Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Travel / Places to Visit => Topic started by: Richard Green on December 01, 2017, 02:05:11 AM
-
I am currently with an AGS group to central Patagonia led by Harry Jans, and including experts such as Martin Sheader. After a day in Buenos Aires we flew to Esquel and have now visited Lago Vintter.
Wonderful plants seen so far (amongst many others) include the following:
Embothrium coccineum, these shrubs are coming into flower and are instantly recognisable a mile away.
[attachimg=1]
Chloraea alpina, a steppe orchid which can be spotted easily from the minibus.
[attachimg=2]
Oreopolus glacialis, wonderful yellow mats looking rather like flat Dionysias from a distance.
[attachimg=3]
Viola columnaris, one of the rosulate violas growing in the sand dunes by Lago Vintter.
[attachimg=4]
Lago Vintter itself with Andes behind.
[attachimg=5]
More postings when time and internet connections allow.
-
Today we visited the La Hoya ski area near Esquel. Here we found plenty more floral goodies. Hope you like them.
Ourisia coccinea
[attachimg=1]
Oxalis adenophylla
[attachimg=2]
Oxalis erythrorhiza
[attachimg=3]
Ranunculus semiverticillatus
[attachimg=4]
Viola sacculus
[attachimg=5]
-
Wonderful pics, Richard! Those oxalis are amazing :o
Looking forward to more - may you continue to get good internet connections!
cheers
fermi
-
I am glad you are enjoying the show Fermi. I have looked at such pictures posted by other forumists for many years, and I can scarcely believe that these ones are now actually mine. The flora here is just so completely different from anything I have ever seen before. A serious forest fire meant that we had to rearrange our first couple of days accommodation from a remote forest lodge into Esquel, but at least we have some internet here in the town. I shall post more pics soon.
-
Great to see those Oxalis "cushions" when in the UK they are often lax open floppy plants. How do we achieve this here? Light levels, nutrition, wind?
-
Many thanks Richard, keep 'em going.
-
To answer Brian's point, it may help to know that the Oxalis are growing at elevation somewhere about 1800 metres, and there is very little cloud so UV and light are far higher. We cannot match that in the UK.
OK David, here we go with some more. We are just back from an 160 mile (256km) round trip eastwards into the semi-desert steppe, so here are a few of the plants we encountered at several roadside stops in the baking heat. Most are only growable with difficulty (if at all) in the UK.
Anarthrophyllum strigulipetalum, the northern bicoloured species is orange/yellow, there is a red species further south.
[attachimg=1]
Junellia tridactylites, this is the typical form with flowers in shades of white/purple/pink but we have also seen it in yellow/cream.
[attachimg=2]
Maihueniopsis darwinii, cactus with lovely large yellow/orange flowers.
[attachimg=3]
Rhodophiala mendocina, has large onion sized bulbs and the leaves die down at or before flowering time.
[attachimg=4]
Corynabutilon bicolor, woody shrub in Malvaceae. Related to the genus Abutilon with cream and purple striped flowers.
[attachimg=5]
-
Mountains, plants and sunshine are you having a good time!
Still better Richard is that you are sharing image here on the forum so we can enjoy some of these wonders from cold dark Aberdeen.
Thank you.
-
Yes, Ian. The quality of pictures is much better here on the Forum. Before going abroad I always search our Forum for useful information, and I hope these pictures will help others, as well as lightening our dreary northern hemisphere December for you. I have taken my small laptop with me and am backing my pictures up onto computer from memory card every evening. It does not take much more effort to choose a few to share with you all and I wish more Forumists would do this, and use this excellent resource to share photos with us all.
I shall be happy to answer questions from anyone on what we have seen.
We visited Rifugio Piltriquitron near El Bolson today, a 220 mile round trip (thankfully on asphalt roads), with a steep 500m ascent from the carpark to what looks initially like a flat desolate area with snow patches. However, a large number of interesting plants do grow here.
Calceolaria borsinii is a nice small plant growing in groups on flat ground, or slopes on the way up through the open Nothofagus forest.
[attachimg=5]
Tristagma nivale - this was common on the mountain between 1500m and 1700m and comes in various colour shades from greenish through to dark maroon.
