Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Travel / Places to Visit => Topic started by: papapoly on May 21, 2016, 05:46:12 PM
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I visited the Pindus mountains in the Grevena District in N Greece, bordering with Epirus to the West and Western Macedonia to the North. These mountains are beautiful with high amounts of rainfall (over 1000 mm per year). Weather can change abruptly as it happened in this trip.
Four villages with traditional populations and nomadic sheep raising families are located in the area. Going from South to North, Perivoli at 1250m, Avdela at 1200 m, Smixi at 1200 m and Samarina at 1450 m. In the past, I had visited the first three. Roads now are all paved and in good condition. In Smixi a nice ski area has been operating and a paved road leads to the ski area at 1800 m. A pass at about 1850-1900 m takes you to the other side of this chain of mountains in Epirus. Deep valleys occur in between, heavily forested. I left my car at 10 am in the upper ski area at 1800 m and decided to climb the mountain towatds the highest peak at 2249 m. As I was climbing, the western side of the Timphi range (about 2450 m) and the Smolikas range (2637 m) were at sight still snowbound.
The climb was nice as the weather was crisp (about 5-6 oC) and sunny. Later on, around 2:30 pm, as I was in Samarina it started raining and on my way home (about 160 km to the SE) it was raining heavily. So, I was happy I could see and photograph many interesting plants. The pictures I will be attaching in this Post are not of very high quality, especially those of small plants but I hope that you will enjoy them neverthless. Yellow flowers are difficult to photograph because I cannot get a good contrast. I apologize for showing you some plants whose genus I do not know.
Starting at 1800 m, ranunculus sp, forming extensive fields mixed with violets and Muscari sp predominated the flora. The violet sp. was mostly yellow above 1800 m and mainly violet below 1800 m. It also formed extensive fields. Intermediate forms occured, scattered throughout the mountain.
George Papapolymerou
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This white species occured everywhere and I see it a lot in other mountains (pics 31 and 32)
Magnificent Pinus heldreichii, occuring only above the 1700 m line (pics 34 and 35)
Tulipa australis (?) in bud (pic 40)
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Higher up at 1900 m, a muscari sp was flowering (pics 53 and 55). Doronicum columnae in the shade of a log was in bud (pic 67)
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Scilla bifolia was mostly out of flower, in seed, but I saw this one in flower (pic 74)
Nearby Primula veris was flowering (pic 77) and Ranunculus sp (pic 78) and Corydalis solida (pic 80)
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At 2000 m the Viola sp occured in an interesting coloration. On the NE side of the mountain, in serpentine (?) scree was reddish while on the NW side was yellow.
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On the ridge it occured in mixed colours (pic 134)
Pinus heldreichii on the NE side
Snow field at 2000 m on the NW side
Yellow form at 2050 on the NW side (pic 148)
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At 2100-2150 m a yellow Draba (?) species (pics 191 and 192)
Reddish form of the violet
Intermediate bicoloured form between yellow and reddish)
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The same white sp as in pics 31 and 32 (?) occuring as a cushion plant at 2100 m (pic 210) and at 1850 m (pic 294)
Is this the same species (?), pic 304 also at 1850 m
Doronicum columnae in full flower in rocky terrain at 2100 m (pics 219 and 222)
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Pinus heldreichii at 2100 m (pics 225 and 249) and at 1850 m (pic 268). All shaped by the weather and thunder
View towards the NW from 2050 m (pic 226). Clouds had formed by now and the Timphi and Smolikas ranges are not visible. At 2100 m, I had to return bak because the weather was getting worse. Heavy clouding was occuring in the West and Northwest and heavy smag was moving in the ridge at 2150 m from the NW
Natural rock garden at 2050 m on the N-NW side of the mountain (pic 230)
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Papapoly,
Very interesting! Looks easy walking there? No shrubs etc. Do sheep graze there in summer?
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Yes, they do. As I was going there I met them at about 900 m. They will get there by late May - early June
George
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Thank you for the pics and report on this place we usually don't hear much about.
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Very interesting report George, thank you very much.
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It is always nice to see different landscapes/species, thanks for showing George. Pinus heldreichii is superb!
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Moving on to lower elevations, at 1800 m, ranunculus, muscari and more violets
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At 1850 m, Myosotis alpestris was flowering amongst rocks being low in habit (1-3 cm)
Some colour forms of the Violet sp
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I am having problems transmitting images. It seems like I will have to re-size the rest of my images. Didn't have this problem up to now. All images I am transmitting are of the same size.
George
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More colour forms of the Viola species
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Still having problems. I reduced the size of each pic below 200K, but it keeps rejecting them. I will try tommorrow.
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Still having problems. I reduced the size of each pic below 200K, but it keeps rejecting them. I will try tommorrow.
I sometimes experience the same but only with one or two pictures which have to be reduced considerably.
Looking forward to the rest of your pictures :)
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Troy,
I don't understand this. First it was saying maximum size 500K. So I reduced them even further. Then it started saying maximum size 200 K. Most are between 150K and 190 K. One or two maybe aroynd 205 K. So now I will reduce them even further for a third time. But image quality will deteriorate. I have so many images to transmit. Around 1200 -1000 m many new and interesting plants to show.
It is becoming time consuming. I hope it will work out for me.
George
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Hoy,
I reduced the image size to the smallest possible size. If it works I will re-size the rest.
More forms of the Violet species
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It looks like it's working.
