Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Flowers and Foliage Now => Topic started by: Michael on September 18, 2008, 09:14:57 PM
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Hello !
I do not post here for a long time, mainly because my " summer hollidays" were not properly "holidays" this year and i had been busy with some articles and work to do! And of course keeping the plants well watered in summer is difficult.
It happens that in the field work i did last month, i took some pictures of some Madeiran endemic plants, and i would like to show them to you!
(Gerd i have not forgot the pictures of Viola paradoxa, the reason i still havnt posted them here is because my friends PC crashed and he lost all the data. But do not worry, next time we go to the mountains to take pictures, i will get the seeds for you :D
I find the island flora very interesting because of the so-called "insular gigantism". This means that there are groups of plants that get giant for some reason, and this mainly happens in islands. Curious isnt it?
I would like to show some examples from Madeira:
This is Sonchus fruticosus, a typical plant of the Laurissilva:
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Sonchus2.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Sonchus1.
jpg)
At first glance, it doesnt seem an interesting plant, untill we realize that it is a very close parent of the tiny dandelion (Taraxacum) that uses to hide on the lawns all over the world :D. But unlike it's continental parent, this plant is more like a giant dandelion growing in a pole.
The composite family is mainly herbaceous, but there are some species that get gigantic and this is one of them. If you do a cut in the stem, you wont find the growing rings typical of any other bushy plant or tree. The growth is abnormal and doesnt form those rings, wich means the ancestor of this plant was an herbaceous plant. To me the most impressive example of a giant composite, is the genus Scalesia from the Galapago Islands.
Scalesia are trees in every sense of the word. And its amazing if you think that all those epiphytic orchids, mosses and bromeliads that are growing on Scalesia branches are, in fact, growing on a daisy plant!!! Unfortunately this Sonchus isn't as impressive as a Scalesia tree, but it still get's very tall. I measure 1,91m so you can get an idea of the actual heigh of the plant. But this one is still very young as they can grow as tall as 3 meters :D
The flowers are identical to a dandelion too, and they last for a considerable amount of time.
Here is another example of the " insular gigantism", Melanoselinum decipiens:
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Melanoselinum3.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Melanosel
inum2.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Melanosel
inum1.jpg)
This plant is a member of the Umbeliferae family, but again, it got giant, like a sort of a mega-parsley in a pole. It can get as tall as the previous one (3 m), but it only flowers once, and then dies after flowering. The flowers are pinkish to white, and also typical of Apiaceae, but unfortunately, there were no plants blooming at the moment. The plants get pretty impressive when in bloom.
Here's one of my absolute favourites, an orange foxglove :D :D
It is so similar to the foxglove that it was first described as Digitalis sceptrum. But latter, due to their bushy growing habit, someone sugested to create a new genus, called Isoplexis. I wish i could know what is the meaning of this name, if somebody could tell me the meaning i apreciate!
A view from top, with the typical pineapple-like bracts at center.
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Isoplexis3.
jpg)
A detail of the inflorescence, showing the conspicuous dark veins
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Isoplexis5.
jpg)
This is the second time i find this plant in 21 years (my life), the last time i had seen it i was like 13 years old, so i did not waisted the opportunity to take a picture with it!
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Isoplexis1.
jpg)
There are only four species of Isoplexis, 1 on Madeira and 3 on the canary islands. They are another typical example "island gigantism". The Scrophulariaceae family is, like the other 2 families that i spoke above, mainly herbaceous.
On these 2 last pictures, please have a look at the backgroung plant to have an idea of the overall habbit.
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Isoplexis4.
jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Isoplexis2.
jpg)
This is Clethra arborea, the lily of the valley tree. This name was given by tourists, as it is most known as "folhado" here in madeira. The flowers also smell very nice :D
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Clethra1.j
pg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Clethra2.j
pg)
If you remind of the other post i did about the "weird campanula member" of madeira a couple of months ago, i had no good pictures of the blooms, because the plants were too far to take a nice picture. But i finally found a plant blooming very close to the road. It was a very lucky day, as this bloom seemd the last one of the whole population!
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee261/albertorodriguez_01/IMG_7622.jpg)
The blooming period was on the end, and the seedpods were starting to develop and change from yellow to green.
