SRGC Pontresina trip

[Peter Maguire]

I've recently returned from an SRGC trip to Pontresina, in south-east Switzerland, led by Julia Corden, and although it was not my first trip to the Alps to look at plants, it's the first opportunity I've had to go there at the optimum time for plant spotting. The number and range of species seen over the eight days was phenomenal, we were lucky to have good weather, and having someone to point out plants that I would perhaps otherwise have overlooked was invaluable. Several people on the trip asked whether I would be posting photographs so here's the first batch (it's taking some time to thin out 1450 pictures and make sure that they are properly labelled), and I'll keep things in chronological order, so that it may be useful to future visitors to see where certain plants can be found in the area.
The first day was spent in the vicinity of Pontresina, partly to acclimatise to the 1800m of altitude, and partly because the Swiss railway system which delivers your luggage to the hotel struggled to cope with the four train changes between Zurich airport and Pontresina, so most of us only had the clothes we travelled in until we returned to the hotel that evening. Being limited to the local area was not, however, a problem, as there was a fabulous range of species in the vicinity. Most of the following photographs from the first day were taken along a fairly level path in the woods above the east side of the village.

1. Aquilegia atrata - this was actually in a garden in the village, but I've included it as we saw it at lower altitudes on the train journey up from Chur
2. Phyteuma scheuchzeri
3. Aquilegia sp.- Julia had this down as a garden escape, although it was on it's own, fairly high above the village. Aquilegia vulgaris does have white forms, but Flora Helvetica does not list it in this area, so I'm callling it A.vulgaris, but an escaped specimen
4. Verbascum thasus montanum - the plant list I've just received lists Verbascum sp for this day, but I scrambled down to this plant and I'm fairly confident of the identification after examing the photos
5. A rather attractive clump forming Viola which I thought was a good form of Viola riviniana, but by this time I was well behind the group and missed some identifications. Update Further examination of the original photo (enlarged) proves I was mistaken, it is, in fact Viola canina; whatever the name, it would be look good on the show bench
6. Another of 'my' identifications. I have this as Veronica officinalis, but it isn't on the plant list, and I had seen this and the Viola being closely examined by the group before I got there so please feel free to correct me.

[Maggi Young]

Oh! Joy! A trip to Pontresina..... hang on, I'll get my walking boots......... thanks for this Peter! 

[Peter Maguire]

7. Polygonum viviparum - an attractive little plant that was present all through the vally at lower altitudes
8. Paradisea liliastrum - these we first saw in great numbers on top of what was almost a small cliff, so not everyone got up close to see them. There were, however, plenty in the meadow around the corner  
10. Looking down from the Paradisea site to the rest of the party
11. Also on top of this outcroup was a boggy hollow with many orchids - we saw better vanilla orchids later, but here was Dactylorhiza majalis
12. Gymnadenia conopsea (the Fragrant orchid)
13. And this one, which may be a hybrid, but looks to have something of Dactylorhiza fuchsii in it.

Picture 9 in this sequence has been deleted - we saw a better example later

[Peter Maguire]

14. We shouldn't neglect the wildlife, so here's a Scarce Copper butterfly (Heodes virgaureae montanus ♂)
15. Lunch stop (no we hadn't fallen out, it's just a question of finding a comfortable rock)
16. Another butterfly, Mazarine Blue (Cyaniris semiargus ♀)
17. Clematis alpina spreading across the ground under coniferous trees. At home it was long past flowering on the fence; it looks more at home here
18. Geranium sylvaticum. Ok, it's common here in Britain also, but a lovely plant none the less.
19. The male version of the previous butterfly, Mazarine Blue (Cyaniris semiargus ♂)

[Peter Maguire]

20. In mid afternoon, most people returned to the village, ice creams and a change of clothes (the luggage had arrived!), but I explored a little above an area of slabby rocks near the top of a meadow covered in Pusatilla alpina apiifolia (picture later). Here were several good plants, the first one being Orchis mascula
21. There were lots of vanilla orchids, and it can be difficult to separate the two species as colour alone is not a good enough indicator. From the broad lip of the flower, I have this as Nigritella rubra
22. First gentian of the trip, Gentina utriculosa
23. Veronica spicata, just about to open its flowers
24. Pinks (Dianthus sylvestris) were scattered along the cracks in the rocks
25. Close-up of the Fragrant Orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea)