[attachimg=1]
Tristagma circinatum preferred growing on slopes rather than on flat ground. This was one of the few examples which was undamaged by frost.
[attachimg=2]
Viola sacculus - these were better plants than seem further south at La Hoya yesterday, more robust and with more rosettes and flowers per rosette. It was also interesting to contrast the conditions with these better plants growing in cool areas close to lying snow whereas yesterday's smaller plants were in hotter dryer conditions.
[attachimg=3]
Habitat for Viola sacculus and Tristagma circinatum at 1700m with party members standing in the areas where the plants are growing.
[attachimg=4]
-
In cultivation, Calceolaria can be a martyr to aphid attack - even to the point of being indicator species for an infestation - does this seem to be a problem in their native habitat - or are the winds in these open areas so strong that aphids cannot fly there to any great extent ?
-
I love those Tristagmas Richard especially that wee beauty - Tristagma circinatum.
-
Glorious pics! The plants are wonderful and Richard's photos really do them justice.
-
Glad you are enjoying these. Maggi, I haven't seen any evidence of aphids here, probably a problem for more temperate climates, as most of them seem to grow in warmer, drier conditions than Aberdeen.
Today I am showing a few plants from the wetter western foothills of the Andes, known as the Valdivian rainforest.
Gavilea odoratissima is an orchid of woodland, and we have seen it in a couple of different places so far:
[attachimg=4]
Oenothera magellanica - probably - because there are several similar species:
[attachimg=1]
Azara lanceolata, found growing in the forest, but also very happy at RBGE Benmore Garden in Scotland.
[attachimg=2]
Fitzroya cupressoides, the "Alerce" or big cypress which was logged out almost completely last century, and now heavily protected in the Parque Nacional Los Alerces.
[attachimg=5]
Codonorchis lessonii is a dainty orchid of woodland.
[attachimg=3]
-
What a magnificent specimen of Fitzroya cupressoides, we have one growing in our front garden and Maggi keeps asking me why I have to prune it every year!
I wish we had the space to allow it to grow and the time to live to see it reach such a stately size as the one Richard shows here.
-
Ian, this was not the biggest tree we saw, but it was the biggest one I could fit in the viewfinder. I expect that Aberdeen will be a very different place a thousand years from now when yours will be the same age as the one in the photo - as long as nobody prunes it or lops it any more!
Maggi, Martin Sheader reports that aphids are scarcely ever a problem on Calceolaria here.
We drove north to Bariloche today stopping regularly to view steppe plants. Of course we also stopped at the famous icecream shop in El Bolson to partake of large tubs of muti-flavoured sustenance! Here are a few offerings:
Adesmia corymbosa formed nice clumps with green/silver leaves and nice flowers. This picture has beetles and flower damage just to show Maggi that not everything is perfect here!
[attachimg=1]
Junellia micrantha, forming large flat mats only a coupe of cm high, some are around one metre across with some very old woody stems in the middle, with outer ends rooting as they touch the ground.
[attachimg=2]
Junellia aff. tridactylites - an assemblage of sprigs, showing various flower types and colour variations. The colour fades from yellow through brown and purple as the flowers age.
[attachimg=3]
Scutellaria mummularifolia, was growing prostrate on the ground.
[attachimg=4]
Fabiana imbricata looks like broom, but is from the Solanaceae family surprisingly. It formed nice bushes with white, cream, or pale purple flowers. I am told that it is hardy in the UK.
[attachimg=5]
-
Extraordinary pics. Looks to be a botanical wunderkammer.
-
Thanks Richard for the pictures, they are beautiful :) :) I follow your articles with admiration.
-
I am glad that you are enjoying these Jan and Ross. Here are some more pictures from today for you. I have updated yesterday's post with the correct names as I have now confirmed these.
Today we took the ski cabin and chairlift to the top of Cerro Catedral at just over 2000m high. This is the easy way to botanise, and reminds me of holidays to the Alps and Dolomites. There was even an open Refugio at the top serving food and drink, with sun loungers populated by holiday makers from Barioche. However, we were there early and avoided the crowds and saw the following:
Oxalis adenophylla is a very showy plant with striking flowers poking through the scree, we were a bit early as there were many plants without flowers although there were leaves just coming through the scree.