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee261/albertorodriguez_01/diversos/IMG_7692.jpg)
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee261/albertorodriguez_01/diversos/IMG_7694.jpg)
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee261/albertorodriguez_01/diversos/IMG_7704.jpg)
This is our endemic saxifraga, growing on a rock:
(http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee261/albertorodriguez_01/diversos/IMG_7689.jpg)
And finally, for those of you who would like to come to Madeira one day, here are are some pictures of the highland landscape (mainly laurissilva).
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Erica.jpg[/
IMG]
[IMG]http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Landscap
e13.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Landscap
e2.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/LAndscap
e6.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/LAndscap
e8.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Landscap
e1.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Landscap
e10.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Landscap
e12.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Landscap
e11.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Landscap
e3.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Landscap
e4.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Landscap
e5.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Landscap
e7.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/CpsEndemicsAquaticsAUG2008/Landscap
e9.jpg)
I hope you like them! :D
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Hi Michael ,
thank you for sharing with us your pics - really nice !!!
you makes me curious ....maybe some day ::)
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Great display of photographs, Michael.
The isoplexis grew for me for a few years before succumbing to our conditions.
Paddy
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Beautiful pictures Michael! Love the Isoplexis especially. The name consists of Iso = equal + plexus = braiding. This refers to the fact that top lip and lower lip of the flower are of the same length.
No problem concerning the violet!
Gerd
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Hans, if you someday want to come here, you will be welcome!
Anyway, have you discovered yet to which one those seeds belong to? Wich one is your favourite?
Paddy, yes the isoplexis is a headache! It wont grow to me either, and your conditions are closer to the ideal than mine! Very ironic, specially when we think that i am 40 minutes in car of where that plant grows, and you live so far away!
To grow this plant well you need to porvide it with cool foggy conditions all year around. By this I mean temperatures on the low 20ºc during the day with a nightdrop to the 14´s during the night. On the winter it can be much lower! The Isoplexis also doesnt matter of cold temperatures, as long as they are always above 0ºc.
But one thing i can tell you, this plant hates the heat. I am thinking seriously on moving to the mountains just to be able to grow this plant! hehe :D
Thanks for the translation Gerd, you are absolutely right and it makes all sense. I had some idea that iso is for "equal" but the "plexis" part gave me no hint, so i was totally dark!
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Michael
really interesting to seem some different plants
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Michael :
no idea with the seeds - it is impossibly to say which is the favorit -they are all beautiful 8)
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Thanks for showing us these wonderful images. This island is amazing, the plants grows outdoors with no problem, when here we must protect them.
And also very interesting is all those places in the mountains that we've never heard in touristics publicity.
I've never went to Madeira (and i'm so near), but if I go one day, I would like to visit all these places kept so wild.
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Michael a week in Madeira a few years ago is one of my favourite holidays. I had just bought an SLR camera and had plenty of chance to use it. It is such a fertile island and there is such diversity of plants I reckon that if you stuck your finger in the soil on Madeira that it would grow. I hope to go back some day, especially now they have lengthened the runway, it was a bit scary before. We stayed in Machico which is a lovley little town.
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Thanks for your kind replies!
By the way Hans, i sincerely hope you like the yellow one... :D
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Michael :
what is the name of this ( yellow ) plants ???
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Hans, that plant is called Musschia aurea ( If i remember correctly it is named after Dr. Mussch, a german person related to botany).
In this website you have a lot of information about the genus Musschia
http://www.rareplants.de/shop/prodtype.asp?CAT_ID=246
By the way, do not pay attention to the minimum temperature they say. The plants can take as low as 5ºc, so no worries. Usually they grow close to the sea level, but there is one population that grows at middle altitude on the central valleys of MAdeira, and there on winter, i can assure you it gets a lot colder than 10ºc!
Just make sure you give it plenty of sun. I know you grow cactus, so this is a perfect companion plant with very similar requirements.
:D
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Michael thank you !
I have found this website and the information about this plants ....it seems pretty rare !
You have a lot of trust in me ...I dont know ::)
What you think : sowing now or wait until spring ?
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Michael,
thank you for the picture sequences and the information around.
Please feel engaged to post more ;)
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Hans, yes those plants are rare, the first time i saw one live was just about 2 years ago!