Unknown sp, 1800 m, pic #370
Veronica sp, 1750-1800 m, pics #391, 393 and 413
Bellis annua (?), pic #402
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Rununculus sp,
Geranium sp, small but when occuring in quantity it is forming a mat
Alyssum (?) sp
Viola fields at 1700 m. The predominant colouration below 1800 m
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Bellis annua (?) with unknown species
Unknown species close up
Ornithogalum sp (498) and in seed (530)
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Wonderful report of your Pindus walks. thanks for sharing
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Thanks Yann,
Myosotis alpestris, taller at 1700 m
Unknown sp at 1700 m
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Potentila sp at 1700 m
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Salvia sp at 1700 m
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Eyphorbia sp (1700 m)
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Achillea sp in bud (503 and 504)
Unknown sp (507 and 508)
My friend (512). I found him at 1800 m at the ski area. He was starving so I gave him my lunch. He will have food when the sepherds come. He survived by digging and eating insects
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Still at 1700 m
Draba sp?, 509 and 511
Thymus sp?, 520. I found it flowering more impressively later on at 1250 m
Ranunuculus under the shade of a tree. Much easier to photograph. Yellows and white are difficult in direct sunlight.
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Around the ski area, 1800 m
Unknown sp (527, 528)
Draba sp? (547 & 548). I am not sure if it is the same as in pics 509 & 511
Doronicum columnae
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By now it was about 1:15 pm. As the clouds were coming in, I decided to go through a new paved road from the lower ski area at about 1400m to Samarina. I had never been there, about 18 km away, on the foothills of the Smolikas range (2637 m). On the road (about 1350-1400 m) I saw many different plants, getting a hold on the slopes by the road.
Caltha polypetala (557 & 560)
Ranunculus sp (563). I do not know whether it is the same as the ones I showed earlier at 1700-1850m. They were short. This one, in full flower, looks much different
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Unknown sp by the roadside
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Unknown sp also by the roadside
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Thymus sp, 574 & 577
Alyssum sp? (591). Looks the same as at 1750 m (#417)
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Unknown sp. I tried to get a close-up photo but it didn't work out. It is a fuzzy image.
I will resume transmitting in the evening
George
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Great to see these plants, George - thank you for your efforts.
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Maggi, the most interesting-beautiful flowers occurred below the 1200 m line as I am showing in the next 40-45 images that follow.
Veronica lost in the weeds (600, 617)
Cyclophyllus (platyphyllus?) 610, 605, 606
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Flower fields at 1350 m
Thymus ? sp. I see it everywhere from 500 m up to 1500 m
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Deep valley approaching Samarina
Samarina village at 1450 m
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Pinus nigra occuring below 1700 m (647, 651)
Polygala sp (652)
Going home,
Unknown sp (1200 m), 656, 657
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Forgot to attach images
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Ranunculus at 1150 m (660 & 665)
Gladiolus italicus? at 1000 m (672, 677)
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At 1000 m, Alkanna sp (685, 686)
Also at 1000 m, Cerastium sp (690, 698, 703)
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At 1000 m, Euphorbia sp (710, 711)
In very rocky terrain at 900 m, this Acanthus sp (718, 722, 800)
It is not balcanicus which grows tall and grows in good soil. This one is only 7-8 cm tall.
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Also at 900 m, growing in stony ground this sp which looks like a potentilla but its leaves are very different. I really do not know what it could be (727, 730)
This one, I have seen it grow at 1900 m in Mount Ossa. I forget the genus name (737, 740)
Convolvulus sp (753)
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Finally, also at 900 m
A beautiful Hypericum ? sp (750, 763, 772)
and a typical Verbascum sp (784, 787)
George Papapolymerou
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Also at 900 m, growing in stony ground this sp which looks like a potentilla but its leaves are very different. I really do not know what it could be (727, 730)
This one, I have seen it grow at 1900 m in Mount Ossa. I forget the genus name (737, 740)
Convolvulus sp (753)
The yellow one I think is a Fumana (looks a bit like F. procumbens -does it grow there?)
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Achillea sp in bud (503 and 504)
Unknown sp (507 and 508)
Scleranthus perhaps.
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Around the ski area, 1800 m
Unknown sp (527, 528)
Draba sp? (547 & 548). I am not sure if it is the same as in pics 509 & 511
Doronicum columnae
A Sedum and a Cerastium?
Not a Draba, don't think the other one is either (more like a Alyssum or something).
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Unknown sp by the roadside
The last one is a Silene (uralensis?). Maybe the other ones are Silene also.
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Unknown sp also by the roadside
Cardamine (bulbifera?)
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Unknown sp. I tried to get a close-up photo but it didn't work out. It is a fuzzy image.
I will resume transmitting in the evening
George
A Galium?
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Forgot to attach images
657 is a Petasites?
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Very interesting, papapoly! I have tried to put names on some of the plants ;)
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I think 727 and 730 are a Helianthemum. This same plant was once sent to me from a collection on Mt Olympus (by that mountain's best known Englishman!)as Viola delphinantha. I assume he got his seeds mixed rather than didn't know which was which. :D
Some great plants there George, especially the violas and the cushions. Thanks for sharing your visit with us.
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Interesting species; here's my contribution for ID
520 and the likes - Calamintha
690 and following - Minuartia
737 - Paronychia
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Dear Hoy, Lesley and Gabriela,
Thank you so much for the identifications. I am at work so, I cannot look back and make a note of your identifications.
Gabriela, yes, I now remember, it is a Paronychia sp. Its flowers are so papery.
George