it got dark and headed back to catch up with Patrick to take one of his bags off and lighten his load.

Once back in camp Patrick and I started on the day’s specimens. Less than half way through processing these it had gotten dark and I realised our Nepalese counterparts had not yet appeared. I grabbed my head torch and went out to find out what was happening. It turned out they were 50m below the camp exhausted. The kitchen crew had taken them down tea and biscuits to give them some energy so they could make it up the rest of the way.

When they got to camp they got stuck in with the processing with Patrick and I went off to set up the drying tent with Tenzing and a couple of the field assistants by torchlight. None of us had built the extendable drying frame yet and it took us a while to work out how it was done. By 9.30pm we had finished processing the specimens and got the drying process going; I was exhausted and could barely speak let along think but at least dinner was ready and waiting. 

As this was alot of text here is one of my favourites from this camp even if it was a haven for leeches


Jurinea macrocephala


Jurinea macrocephala close-up

ichristie:
Super picture Alan and all the details hope Colin recoverd well we know how difficult the local bugs are, cheers Ian the Christie kind

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