[attachimg=1]
Oxalis erythrohiza (right) and Oreopolus glacialis (left) the former very specifically growing on the top of the exposed ridge, but interestingly the latter is seen growing in sand on the steppe 2000m below.
[attachimg=2]
Ranunculus semiverticillatus was growing in in scree just after snowmelt. It has large flowers around 50mm in diameter.
[attachimg=3]
Ourisia fragrans was growing in sheltered places under boulders in the shade looking like a Primula, although it is in the Plantaginaceae family. It is sweetly smelling as its name suggests.
[attachimg=4]
Viola columnaris was the second rosulate viola found, and shows why it earned its specific name.
[attachimg=5]
-
Thanks for posting Richard.
The images are superb and it’s great to see the natural character of these plants.
-
Here are some more plants from today. We went back out to the steppe specifically to look for a rosulate viola, but we found much more.
Chlorea magellanica is a difficult orchid to spot, being a green colour, but it is beautiful when looked at close up with greenish lines on the petals. We have seen hybrids between this species and the orange C. alpina on earlier days.
[attachimg=1]
Tropaeolum incisum has spreading leaf stems with silvery leaves, and flowers in a selection of yellow and orange shades. This was the first time we have seen flowers.
[attachimg=2]
Junellia caespitosa formed eyecatching mounds on the steppe, and is a very hard and spiky plant.
[attachimg=3]
Viola escondidaensis is a rare and only recently discovered and described rosulate viola, although an intermediate, having leaves and no obvious rosette.
[attachimg=4]
And the habitat for this viola is pure sand dunes, so how they gain an initial foothold is a mystery. They must have long roots to suck up whatever water is available.
[attachimg=5]
-
We stayed close to Bariloche today and took the minibus up one of the worst gravel roads we have been on so far. In fact we drove way past the sign which said "Only 4x4 wheel drive vehicles beyond this point". We then walked up through Nothofagus forest to the viewpoint, and it proved a good day as we saw many interesting plants.
View at the top, the lemon yellow patches are Oreopolus glacialis, with darker yellow Calceolaria in the background, and cream flowers of Anemone multifida in upright bunches in centre foreground and elsewhere.
[attachimg=1]
Nassauvia glomerata was a prostrate plant with white flowers.
[attachimg=2]
I know it's not a plant, but still worth showing is a Magellanic Woodpecker seen in the Nothofagus pumilio forest on the way up.
[attachimg=3]
Chloraea cylindrostachya was seen on the way up and is a robust orchid standing much taller than other orchids.
[attachimg=5]
And of course many more of the rosulate Viola columnaris, with splendid rosettes, and flowers in a variety of colours from pale to dark purple.
[attachimg=4]
-
We took a trip today on Lago Nahuel Huapi to the furthest point west in the rainforest under the Andes. Many similar plants were seen as on our previous rainforest trip a couple of days ago, but the photos will give a flavour of what it is like to be in this environment:
Large trees of Nothofagus dombeyi in the forest clinging to the sides of the steep slopes, and streams of snow meltwater cascading down the sides into the Lago:
[attachimg=4]
Inside the rainforest showing the large amount of dead wood which lays rotting where it has fallen, which will fertilise and renew the forest eventually.
[attachimg=5]
Codonorchis lessonii is a little three pointed orchid of the forest floor, and this was a group of around 20 individual plants. See my previous post for a closeup picture.
[attachimg=1]
A composite photo of a large Alcerce tree Fitzroya cupressioides showing the axe marks of the slot chopped by logging crews at the base. They stopped chopping when they discovered that the tree had a rotton core, and they didn't bother to fell it, instead preferring solid trees containing all good timber. Note how the tree is healing after over 100 years, and that the cuts are as clean now as when originally made. The cypress tree contains oils which inhibit insect and fungal attack, and for this reason the wood was used to make roofing tiles:
[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=3]
-
Wonderful forest quite a contrast in habitat to the high exposed type of your previous post.
-
Yes Ian, and we are seeing a wide range of species from all types of habitat. Here are some more from today's trip between Bariloche and St Martin de Los Andes.
Mutisias are such an endearing climber with daisy flowers. Here is a pink Mutisia spinosa, although we have also seen paler versions.
