Mountain hay meadows of Transylvania

[Matt T]

Thought I'd share a few pics from a trip I made in July to the mountain hay meadows of Transylvania, to the Saxon Villages and the Csik Basin. These regions are well worth a visit for the meadows alone. In the week I was there we recorded about 380 species in flower! The mountain hay meadows are still managed using traditional methods, so they provide a great habitat for lots of species that have now disappeared from other parts of Europe.

Check out: http://www.fundatia-adept.org/?content=biodiversity and http://www.treasuresoftransylvania.org/

Astrantia major
Campanula glomerata
Cirsium eristhales
Clematis integrifolia
Consolida regalis

[Matt T]

Dianthus carthusianorum
Eryngium amethysinum
Eryngium arvensis
Euphorbia cyparissus
Galeopsis speciosus

[Matt T]

Gentianella germanica?
Gymnadenia conopsea
Lathyrus tuberosus
Lilium martagon
Linum flavum

[Matt T]

Linum hirsutum
Colchicum autumnale
Trifolium medium
Melampyrum biharicum
Mountain meadow

[Matt T]

Prunella grandiflorum
Salvia pratensis
Securigera varia
Trifolium pannonicum
Trollius europeaus

[Maggi Young]

What a treat to see these superb summer views in wet,cold, November.
For 380 species in flower you'll have needed a lot of camera batteries!

[David Nicholson]

Lovely set of images Matt, many thanks for posting them.

[Armin]

Matt,
phantastic flower meadows. That's what I'm longing for - great biodiversity, no agriculture desserts.
This must be a paradise for butterflies and other insects, too.
Please post more images

[ArnoldT]

Beautiful pictures.

I have to admit I had to look up where Isle of Benbecula, Western Isles was.

[Matt T]

This must be a paradise for butterflies and other insects, too.

The only thing more amazing tha n the profusion of wildflowers was the clouds of butterflies feeding on them! Here are a few, just because you asked Armin 

edit  by maggi to add names :
     Burnet moth
    Green forester moth
    Heath fritillary
    High brown Silver-washed fritillary
    Large copper

[Matt T]

Sorry, there's a grass stem between the swallowtail and the camera, which is why it's a bit blurred, but hope you'll agree it's a stunning butterfly nonetheless.

Also a couple of scenic shots. I can't recommend visiting these areas highly enough. I came home with 800+ photos and had to resort to the iPhone when the camera batteries died.


edit  by maggi to add names :
    Large ringlet
    Marbled white
    Meadow in shower
    Scarce swallowtail
    Viscri fortified evangelical church

[Maggi Young]

The Green forester in http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=11043.msg287498#msg287498 is an amazing colour - never seen one of those.

[Armin]

Matt,
your images warm my heart Here it is lausy wet cold brrr...

The meadow is simply fantastic and realy nice butterflies, hard to find in my area.

[mark smyth]

lovely photos

[Anthony Darby]

I think your high brown fritillary is a silver-washed fritillary?