Crocus and much else in North-west Turkey, early April 2015

[DaveM]

On the last Saturday in March I set out for Izmir on the west coast of Turkey and over the following week journeyed in a general north-east direction, taking in Boz Dag, Ulu Dag and Lake Abant, finally returning to the UK via Istanbul. Reports of well flowered fields of crocus this spring in south-west Turkey gave us hope that we would see plenty of the 7 crocuses (and a lot of other things besides) on our list. Over the next few days I'll post some of the highlights of this region.

I hadn't really expected quite such a green and pleasant land, with trees bursting into leaf at low levels, with early spring flowers but with snow still lying at higher levels. And of course, we also got snowed upon, as I'll recount later. However this part of Turkey has a higher rainfall than much of the rest, with some rain expected even in summer. It is thus a rich agricultural area with abundant orchards in particular. The peaches and cherry trees were just coming into blossom and the roadsides sprinkled with spring flowers.

Escapee peach tree and blossom
Asphodelus aestivus - widespread throughout the Mediterranean
Anemone coronaria red form

[DaveM]

Boz Dag lies just to the south of the town of Sahlili and just a little more than an hour's drive from Izmir airport. The higher slopes still looked barren, as though the snow had not long since melted. Whilst exploring the slopes  Chris shouted across to the rest of us that he'd found a Corydalis and suddenly, out of the more distant of the two junipers a wild boar shot out, clattering down the slope at full pelt - must have been all of 100 kg!! Clearly, we'd disturbed his 'siesta' and he got out fast. We'd seen evidence of boar diggings but hadn't expected to see out at quite so close range. Scary moment.

Only a few plants hereabouts, including the Corydalis - C. nariniana

A few Crocus chrysanthus adjacent to the small streams on the hillside

Scilla bifolia emerging through last year's growth.

[DaveM]

On the lower slopes we found the lovely pink member of the Caryophyllaceae, Moenchia mantica. And in a road cutting through slaty rocks were hundreds of loose mats of Aubrieta, probably deltoidea. Though a common plant of our gardens and somewhat frowned upon by some rock gardeners, it was nice to see this in it's natural environment. The degraded rock face was very broken and unstable.

[DaveM]

More Aubrieta deltoidea

[DaveM]

Throughout the week the roadsides were dotted with the ever present mixture of the yellow Cornus mas and the white of Prunus spinosa.

Roadside weeds on our way north towards Bursa included the soft Sideritis lanata and at another roadside cutting through basalt were hundreds of Alyssum peltarioides. The verges hosted the occasional Dracunculus vulgaris too soon to be flowering and also many Muscari neglectum. Interestingly, the size of the various populations varied considerably, some with small flower heads but this one particularly robust.

[DaveM]

We stopped to examine a fine piece of old woodland with mixed chestnut and oak with more Cornus mas. There was an amazing array of lichens in this woodland, just one example. Here was Corydalis wendelboi and the first of our two snowdrops, the very delicate Galanthus gracilis. Just a few were in flower here but we also saw it elsewhere in similar habitat.

[DaveM]

In one area of limestone we saw a very fine pale pink Anemone coronaria.

Here at the edge of the scrubby oak were clumps of Iris attica. We were to see this again two days later in the area around Ulu Dag. The colour of the falls varied significantly though the main colour was the pale lemon yellow. We didn't see any purple flowers.

[DaveM]

Here is the Iris attica from the Ulu Dag area, all on limestone.

[DaveM]

At Bursa the next day, we awoke to cloudy skies and what promised to be a wet day, so any prospect of getting to the crocus on Ulu Dag was out. We did see some Crocus flavus whilst it was trying to snow in one place but they remained resolutely tightly closed. So we had to content ourselves with examining woodland areas at low altitudes on the flanks of Ulu Dag. In small patches of oak woodland we saw the beautiful Primula vulgaris subsp sibthorpii. The woodland was managed and had recently been thinned. Interestingly, all the plants here were young ones - no large clumps.

[DaveM]

Helleborus orientalis is common in woodland in NW Turkey and we saw fine plants at several localities.

[DaveM]

The weather forecast for the next day (Wednesday) promised to be sunny and indeed it was. So we raced to the yayla at the forestry centre and cafe high up on Ulu Dag to find it sunny but very cold. This was more or less at the limit of snow with areas largely free of it. And there were the promised masses of crocus, mostly tightly closed. So we waited, walked a bit, watching the birds, and after a little while it warmed up sufficient for at least some of the crocus to open.

The crocus here were a population of C. chrysanthus and C. biflorus pulchricolor and hybrids between them. A glorious sight. Just some of the variation seen here.

[DaveM]

More hybrids between Crocus chrysanthus and C. biflorus pulchricolor

[krisderaeymaeker]

Thanks for sharing Dave ! Like to see them growing in the wild !

[DaveM]

You're welcome Kris.
A little below the last are was a more sheltered clearing in the woodland and here also is Crocus chrysanthus, but this time accompanied by Crocus (gargaricus) herbertii. No hybrids. The view shows both species together. the remaining pix are of C herbertii. The stoloniferous character of this species is clear to see.

[DaveM]

Lower down still and on the banks of the road were just a few Crocus flavus open.