[attachimg=1]
I couldn't resist putting in a cactus, this is Austrocactus coxii, and the flower colour us real and untouched, grading from a deep orange on the outside to firey yellow in the centre.
[attachimg=2]
Oxalis adenophylla can be a woodland plant, here are some growing under the shade of Nothofagus trees, and not in their usual scree habitat.
[attachimg=3]
Trick picture! Count how many Viola volcanica you can see in this picture. The answer can be found at the bottom of this post!
[attachimg=4]
Three rosettes of Viola volcanica, which we found in several different sites from the very outskirts of Bariloche northwards.
[attachimg=5]
Oh yes, and how many Viola volcanica could you find above? The answer is seven - the rosettes are exactly the same colour as the sand they are growing in.
-
A great tour Richard - I particularly like the violas.
-
Good to hear from you Chris, thanks for your appreciation which helps me continue with posting after what are turning out to be a series of quite tiring days in the field. Anyone who thinks these trips are a relaxing holiday is wrong! However, there are more violas coming up - please read on.
Sorry guys and lassies, I couldn't do my daily post as the top floor router in our hotel was down last night. Here are some highlights from our trip to the ski centre of Chapelco, near St Martin de Los Andes where we are staying.
Tristagma nahuelhuapinum (if I have typed it correctly) is named after Lago Nahuel Huapi. This is a real beauty of the consolidated grassy places below and around the ski runs.
[attachimg=1]
The nice little double buttercup, Ranunculus penducularis on the ski slopes.
[attachimg=2]
OK, here comes the Viola, this time Viola dasyphylla, this is an excellent clump with creamy flowers and small blue lines on the petals.
[attachimg=3]
And a closeup of another plant with more blue pencil lines on the petals. There is considerable variation in this population, there are plain flowers with no lines, and some with a more creamy, and others with a more whitish background.
[attachimg=4]
We did see one solitary Rhodophiala andicola, just starting to come out in bloom in an area just off the main ski runs. I am sure there will be more opportunities to see this glorious plant tomorrow when we move to a different location.
[attachimg=5]
Of course we did see all of what are becoming the usual suspects, like Oxalis adenophylla and Ranunculus semiverticillatus. As you move north the spring is earlier and warmer than the south. The Ranunculus are starting to go over and we are beginning to find fading flowers and larger more developed leaves than further south. There are also many other species not featured so far, like a selection of Nassauvias with white flowers and often spiky leaves, and then we have not even mentioned the fine differences between the various species of Southern Beeches in the genus Nothofagus!
-
Richard thanks for the pictures. Just helps cheer up a miserable cold day .
Maggi is that the plant ( Mutisia spinosa ) that you grow on your wall. I remember the name but not sure if it’s the same plant.
Angie :)
-
I too am enjoying this travelogue immensely. Extraordinary part of the world.
-
Hi Angie, I shall certainly not look forward to coming back to Scotland as it is in the 20s here and I have my hotel window open at after midnight as it is too hot to go to bed yet!
Ross, I am glad you are enjoying the pics. Everything is so different from the plants in Scotland, but this trip has made me very aware of the debt owed to past plant hunters who have enriched our European gardens (and presumably your antipodean gardens too) with many plants which we have seen, such as Embothrium coccineum, Buddleja globosa, Gaultheria mucronata, Fuchsia magellanica, two Gunneras and others. It has also highlighted the reverse trade, where both Broom and Lupins as well as various thistles and others are now weeds here.
We are now still further north in Junin de Los Andes, and trekked over 700m up Cerro Colorado today, a nearby mountain with the top covered by volcanic debris. We found the following plants amongst a very rich flora.
Ourisia fragrans, this is a white form of the plant we saw as a pale pink form on Cerro Catedral a few days ago.
[attachimg=1]
A habitat shot of Ourisia fragrans. It is still growing in the same situation as on Cerro Catedral, at the base of large rocks in the shade and presumably where it collects a little moisture than growing in the open.
[attachimg=2]
Viola dasyphylla was here as on Chapelco yesterday, and the plants were just as variable in different shades of white and cream, both with and without degrees of blue veining in the petals.