They are from a mediteranean climate, lots of rain in winter and dry summers. So i guess the seeds starts to germinate about now, but of course do not let the plant get too dry on summer. It likes dryness to prevent rotting. What i do with mine is let them start to wilt a bit then water well untill the next time.
The plants also do not like at all their roots being disturbed, so take great care while handling them, they break so easily!
But of course you can save some seeds to try on spring too!
Aruby, yes i will post more pictures, as soon as i get more fieldwork to do :D
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Michael - I will do my best ;D
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Michael,
you have really a bit of paradise there. I wish I could see that one day. It is extraordinary place!
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Hello!
Here is an update of this topic, with some more pictures that were taken this week, during another fieldwork with my collegues. This time we were making a count of the density of small and big trees to understand the overall status of that part of the forest and to see if the forest is regenerating well or not :D
Since we are on December there are almost no flowers :( but the lack of flowers makes the place look terrific and perfect to do some sort of "Jurassic park" movie hehe :P
They say that most Europe was like this, covered with misty and evergreen laurel forest, lots of ferns and mosses, before the last glatiation killed the entire ecossystem... You can imagine for sure the terrible effect that a sudden frost could have in a place like this:
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06728.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06714.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06754.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06786.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06725-1.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06771.jpg)
One of the good things is that we found a lot of Lobaria pulmonaria lichen growing all over the place. It is highly sensitive to pollution, so we can be sure that the places where it grows have a very clean atmosphere :)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06778.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06775.jpg)
I particularly liked this wall, that was dripping water. Its a very special place, where grows a small fern with transparent leaves (i forgot to take pictures of it, sorry :( )
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06811.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06800.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06813.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06817.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06821.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06819.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06746.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06739.jpg)
A weird blue fungus that i had never seen before. Any guesses of what it might be?
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06772.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06780.jpg)
A small nice river full of rocks. I am wondering the amount of water that ran here in the past, to put these huge boulders on their current place :o
(the second picture reminds me of the one that Cephalotus took on the tatra mountains ;) )
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06861.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06865.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06872.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06858.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06857.jpg)
We also did a fire to cook the lunch 8)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06846.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Saida%20Ecologia%20Chao%20Ribeira/DSC06893.jpg)
Even though the landscape itself is empty of flowers i find it has its own beauty. But it is a pity that some tourists nowadays are more concerned to take pictures of the flowering Agapanthus, Hydrangea, Watsonia and other introduced plants that are growing along the walks >:(. If they really want to see those plants, its better to visit South Africa instead of Madeira, dont you agree? ;D ;D
Next time i hope to post here pictures of our "alpine vegetation".
I hope you liked the pictures
Michael
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Dear Michael:
Many thanks for the fantastic images. It's like being in that magic place ourselves. It is a paradise.
As for the invasive species, is it possible to carry a sprayer with Roundup during your trips?
Best regards
Alberto
Argentina
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Alberto, those "invasive plants" i mentioned are not that terrible, i guess the only truely invasive bulbous species is Crocosmia. Usually, the Agapanthus and Watsonia keep growing in the exact same place they were planting. They do not expand that much beyond the range they were originally planted, and decades can pass, and they just keep growing on the same place, always near walks and houses. But still they are naturalized...
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Hi Michael:
Thanks for your comments. So, they are not naturalized, only growing where someone dumped them. I thought they were reproducing freely as there are so many cases in Australia, California, etc.
Best regards
Alberto
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Michel nice pics of the flora.
It is partially the fault of Madeira that the tourists take pics of agapanthus, streglizia since they are almost promoted as if they are from Madeira! I know a lot of Portuguese that believe they come from Madeira so Portugal is full of agapanthus in common areas and what is worse they are planted instead of iris that is more natural and with more variation.
I am not sure people believe me when I say that the plants are South African. I got a bit angry when they planted agaphanthus outside and around the old Roman city Coningbriga just outside Coimbra. Using the wrong kind of oranges are OK I would say but not agaphanthus. People sometimes forget that it was the Portuguese that "discovered" the cape and that has influenced the flora of Madeira a lot. Some of the plants have been there for a looong time so long that people forgot that they are tourists and not natives but after some hundred years it is easy to think o them as natives??
