Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Travel / Places to Visit => Topic started by: tonyg on August 17, 2010, 09:29:49 AM
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Our family trip to Switzerland ended with a glorious sunset by Lake Geneva on Monday evening. After two weeks of changeable weather there are about 800 pics to sort through. I will spare you the extensive review of childrens play areas and concentrate on the plants (which to be honest had to take a back seat on this trip!)
We started with three days at Vevey for Lake and associated attractions. Riviera Lodge backpackers hostel was the cheapest lakeside accomodation we could find. A fourth floor room with fabulous views was very special.
The weather was unsettled when we arrived but soon improved. We saw crested grebeon a trip to Montreux, never knew they carried their young like this. The folklore market on Saturday (right outside our hostel) was very interesting. Highlight was a free ride arould the town on a horse drawn cart.
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Our first day out took us up to Spielboden and Lanfluh. Reached by a gondola ride, the spur of ancient moraine is a green penninsula between the receding glaciers. A vibrantly colourful community of plants grow on this often windswept place. A few are illustrated below. Spielboden is also famed for tame Marmots. Usually shy of people, the animals in this restricted area have grown used to people passing through. More of them later.
Gentiana nivalis, the snow gentian, is a tiny annual species which passes un-noticed when the sun does not shine.
Senecio halleri is a distinguished member of an often weedy tribe. I have some seedlings here at home, will report on their progress elsewhere. (Lost a few to over-enthusiatic watering from our 'care-taker' ... they are plants of dry places.
Sempervivum montanum is an alpine for everyone to grow. It is still striking when seen in its natural habitat.
Campanula scheuzeri is a member of the rotundifolia clan. Larger flowers, a dwarf habit and deep purple colour make it a striking plant in nature.
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Lovely images, Tony, the room with the view in Vevey was a real coup......and the Grebe with young one 'back packing' is just wonderful :)
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From Spielboden to Langfluh is a steep walk (not for us as Jacinta's gallstones were in grumpy mood :( ) or a short gondola ride. Langfluh looks down on the glaciers (as well as up) and it was very chilly. We found our first snow .. and our first ice cream! Note the flowers behind Amy, a good use for old boots.
Other visitors were more adventurous :o
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PLants were fewer up here. The Salix reticulata was photographed below Langfluh while the Gentiana verna (in the broadsst sense) and the Androsace alpina were in the rocks around the 'summit'. The gentian pics show the difference between cameras. I bought a Panasonic Lumix 'Bridge' camera (between compact & SLR) before we travelled. It has great zoom and is has produced some excellent pics (most of those I will show) but it did not capture the gentian blue. I must investigate the menus for colour balance correction.
The tiny Androsace alpina was the only one I saw on this trip. It is plants such as this that inspire my love of alpines .... how many flowers on a plant little bigger than my finger-nail?
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Great shots of walking in the snow and the first icecream :D
Campanula scheuzeri is a member of the rotundifolia clan. Larger flowers, a dwarf habit and deep purple colour make it a striking plant in nature.
What a colour and striking photo on the steep slope with the mountain in the background.
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Wonderful pictures of outstanding scenery and flowers Tony !
Brings back fond memories of when I spent two hollidays there many years ago !
You definitely are urging me to go back ! :D :D
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The weather was not always good. However there were only two days with significant rain. On one of these we set off into the clouds to find the fresh snow we knew was falling at the summer ski area Allalin. It was perishing cold, winter hats and wooly scarves were not enough to keep out the freezing wind. But above the rainclouds there were some breathtaking glimpses of snowy peaks and blue sky.
The mist swirled around, often hiding the view so we decided to return to sample the gateaux in the revolving restaurant on another day. In the paving on the sun-terrace (!) there was a great example of how alpine plants can exploit any suitable niche. Saxifraga oppostifolia was growing in the fractured cement around a drain! There was evidence that it had produced a few flowers.
Dropping down to Felskinn we were treated to views over the glaciers and a glimpse of Langfluh opposite. Further down at Morenia a brief foray outside showed that there were flowers to be found on the apparently barren screes. Campanula cochlearifolia flowering by the exit door. I was whisked away (the last ride down was due) but resolved to return later.
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great stuff! the 'watercolour' moraine slope at the beginning is wonderful, and that senecio is excellent!