[attachimg=3]
Rhodophiala araucana is very like R. mendocina (see my earlier post), however it is summer growing and flowers whilst the leaves are still green unlike the winter-growing R. mendocina.
[attachimg=4]
We were pleased to see quite a number of Rhodophiala andicola flowering at the start of their blooming period. This area will be a sea of purple in a week or two's time.
[attachimg=5]
-
Richard thanks for the pictures. Just helps cheer up a miserable cold day .
Maggi is that the plant ( Mutisia spinosa ) that you grow on your wall. I remember the name but not sure if it’s the same plant.
Angie :)
It's very similar, Angela, to our plant - we've always called is a Mutisia oligodon hybrid, but we think M. sonosa is involved.
-
Richard - your exertions are very much appreciated -really enjoying these photos.
-
I'm thoroughly enjoying your pictures Richard. Makes me wonder why on earth Ipheion is Tristagma (hobby-horse of mine of long standing ;D )
-
Maggi and Angie, Martin Sheader’s book on the Patagonian flora says that Mutisia oligodon is only from 10cm to 30cm high, whereas M. spinosa is 2m to 5m high, and the plants which we have seen here are certainly covering substantial shrubs. However M. subulata has very narrow leaves.
David, good to hear that you are enjoying this, so here are some more pictures from today’s trip which was westwards from Junin.
Calceolaria valdiviana was found by the road, it is an eye-catching plant and has 30cm stems with largish flat-faced slipper flowers, and big round leaves:
[attachimg=5]
Fuchsia magellanica is a common UK garden shrub, but it was good to see it growing in the wild by this gushing snowmelt stream with its roots in the water:
[attachimg=1]
A roadside seepage produced a nice assemblage of plants, Gunnera tinctoria growing of the vertical wall was a surprise to those used to seeing it in bog gardens in the UK. There was plenty of Mimulus luteus, and also Calceolaria tenella with little leaves. The hanging leaves to the bottom left are Ourisia ruellioides mostly past flowering but with a few flowers remaining:
[attachimg=2]
We found another orchid or two, including Chlorea cylindrostachya which is a robust plant with green and white flowers. Observant viewers will notice Martin Sheader in the background making a beeline for another choice specimen:
[attachimg=3]
Senecio chilensis was seen on lava fields and is a nice compact subshrub with silver leaves and yellow flowers. This shot shows it growing in habitat along with Nothofagus:
[attachimg=4]
-
Hi Richard
Looks like you're having a great time.
Thank you for posting the picture.
-
Yes, Julia, we are having a great time here, and there are more beauties to show today as below:
Maggi and Angie, following our earlier discussion on Mutisia, we found Mutisia oligodon today, and it is clearly as smaller plant to 30cm tall, with thinner petals. However, it has rounded upper leaves as opposed to Mutisia spinosa which has spiky top leaves. See below:
[attachimg=1]
It was a good day for orchids with Gavilea glandlifera being an elegant example of the genus:
[attachimg=2]
We saw Perezia bellidifolia further up the mountain with pale blue-grey flowers:
[attachimg=3]
Finally at around 1800m we found the habitat for Viola coronifera:
[attachimg=4]
Viola coronifera was just past its peak flowering, but there were some good plants:
[attachimg=5]
-
Another nice set of images, Richard. What an 'impossible' viola habitat.
-
Oh my! You found the Viola coronifera still with flowers - The Gang of Pals on Ger van den Beuken's tour didn't find any still with decent flowers, I don't think. Elisabeth Zander only pictured the neat rosettes....
[attachimg=1]
-
Great to see your pictures Richard. The Violas are just extraordinary! I also enjoyed seeing the Fuschia magellanica as I have this growing in my garden. The groups should be lining up to hear your talk on return!
-
Glad you like them Dave, more pictures coming up.
I thought the Viola coronifera might cause a stir. However we did have to climb to 1800m to see it flowering. The habitat is granitic mineral soil and the best plants were growing between granite rocks, although we did see rosettes on the soil surface too. There was a fierce wind blowing, and clearly they will rot in our moist garden conditions without specialist treatment.