Kind regards
Joakim
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Hi Michael
what fantastic pictures of a fantastic island. 8)
The BBQ (barbecue) looks delicious :P. I have had something very similar to that from a restaurant when we have visited previously (meat on fresh sticks cooked over coals). Is the lovely young lady in the pictures your partner? ;)
A few pictures of mine from Madeira (sorry there are so many but I am having a memory moment).
Ian
[attachthumb=1]
Good building design
[attachthumb=2]
[attachthumb=3]
Ian on an evening walk
[attachthumb=4]
a fun little garden
[attachthumb=5]
a nun in a gust of wind viewed from our apartment
[attachthumb=6]
Don't look down!
[attachthumb=7]
A slightly better fence...
[attachthumb=8]
Our gang
[attachthumb=9]
A Madeiran spider for Anthony
[attachthumb=10]
Only 8 more days and I shall be on your heavenly island again. Looking forward to meeting with you and passing on the snowdrop bulbs to see how they fare over there.
Best wishes to all
John :D
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John, there must be better walking routes on the island than round a ditchside? :o
I am impressed by the very fancy roof plantings..... 8)
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Oh, Maggi, Maggi, Maggi ...
Madeira is famous for the magnificent network of levadas - walks that follow natural and man-made water/irrigation courses. Ditches, indeed .... :)
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John,
Why exactly are you apologising for posting so many pictures? We're enjoying them all so I am doubting anyone will be minding! ;D Great pics. 8)
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Hello all!
Thanks for the nice comments!
It is partially the fault of Madeira that the tourists take pics of agapanthus, streglizia since they are almost promoted as if they are from Madeira!
You are totally right Joakim. I also highly dislike that. They make people think that those are Madeiran native plants, but they are not, far from that!!!!
They shoud pick up an endemic or native one to better represent the island (in the souveniers, for example). But i really hate when they make tourists think that those are from here. That's a lie!!! >:( >:(
I am not sure people believe me when I say that the plants are South African.
The same with me! Its amazing to see people's reaction when i mention that most plants that people are used to see since they remember are not from here... Some wont even believe it, but i wont persuade them to believe me...
I got a bit angry when they planted agaphanthus outside and around the old Roman city Coningbriga just outside Coimbra (...) it was the Portuguese that "discovered" the cape and that has influenced the flora of Madeira a lot. Some of the plants have been there for a looong time so long that people forgot that they are tourists and not natives but after some hundred years it is easy to think o them as natives??
Here Joakim, there are some plants that we will never know if they are native or not, as their supposed intrroduction could be very early. You know, the madeiran flora just started to be well documented late on the 17th century (if i am not in error) but people start to inhabit the island early in the 16th century, so 150 years are more than enough time to an introduced plant to "naturalize" quite well... And also more than enough time to some more species get extinct even before being known... wich i am 100% sure it happened!
But yes, many plants are so well integrated and naturalised, that tourists and other people might actually think they always belong to here!
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Hello John :)
Hi Michael
what fantastic pictures of a fantastic island. 8)
The BBQ (barbecue) looks delicious :P I have had something very similar to that from a restaurant when we have visited previously (meat on fresh sticks cooked over coals).
I'm glad you liked it! That's a typical tradition here in Madeira (they call it "espetada"). I am used to do it all the time when i go to the forest or countryside! If you want, I can do another one when you get here. And believe me, it gets even more delicious when it is prepared by ourselves, and it gets a lot cheaper, and we have a lot of fun searching for the right sticks and wood to the fire, and also with cooking it :) I will teach you all the "survival" secrets hehe! ;)
Is the lovely young lady in the pictures your partner? ;)
Well, speaking seriously, me and Sarah are just good friends for now, ok? Hehe :) (I actually dont have too much spare time to girlfriends, because my studies have priority, but we never know :P )
Now you surprise me with some pictures! I never could imagine that roof planting picture was taken in here. Well, shopping centers have roof gardens, but not that kind of building... And, are those AGAPANTHUS in the roof? :o I am just in shock, i guess we have enough of them growing in the wild, people could be a little bit more original!!!
Also what was that levada you take those pictures? It was on the lowlands, right? You never have been at the Laurel forest? And how about Pico do Areeiro? We must do those, as i want to show you the true madeiran plants!
Only 8 more days and I shall be on your heavenly island again. Looking forward to meeting with you and passing on the snowdrop bulbs to see how they fare over there.
