Violets / Violas

[Hoy]

So much beauty!  Thanks for posting, Trond and Rick!

You are welcome, Lori

Very nice Rick!

[Hoy]

Here comes a new species: Viola dasyphylla. The colour and markings of the flowers vary a lot.



Promising buds!

[Hoy]

Same species.










Another inhabitant of the scree: Tristagma nivale.

[Maggi Young]

Thanks to both Ashley and Trond for their Culpeo suggestion -  found this online and it does show impressively large canine teeth


Lycalopex culpaeus

[Robert]

Trond,

Your postings are extremely interesting, especially the Araucaria trees. I wonder, are there any pristine, old growth Araucaria forest remaining? What would they be like?

[Hoy]

Thanks to both Ashley and Trond for their Culpeo suggestion -  found this online and it does show impressively large canine teeth

Lycalopex culpaeus

Looks very similar, Maggi!

[Hoy]

Trond,

Your postings are extremely interesting, especially the Araucaria trees. I wonder, are there any pristine, old growth Araucaria forest remaining? What would they be like?

Thank you, Robert

I can't fully answer your question as I do not know how it is in Chile where the main range of Araucaria is.

In Argentina heavy lumbering has reduced the population of the biggest trees. Grazing remove the understorey of shrubs and forbs which makes it difficult for seeds to germinate. What's left is smaller trees in open savannah like vegetation. We visited Moquehue area where one of the last remnants of almost pristine woods occur. It is close to the Chilean border.

Here are a few more pictures (no violets - maybe ithey should be in their own thread)  .



A healthy tree.




Mixed with Nothofagus.




One of the biggest trees we saw - popular destination!



Thick stem ut not very tall.




Grazing area.

[Hoy]

Last ones



Looks a bit scorched. Maybe a bushfire.




Some years they set plenty of seeds but they rarely germinate in these dry woods.




Scenery

[ashley]

Thanks Trond; fascinating to see these.  There may even be violas too, if we look hard enough
Yes significant regeneration looks unlikely unless grazing pressure can be reduced.  Are these remaining Argentine populations protected in any way?

[Robert]

Trond,

I enjoyed the photographs of the Araucaria forest, or at least what remains of one.

I have the same question as Ashley, are any of the Argentine or Chilean populations protected? Maybe someone out there has the answers.

Here in California some of the ecosystems have been so degraded that it is now impossible to know how it might have been 200 years ago. One example is the oak savannah and the river riparian habitats of the central valley of California. Agriculture and other development has destroyed most of it and seriously degraded the rest. The "Hooker" Oak, one of the last great valley oaks, Quercus lobata, is gone, however it was still alive 40 years ago. It grew in Chico, California. Bidwell Park, also in Chico, California, is still there with many large valley oaks. This would be a good outing for me. Bidwell Park is interesting and the plants in the nearby mountains are fantastic.

[Maggi Young]

While Araucaria are the subject in hand - how about this from Robbie Blackhall-Miles?

"Monkey puzzles: an iconic tree under threat" http://gu.com/p/487d9/stw

 plus more on the natural populations in Chile: http://talkingplants.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/chilean-pine-no-puzzle-for-this-monkey.html

[ashley]

Thanks Maggi.  More here and here.

[Gerdk]

Here are

1. Viola pedata - grown in a sunny sandbed - unfortunately there are no flowers although the conditions seems to be right

2. + 3.  Viola spathulata and the closely related Viola pachyrhiza from Iran

Gerd

[Hoy]

Thanks to both Ashley and Trond for their Culpeo suggestion -  found this online and it does show impressively large canine teeth

Lycalopex culpaeus

I think this is a Culpeo and probably the same species as the jaw belongs to.

[Hoy]

Here are

1. Viola pedata - grown in a sunny sandbed - unfortunately there are no flowers although the conditions seems to be right

2. + 3.  Viola spathulata and the closely related Viola pachyrhiza from Iran

Gerd

Very nice, Gerd   You certainly have enough sunshine for the V.pedata?