[Ragged Robin]

Thanks for these lovely postings, Peter, the orchids are gorgeous but I love the Veronica and Viola too Thrilled to see some real ID's of Swiss Alpines from "la bouche de chevaux", so to speak  

[Peter Maguire]

the orchids are gorgeous  

There's more to come, lots more  

26. Lesser butterfly orchid, Platanthera bifolia
29. Gentianella campestris; yes it really is a purplish colour, but not a bad plant for an annual/biennial
30. Aster alpinus - lots of this around, but not so easy to find a photogenic clump
31. Small White orchid (now known as Pseudorchis albida, the plant formerly known as Leucorcis albida, Gymnadenia albida, etc). Beware, taxonomists at work  

27. Another view of Dianthus sylvestris  with a backdrop of....
28. Sempervivum arachnoideum

[Ragged Robin]

Morning Peter and the Group, hope the weather is better for you there than in this part of Switzerland - clouds rolling in up the valley shrouding the mountainside from view and now thunder and torrential rain!

I am so entranced by your wonderful photo postings; they are ALL so beautifully photographed in real life colours and great compositions with great comments - thank you! 

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Great start Peter !
I had the pleasure to stay in Pontresina (at the Camping site below the Morteratsch glacier) some 25 years ago... 
You will surely be bringing back some happy memories !

Your pix are very promising and you captured the blue of the Gentian (pic 22) perfectly !  This never works for me...   

I'll be looking forward to muuuuuuch more ! 

[Brian Ellis]

What a great way to start an overcast day here in East Anglia, great photos Peter, I appreciate what an amount of time goes into sorting them all out....I can't wait for more

[Peter Maguire]

Ok, back at the computer following a weekend away, so I'll post the rest of the first day's photos.

32. I mentioned that the previous photos were taken on a rocky outcrop in a meadow full of Pulsatilla alpina apiifolia, well this shows the pulsatillas. A difficult colour of flower to record correctly, tending to overexpose easily, but this can be rectified when back at the computer. Pontresina village can be seen in the background.
33. Close up of individual Pulsatilla flower
34. At intervals through the woods we can across Lilium bulbiferum croceum, looking almost as if they were escaped garden plants as they were so boldy coloured (they weren't, it's native to the area)
35. Lilium close up. (Lilium martagon was also present in the area, but was only in bud when we were there - I did not take any photos of this species)
36. Veratrum album ssp lobelianum occurred at several scattered localities, and we also saw in later in the week on the far side of the Bernina Pass
37 Sempervivum tectorum growing on thin soil in a clearing in the forest

[Peter Maguire]

38. Down in the meadows just above the village, there was a sea of the pink Polygonum bistorta, which looked at its best when backit by the late afternoon sun.
39. Another butterlfly, the Large Ringlet (Erebia euryale) which is fairly common across the Alps, but I've never had a good enough photo to allow me to identify it previously.
40. Back in the village, two plants which do occur naturally in the area, but you can never be sure whether these specimens were planted. Firstly Saponaria ocymoides in a retaining wall.
41. Campaula glomerata - a showy plant at the roadside, which may have seeded from someone's garden

That's all for the first day; arriving back at the hotel it was good to discover that the luggage had arrived. Changes of clothes, but more importantly my tripod! The previous photos were taken using the camera bag as support, and I've spared you many blurred rejects.

[shelagh]

I've really enjoyed the pictures Peter. It's not an area I am familiar with but I'm glad to see it's a party of youngsters, hope you managed to keep up with them.

[tonyg]

Looking forward to days 2 3 4 ....
It is an area I will have to go back to judging by what I missed on my last visit

[Gerdk]

The Pulsatilla meadow is just dreamlike - never saw something similar!
Thankyou for showing!

Gerd