I am also loooking forward to meet you! I will enter hollidays soon, and then i will have enough spare time to show you some nice places on the island :)
I also promise to do my best with the snowdrops, i really want to see how they look like in real!
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Wonderful photographs, Michael and John!!
I have done a number of translations about Madeiran plants and it's great to see photos!!
um abraço
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Just a reminder that there are a number of images taken on the beautiful island of Madeira on the following link:-
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=1023.0
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Just a reminder that there are a number of images taken on the beautiful island of Madeira on the following link:-
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=1023.0
A timely reminder, Cliff.... and the nearest you showed to a ditch was this.......
[attach=1]
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Hello :D
Here are some more pictures taken on the "tropical" Madeira island, last month...
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Pico%20Ruivo%20Neve/image012.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Pico%20Ruivo%20Neve/image013.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Pico%20Ruivo%20Neve/image015.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Pico%20Ruivo%20Neve/image006.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Pico%20Ruivo%20Neve/image007.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Pico%20Ruivo%20Neve/image008.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Pico%20Ruivo%20Neve/image009.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Pico%20Ruivo%20Neve/image014.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Pico%20Ruivo%20Neve/image001.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Pico%20Ruivo%20Neve/image002.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Pico%20Ruivo%20Neve/image003.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Pico%20Ruivo%20Neve/image004.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Pico%20Ruivo%20Neve/image005.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Pico%20Ruivo%20Neve/image010.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Pico%20Ruivo%20Neve/image011.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Pico%20Ruivo%20Neve/image016.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Pico%20Ruivo%20Neve/image017.jpg)
I hope you enjoyed them
Michael.
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That's sna' - in Madeira? I never knew that it snowed there. I see that one of the climbers is carrying an ice axe indicating that snow and ice is a regular winter feature, is it?
At one time I was tempted to ask about house prices in Madeira but don't think I will now.
Many thanks for the fascinating pictures, Michael.
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Beautiful images, Michael ... where exactly were you please?
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Thanks Michael, it really is a beautiful island. Great to see your super images.
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Wow!
Superb images Michael.
Want to echo David. Is snow and ice a regular winter feature in Madeira?
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Did you walk through the mountains to get to the house? I wouldnt walk along that path cut in the mountain side
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Very unexpected but truly wonderful pix Michael ! Superb !!!
Thanks for showing !
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Hi!
Thanks for the comments!
David and Anthony, it snows here almost every year, always on the highest peaks only. The bad thing is that the snow is short lasting (1 to 3 days at most). This year we had snow 2 or 3 times (following what i heard on the news). Anyway, when it snows like that on the mountains, it gets cool here in Funchal (15ºc day and 9º night)
Cliff, those pictures were taken at "Pico Ruivo", the tallest peak on the island with around 1800m. There are many Madeiran endemic plants growing at this altitude (wich i hope to show you pictures of them on spring), and i think it will be possible to grow these plants on Europe without protection. I also think that European alpine plants would also grow well in our mountains, right?
Did you walk through the mountains to get to the house? I wouldnt walk along that path cut in the mountain side
Mark, it is a bit dangerous, but the view is spectacular. When i first did this levada, i was a bit scared, but then i forgot it all as soon as i started to see the landscape :)
That house is situated in the beginning (or end depending in wich point you start) of that "levada". This is not one of the easiest levadas to do, because it has some steps, its a bit long and dangerous (almost all the pathway is between a wall and an abruptly deep cliff), but in the end it worths it all!!
So after this, i hope that you sightly change the idea about this island being only """tropical""" and warm... That is only true for the southern lowlands!!!
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Great pictures.
Not what I would expect from Madeira but then You were at high altitude.
Funny You call night temps of 9C cold. This winter that is warm for Lisbon!
Mike first time I have seen any side protection on the levada.
Mark You are praying when walking here that it is a levada on the mountain side and not on the mountain slide since there are often a lot of lose rocks all over.
I have not been to this one but others and the landscape is always breathtaking.
Truly recommendable for people visiting Madeira.
All the best
Joakim
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Great photos, Michael!!
I knew that it snowed most years on the highest peaks of Madeira, but not quite like this!