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On another day we took the chair lift above Saas Almagell. Jacinta and Ruth enjoyed their first experience of this uplifting mode of transport. I had an often wriggly 7-year-old for company ... but she was very good(e) :)
It was possible to ride down on a 'Trotti' ... a kind of scooter. Grrreat fun ;D and I noted two flowers that I have in my garden on the way. Dianthus carthusianorum is often quite a dwarf plant in the Valais, this form makes a better garden plant than the rather leggy form that I have also grown. Butterflys aplenty too - perhaps this one is a ringlet, I'll welcome correction if you know better.
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As the weather improved we travelled down the Saas valley to Saas Grund where the gondola whisks visitors up to Kreuzboden where there is the best play area ... in the area! There is also the obligatory restauarnt where we enjoyed excellent ices. In true, efficient Swiss style the tub came complete with its own folding spoon .... not just a sweet treat, a souvenir as well!
Plants in the next post - promise ;)
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There were some nice plants around the play area.
The tiny Euphrasia species was seen in vast quantities around and just above the treeline. Flowers literally by the million.
Gentiana purpurea - in pristine condition with its flowers fully open in the sunshine :P
Campanula excisa was a plant I particularly wanted to see. It was photographed growing in the rocks below the climbing wall seen in the last post! I had seen it once on a previous visit while on a day long hike along a path on the opposite side of the Saas valley, it was a nice surprise to find it so easily this time.
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Great pictures Tony. Tell me does Gentiana purpurea EVER open?
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Great pictures Tony. Tell me does Gentiana purpurea EVER open?
Not (much) in my experience!
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The next day dawned damp so we were slow getting started! While Jacinta and Ruth mooched round the street market Amy and I returned to Spielboden with a big bag of peanuts ::) which were to come in very handy.
The damp weather persisted (indeed at times it was persisting down :o) however there were some nice flowers including more Senecio halleri than before. There was also a solidago species (thanks Luit) which was plenitful, not such a showy plant but still bright and adding colour to the slopes. Campanula barbata is ubiquitous in this area, I am very fond of it as it grows happily at home although it has not yet seeded around like it does in the wild!
The wildlife was fun - especially the Marmots who have become used to people. Amy said they were like giant hamsters ... she was not far wrong :D
We also met some bigger wildlife but they will have to wait for another day.
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Very nice series Tony. And beautiful pictured wildlife and those cute marmots. Thanks so much for showing!
PS in the last series, pict. 3 is more likely Solidago, just don't remember which species at the moment.
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Tony,
the Ringlet looks like a Lesser Mountain Ringlet (Erebia melampus, Kleiner Mohrenfalter).
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Tony, I love your mountain shots of slopes, wildlife an pretty alpines and I'm so pleased you managed some higher altitude walks in the fresh (if damp) air :)
Amy feeding the Marmot with peanuts is a very cool shot 8)
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-- and the bird is a Snow finch - Montifringilla nivalis !
Gerd
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Thanks for the kind comments and for filling in the missing names!
Of course it is a solidago species Luit - I did not take my flora with me, without it the memory can play tricks :-[ I will look it up when I am at home.
Edit: It is Solidago virgaurea .... ssp minuta according to Flora Helvetica.
The euphrasia species pictured earlier is probably Euphrasia versicolor.
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Eventually it was time to go - no more peanuts today. Amy held out her hands to show there were none left and we were treated to one of those memorable moments :) :)
Passing Centaurea nervosa, note the attractive bracts under the flower, the rain came down again. Round a corner and down a steep path ... we found we were no longer alone in the rain. I had not expected to see Ibex, let alone get so close to them. They took the same path down as we did for a while, eventually finding a route of their own before surprising us as we passed through a childrens play area further down. All in all the things we saw on a wet afternoon make the point that you should never let a drop of rain put you off!
Arriving back on the outskirts of Saas Fee the meadows were cut. A smattering of pink caught my eye, closer inspection revealed Colchicum alpinum, a tiny relative of the more common Colchicum autumnale. (Three weeks later I have one in flower now at home!) Eight years ago, when I was last in Saas Fee, I took a grand photo of Lilium martagon in almost the same spot as the two Colchicum alpinum. The meadows had not been cut then but otherwise it was much the same, we had walked down from Speilboden on a wet afternoon! As the rain teemed down, my friend Robert waded through the wet grass to hold an umbrella over me while I took the picture :P Sadly I only have the slide, did not use digital in the rain in those days :(
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Enchanting photos, Tony, you really had a good time even if it rained and caught the flavour of the Alps :) the local fauna photos are so amusing!