It is interesting that Elisabeth’s picture shows almost fully grown rosettes of current year’s leaves. As we climbed into the altitudinal range, we started finding such plants. Later, further up, we found them with fading flowers and the new season’s growth was just beginning to expand as shown in the following picture:
[attachimg=1]
We lifted a rock from one plant and saw the length of the stem, including dead leaves. The one pictured below was at least 15cm long, presumably representing many years of growth:
[attachimg=2]
Finally another plant to drool over, despite the flowers just going over.
[attachimg=3]
-
This is our last real botanising day here, as we start to journey home via Buenos Aires tomorrow. Today we visited Volcan Lanin, which is at the southernmost edge of the Monkey Puzzle Tree (Araucaria araucana) forests. Here are some in front of the dormant volcano swathed in cloud.
[attachimg=1]
On the walk to the base of the volcano through the forest we noticed another orchid, Gavilea lutea with striking yellow flowers:
[attachimg=2]
The nice cheerfully bright Montiopsis umbellata was growing in the volcanic debris washed down from the cone.
[attachimg=3]
We also found our seventh viola species of the trip here – Viola cotyledon, and this one shows its growth habitat, which is basically pulverised volcanic cinders and sand with not that many competitors able to colonise this habitat.
[attachimg=4]
The Violas also come in a pale cream colour as shown here:
[attachimg=5]
Well that’s about all for this trip folks, as we make our way back home tomorrow, but I shall be happy to answer any questions here. I have now posted over 70 pictures here, and I hope this has given you a flavour of the variety of the plants found in Central Patagonia.
-
Richard:
Thanks so much for the wonderful tour of a very special part of the world.
-
My thanks too Richard. It's wonderful to see these plants in habitat.
That V. coronifera must have been heavily shaded when it started 15 cm further back under the rock :o
What might its annual growth rate be?
-
I'll join the grateful chorus here too. Thankyou very much Richard for the extraordinary pics and commentary. I've just put Patagonia higher up on the bucket list. Viola coronifera sealed the deal for me.
:)
-
This has been a thoroughly enjoyable thread to follow. Thank you for sharing it with us!
-
What a wonderful trip! I can't stop dreaming of a soft yellow violets!
Gerd
-
Thanks to everyone for your kind comments.
Ashley, we discussed viola growth rates, and the consensus of opinion is that the violas may grow at around 1cm per year. The first year the seedling will grow more as it reaches to the light to form the first rosette. So that plant was probably around 15 years old. The rock had most likely moved onto the plant gradually over the years with natural settling and climatic action.
-
Yes I wondered about a recent rockfall or shift. Presumably the original seed fell onto open ground or a crevice that was later covered.
Thanks Richard.
-
Thanks for all these wonderful pictures Richard, and especially for the rosulate Violas which I longed to see when in Chile few years ago with no success (wrong time).
-
Glad you liked them Gabriela. It is just a pity that we cannot grow the violas very well here in the UK. I am looking out on a cold grey Scottish afternoon, which although windy is very misty and it must be close to 100% humidity. Violas seem to be able to cope with wind, but not with consistent damp, and we noticed that the ground dried out very fast in Argentina after any rain.
-
I also doubt we could grow them in Ontario; hardiness apart, in the winter they would be relatively safe under snow, but there are periods with high humidity in the summer which sometimes prove fatal as well for other alpine species.
We have to be grateful when able to admire them in nature or in beautiful images, like the ones you presented here.
-
A message from Harry Jans about this trip:
Patagonia images online!
Dear all,
First of all, my very best wishes for the New Year, with enjoyable time in the garden or on any botanical tour, but above all, stay healthy!
The last 3 weeks I have spend many hours cataloguing all the images from the AGS Central Patagonia trip.
I made about 4000, but kept “just” 1750.
Now they are all (except just a few) named, put location info to all of them and slightly edited.
Thought you would be interested what we saw.
I selected about 1000 to put on my Photo Gallery Website.
You are able to find them here https://harryjans.smugmug.com/Travel/South-America/2017-Central-Patagonia-Arg/
I am sure there are some mistakes, so if you find one (or more), do let me know!
If you go to the main page of this gallery (here https://harryjans.smugmug.com/ ), just scroll down and you see a World map.
If you click on the number 43 (Argentina), it will zoom into that area a bit more so you know where we have been.
Have an enjoyable virtual tour through a small part of the Andes..
With all best wishes,
Harry Jans