And that cliff path is seriously scary :) ::)
A classic "not many people know that" fact is that the highest mountains in Spain and Portugal are in the Atlantic - Teide on Tenerife and Ponta do Pico on the island of Pico in the Azores. I believe that the highest point in Madeira is only slightly lower than the highest point in mainland Portugal.
Chloë
in very, very, very wet (but warm-ish) North Portugal
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Mike first time I have seen any side protection on the levada.
Joakim, lately they have been swaping the old wooden side protections that could be rotten at the base and usually made uncatious tourists fall over, by steel protections that are a lot more safer and do not stain.
Great photos, Michael!!
I knew that it snowed most years on the highest peaks of Madeira, but not quite like this!
And that cliff path is seriously scary :) :)
Yes it is scary, but you really must be there to feel the astonishment.
You know, one of my teachers once said that Madeira is one of the few places in the world where you can spend all morning having fun with snow on the mountains, and 30 minutes latter you can be swimming in the ocean and taking sun on the beach :D This sounds odd, but it is true!
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Michael,
Fascinating pictures. Another place like it is New Zealand..... there you can travel from glaciers to dense rainforest and then swimming in the ocean, all within a half hour or so. It is absolutely amazing!!!!!
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Hi Michael:
Can you please comment on the local bulbs like Scilla maderensis (abundance, habitat, cold tolerance, etc.).
When this species for instance, is available, one has to guess as to requirements. Hence its rarity under cultivation.
Thanks in advance.
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Hello Alberto
Well Scilla maderensis is very rare in the wild. I only had seen it once, in Ribeira Brava, a small colony of around 6 bulbs or so. It inhabits the lowlands.
Its a winter growing species, wich flowers in the Autumn and loses the leaves arond May-June. The bulb can reach 10 cm across or even more, and is deep purple-amethyst. The flowering spikes are around 30 to 60 cm tall, conical, and bear lots of purple stellate flowers.
I grow this species and in cultivation it tends to be evergreen, losing its leaves just about when the new shoots are forming, because i do not let it get totally dry in summer. It seems to like it, as it can make photosythesis during summer time, so the bulb grows even bigger!
When i acquired this plant, i even didnt knew it was a Madeiran endemic plant.
There is a variety called Scilla maderensis var melliodora, wich differs from the standard form mainly by being scented.
This variety (or subspecies) only occurs in the Selvagens Islands. I am trying to get some material of it, but its a bit complicated, as nobody is alowed to enter those islands for any purpose, other than being scientific research.
Regarding cold tolerance, i have no idea, but i am sure it can survive a light frost (the leaves would get killed for sure, but the bulb is so robust that i am sure it would survive unharmed).
Since its the water availability (and not the warmth) that seems to control the vegetative cycle of this plant, people who live in cold places can delay the watering schedule, and make it grow and flower during the spring, with the intentions of getting the bulb dormant in the Autumn, so it can be sotred during the winter months.
In opposition to many hardy bulbs that grow new roots at the beginning of their growing season, Scilla maderensis's roots are perennial, so the bulb must be stored on it's pot, or with it's roots intact. When these roots are removed or damaged, the might stale in growth for a year or more, and takes some time to recover the thick fleshy root system.
If you are interested Alberto, i would gladly provide you some seed material of this plant (the fruits just matured this week!). They grow very well from seed and have an hight rate of germination.
This also applies for other Madeiran plants that you might find interesting, as the more people growing them, the better.
Madeira is such a small territory, and cant be compared, not even by far, to the continental mainland, in means of territory. Howerer, it is the homeland of many species of plants and animals that occur nowhere else in the world, like any other isolated insular territory.
Relatively to the mainland, Madeira has only been colonized very recently, around 600 years or so, and it's frightening to notice how the natural landscape changed in such a short amount of time, specially in the last 100 years...
I guess the vegetation from the lowlands is the most menaced of all, and i can assure you that in the next 150 years, or probably sooner, due to human development, the natural habitat of things such as Scilla maderensis and Musschia aurea amongst many others, will no longer exist, consequently these species will vanish. If you take into account the time scale, 150 years is already tomorrow!! I guess the only way these plants can be saved is through cutivation.
By the way, here are some pictures of my plant, unfortunately the flowering season was already on the end by the time they were token.