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Wonderful stuff Tony !
I would never have expected the Ibex to be that tame and stick around in the presence of humans...
I remember seeing some that fled as soon as they spotted me.. ???
:-\
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One fine morning I made a solo breakaway while the others slept. The Alpin Express lift takes summer skiers up from 7am allowing amateur botanists the chance to explore the heights as the first rays of the sun break over the ridgetops.
Alighting at Morenia (aka Maste 4) still in the shadow on the left of the first pic, it was very cold, the ground at my feet was still frosty. Places where the meltwater would soon trickle were still frozen. The plants, in and out of flower, were covered in frost. As soon as the suns rays reached them the frost turned to water droplets as on Linaria alpina, not long after the water evapourated in the heat of the sun.
On a clear, cold morning the views were stunning. I have cropped the detail of Langfluh to help you find it in the landscape shot!
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The terrain here is very rocky and much altered to create suitable pistes for winter visitors. However there is still an interesting range of true alpine plants to be found, all within a few minutes walk of Morenia station.
Cerastium uniflorum ha sperhaps the largest flowers of the genus. Certainly it is one of the most attractive, compact cshions, liberally studded with white flowers.
Saxifraga azoides is common in these mountains, seen from relatively low altitudes right up to the high places.
Saxifraga bryoides becomes more and more compact as the altitude and exposure increases.
On a previous trip I had seen many different forms of Saxifraga x kochii the hybrid between Saxifraga biflora and Saxifraga oppositifolia. That was in mid-July. This year by early August most of them were over. A few late flowering plants were found near a place where the snow maut have lain a little deeper. The hybrids have less widely spaced petals and are usually paler in colour.
The mountain sorrel, Oxyria digyna was notable for its bright colour in this barren landscape.
After 90 minutes of solitude I headed back for a late breakfast with the girls.
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interesting to see these plants enduring frost to flower---seems like my growing season ;D
handy to have the lift to get right up into that alpine habitat!
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Tony, you have captured some wonderful shots of alpines - it is interesting to see the see the ski slopes in flower in the summer and surprising to think of skiing on top of them protected by the snow! A great looking Linaria alpina - my favourite covered in droplets as if it has stepped out of the shower, thanks :D
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A fine thread Tony; many thanks.
The S. aizoides you show seems to be growing under fairly dry or at least well-drained conditions. Was this typical? The reason I ask is that in northern Sweden this species seems to prefer really damp or even wet conditions such as along stream edges.
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Thanks Ashley - your trips and the record you have presented of them has made my mouth water ... makes my trip look tame ;)
The shot of Sax aizoides needs to be put into context. The screes look dry but everywhere there was meltwater from above trickling through. The shots of iced over streamlets posted at the same time as the Sax were taken close by. Also, this was over 2500m altitude which cools things down a bit. I also associate it with wet places where the plants can get really big. I have seen it in other less wet places too but never as lush as by water.
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Thanks Tony. It doesn't apply in this case then but where alpine plants depend on water below the surface, particularly those growing in open sunny aspects, sometimes it's a wonder that seedlings can establish in the first place. I suppose the attrition rate must be high and depend on the season and/or rate at which a taproot develops.
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Excellent posting Tony ... of one of our favourite places. Many thanks.
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Later the same day we all returned to the Allalin summer ski area via the Alpin Express lift and the Metro Alpin. Carved wooden signposts with fantastic features are common in this area, although I did not see anything as impressive as last years 'Old Man of the Mountains'. We did the tourist things, the ice palace (more gargoyles) and the revolving restaurant where we all enjoyed a cake ... choclate of course, and thought of Maggi ;D (really we did!) The views on a clear day were seriously 8) 8)
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Another fine day and we took the cable up to Hannig, straight up the slpoe from our chalet. The views across to Allalin and the glaciers were great and with the aid of the new camera we spotted the summer skiers a mile or more away! Breakfast in the sun and the chance to see Gentiana ramosa in flower and in the same area an Idas Blue butterfly which alighted just long enough ...
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Truly superb images of this unique setting Tony !
Thanks so much for sharing ! :D