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/IMG_4782.jpg)
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Here are a few summer on the levadas pics, an orchid for ident ??? and a hiding spider :) What a beautiful place Madeira is, even if the safety rails are a bit scarey :o
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Hi Mike:
Many thanks for the great pictures. This species is seldom seen. The foliage looks like Merwilla (Scilla) natalensis and little that of the other Scillas.
I envy your optimism: 150 years!!! The way things are going climate wise I hope we will see the coming 15 years.
Here in South America species disappear year after year and as we are writing these messages, several Hippeastrums, for instance, may be vanishing to Bulb Heaven.
Best regards
Alberto
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Hi Jo
Here are a few summer on the levadas pics, an orchid for ident ???
The orchid is Dactylorhiza foliosa, that grows mostly in the laurel forest. An odd thing to think about, as geophytes are typical of deciduous woodlands, and not of evergreen dark forests, as these are usually too dark for them. But still, it grows there, in open places or even vertical walls.
... and a hiding spider :)
Well that spider is also very interesting. It's Misumena nigromaculata, another endemic spider species that only occurs in Madeira.
It is typical to find them on top of yellow flowers such as Sonchus or Tolpis, wich is the case!
Just as title of curiosity, There are 4 Misumena species on Europe
M. bicolor
M. nigromaculata
M. spinifera
M. vatia.
Misumena vatia is widespread all over the continental mainland, but the other 3 species only occurs in islands: M. bicolor is endemic to Corsica (France), M. nigromaculata from Madeira and M. spinifera from Macaronesia (Madeira and Canary Islands).
By the way, wich levada is this one Jo?
Hello Alberto!
Many thanks for the great pictures. This species is seldom seen. The foliage looks like Merwilla (Scilla) natalensis and little that of the other Scillas.
Yes, you are right, this plant has some distinct features. That's why some want to segregate it from Scilla and put it in the Autonoe genus.
Actually in the latest plant checklist of Madeira, it already appears classified as Autonoe maderensis.
I envy your optimism: 150 years!!! The way things are going climate wise I hope we will see the coming 15 years.
Here in South America species disappear year after year and as we are writing these messages, several Hippeastrums, for instance, may be vanishing to Bulb Heaven.
A sad true :(
That always reminds me of the Griffinia genus. According to what i red, it seems that some species are already gone, and gone forever!! :(
I am doing my best to avoid the loss of more species here in my island, and also by growing threatned plants from all over the world. But i guess this will only delay for a while the inevitable.
If the habitat is lost, the species is likely doomed. How can we protect a lion without a savannah? In a zoo?
And then, when the lion is gone, the entire ecosystem might collapse...
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Thanks for the I.D. on the spider. It's related to members of the same genus here, commonly referred to as "Crab Spiders" or "Flower Spiders".
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Hi:
Yes, Griffinias, Pamianthe and others are gone due to habitat destruction but in Hippeastrum a major destructuve force has been the commercial demmand from amateur to obtain "pretty flowers".
As I write now, each healthy Hippeastrum specimen is invaluable to keep the species going. And as I write this, there is people paying high prices for these species Hippeastrum to cross them and obtain hybrids.
Obviously, gardening education is failing if we can not persuade such people to dedicate every effort to keep these rare species going. There are enough thousands of "pretty flowers" around to waste this invaluable rarest genetic pool in producing more.
If the habitat is gone and a new alternative habitat is eventually found, we need the species alive anyway. If we lose the species now that it is so scarce, what will be the use of the recovered habitat
Best
Alberto
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Thanks for the I.D. on the spider. It's related to members of the same genus here, commonly referred to as "Crab Spiders" or "Flower Spiders".
Though i had never seen them capturing prey, i wonder how they manage (if they ever do) to capture the bigger flower pollinators such as male bumble bees, without a spider web. ;D
So Alberto, Pamianthe is gone in the wild too???? ::) :o I didnt knew that. I think I have a small plant of it, but untill it flowers i cannot be 100% sure. But it looks a lot like Pamianthe...
As regarding Hippeastrum, they should use the hybrids to keep going the hybridisation program, and not the species. In my humble opinion, i think they cannot improve that much in means of flower size, colour tone and shape.
To my likings, not even the most brightest hybrid can be compared to the beauty of things such as H. cybister's shape, H. papilio's pattern or H. blossfeldiae's colour!
By the way, wichs species are the most critical Alberto?
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Pamianthe habitat has been gone for many years. All the stock in cultivation is all there is.
Pamianthe is an epiphytic plant, to be grown in fibre rather than with soil in a pot. Its habitat was humid subtropical jungles and the plants grew on the forks of trees.
There is an article by Dr. Harold Koopowitz of University of California in Herbertia in which he explains the technical problems in the preservation of Amaryllidaceae. To summarize the conclusions are pesimistic.
The most endangered species seems to be traubi, vittatum, escobaruriae, lapasensis, brasilianum, but every species must be regarded as scarce and endangered minly because of agriculture and forest destruction.
As for H. papilio, which is so popular, in Holland they have cleaned stock from virus and this is a "super papilio".
Regards
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I always found Pamianthe interesting. It's the only Amaryllidaceous plant i know that has a strategy analogous to things such as orchids or bromeliads, by living on trees, and the seeds being dispersed by the wind.
Attached are 2 pictures of my plant. Never flowered, but still waiting patiently for that day! I still think it's not enought big yet...
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Plants%20february%202009/Pam1.jpg)
(http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o38/Jindegales/Plants%20february%202009/Pam2.jpg)
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The plant look healthy and robust. Sometimes epiphytic plants refuse to grow erect and adopt a drooping habit. Pamianthes grow erect tho. Next time you repot give it a tray instead of a pot.
There are other Hippeastrums that are naturally epiphytic: aulicum and calyptratum. Both can also be grown in pots with mix as the other species.
Another epiphyte, an incredible rarity, was Hippeastrum arboricolum, a single clump of which was found in the 70s when all the surrounding forests were razed. Apparently it was in the affinity of Hippeastrum striatum. The clump was sold to people in the States to obtain hybrids but all failed to grow it well and it became extinct shortly after. The whole region has been devoid of its forests for decades but there is an image so all future generations can enjoy it.
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Obviously, gardening education is failing if we can not persuade such people to dedicate every effort to keep these rare species going. There are enough thousands of "pretty flowers" around to waste this invaluable rarest genetic pool in producing more.
If the habitat is gone and a new alternative habitat is eventually found, we need the species alive anyway. If we lose the species now that it is so scarce, what will be the use of the recovered habitat
Best
Alberto
first, thanks to michael and others for the photos of madeira, a place i know little about--a little more, now!
alberto--i agree--one of the several reasons that i am not generally interested in hybrids ;i'm no purist, i do buy things i see locally with no names, no guarantee of purity, but i wont spend my time/money getting plants by mail or from specialists that are hybrids--nature has given us so many 10's of thousands of species--i couldnt possibly grow them all!
where in south america are you? certainly there are few south americans (some high mountain or deep patagonian species being only MAYBE exceptions) i could grow outdoors here, but certainly i have lots of south american cacti indoors, with interests in others--epiphytes etc
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Hi:
We are 35 km SW of Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Airport. "By" in airport scale, of course!
But, people in cold climates never stop surprising me with the perfect Sotuh African and South American specimens they come up with!. What I found particularly amazing is how they compensate for the lack of light.
best
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Hi: We are 35 km SW of Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Airport. "By" in airport scale, of course!
But, people in cold climates never stop surprising me with the perfect Sotuh African and South American specimens they come up with!. What I found particularly amazing is how they compensate for the lack of light.
best
thanks, alberto--
well, most of the south americans i grow are summer growing(including some cacti from your country), so we have plenty of light then; they are dormant in winter when our days are very short;
i will yet see what happens as i get more winter growing south africans--right now i have shade in mid-winter due to too many trees in the wrong place--i hope to gradually change that; however, i expect i will cheat with some--some additional lighting in midwinter will be easy enough for the type of miniature plants that i like...
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Hi:
First year SEEDLINGS of most winter growing South African plants tolerate lack of direct sunshine very well. No doubt an adaptation to germinating amidst large surrouding vegetation. From then on they demand direct sunlght. Under good conditions most flower during their season of growth. If temperatures are low, or light insufficient, they will take many years to reach maturity.
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Alberto, here is a picture of Scilla maderensis bulb.
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Hi Michael:
Many thanks, the bulbs are amazingly similar to those of Scilla cilicica!