Botanising in Malvik by Bike

[Stephenb]

Inspired by the forum’s other bicycle flower spotters (Steffan and Cohan spring to mind), I decided to document this year’s annual bike pilgrimage to my area’s highest point, a mountain called Vennafjellet at 684m (2,244 ft). For plants and birds it’s always a fascinating ride as one passes through several climate zones starting from my garden where wild Hazel, Elm and Ash witness a favourable climate ending in the alpine zone at the top. It’s a 70 km round trip from my place which is near sea level and with all the photo stops it took about 7 hours, although only 1.5 hours return, mostly freewheeling I normally do this bike ride in late May, but the very late spring and appalling weather most of June delayed my departure until last Sunday (6th July). However, it turned out, as we will see, that the alpine flora was at its peak.

I’ll start at home and show some typical scenery as well as a good selection of plants and Lepidoptera on the way to the top. It was pleasant cycling weather starting at about 18C, but getting a bit chilly on top.

1. The start, view over the garden and fjord.
2. There’s a hard climb right at the start. Here’s a view of Malvik Odden, an unusual relatively untouched area right next to the fjord covered in Norwegian Spruce (due to its unusual location with favourable climate, the moss and lichen flora is rather special) with a mix of broadleaf trees on the south facing edge with extremely high density of breeding birds, notably the only known breeding location of Stock Dove this far north. However, the flora is particularly rich along outermost edge next to the sea where numerous high alpine species such as Primula scandinavica and Saxifraga oppositifolia have found a niche alongside Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae), incidentally also found a few places above the treeline in Norway (relics of a once wider distribution).
3. View over the fjord and Forbordsfjellet (590m or 1,935 ft).
4. View inland (opposite direction to the last shot) over Revdalen (Fox Valley). The woodland is prime Icterine Warbler (Hippolais icterina) habitat.
5. View back over the village of Malvik where I live (the little square marks my house).
6. Losing sight of the fjord, the first orchid on the road verge, probably Dactylorhiza fuchsii, Common Spotted Orchid complete with a splendid Purple Edged Copper butterfly, Lycaena hippothoe!
7. As 6
8. A little bit further on at the top of the first hill (all the way from home), the woodland on the right hid a little local botanical sensation which I discovered from my bike a few years ago, a healthy little isolated population of Primula vulgaris (Primrose), never found in the wild before on this side of the fjord and maybe 50 km away from the nearest location which is it’s global northern limit. How did it get here? Well, I’ve grown Primrose in my garden for years. Did a seed perhaps get transported up here on my bike wheel only for me later to discover it on my bike?? Intriguing…
9. Centaurea montana, Perennial Cornflower, was commonly planted as an ornamental and is a frequent but local garden escape.
10. Høgåsen (literally High Hill) is a south east facing rich woodland area with several southerly species including Corylus avellana (Hazel) and Viburnum opulus (Guelder Rose) and masses of Hepatica in springtime, and our last encounter with this southern deciduous woodland.

Did you notice that there were 3 Hippos on this first leg – Hippophae, Hippolais and Hippothoe. Coincidence or what? A little quiz while I prepare the next set of pictures. Hippo means, I believe, “horseshoe-shaped”.  Why are these species, a plant, a bird and a butterfly horseshoe-shaped?

[shelagh]

Not a bad view from your garden Stephen Wonderful pictures, keep them coming.

[TheOnionMan]

Stephen, I am struck by just how familiar the countryside looks, particularly in photos #8 & 10, looking just like country roads and farms one sees in New Hampshire and Vermont, or even here in Massachusetts... of course, the flora is different.

Haven't spotted any alliums yet though

I see that you're onto my technique of prefix-numbering your photos... makes it so much easier to upload quickly in the correct order.  Looking forward to seeing more photos.

Hot here today, it was 95 F (35 C) by 9:00 AM, easily on its way to 100 F.  Hopefully your bike ride found much more suitable air temperatures.

[David Nicholson]

Thoroughly enjoyable Stephen, looking forward to more.

[cohan]

nice views already, and i am jealous of only 35km to alpine views! 35km just gets me to work ..looking forward..

[mark smyth]

Some bats are Hipposiderous

Those lovely verges could be UK and Irish ones except the 'weeds' would be sprayed or the whole lot cut back to improve line of sight

[Stephenb]

Stephen, I am struck by just how familiar the countryside looks, particularly in photos #8 & 10, looking just like country roads and farms one sees in New Hampshire and Vermont, or even here in Massachusetts... of course, the flora is different.

Haven't spotted any alliums yet though

I see that you're onto my technique of prefix-numbering your photos... makes it so much easier to upload quickly in the correct order.  Looking forward to seeing more photos.

Hot here today, it was 95 F (35 C) by 9:00 AM, easily on its way to 100 F.  Hopefully your bike ride found much more suitable air temperatures.

Temperature varied from 18 to about 10C on top, perfect for biking...

Sorry to disappoint you, but there's only one Allium site I know of nearish to the route, but it would have been a long detour. However, if I had started at sealevel (as I should have done I suppose), this would have been the first picture - large population of Allium oleraceum right next to the sea below my house.

[Stephenb]

Some bats are Hipposiderous

Those lovely verges could be UK and Irish ones except the 'weeds' would be sprayed or the whole lot cut back to improve line of sight

Horseshoe Bats? But why is the Icterine Warbler (a Hippolais warbler) likened to a horse?

[Stephenb]

After that first climb, I had to have a rest for a couple of days. Now reinvigorated I head on upwards through the forest along a toll road (1). This is also the start of our local cross-country ski trail. The first part is mainly pasture with scattered lakes (2 – we ski across that lake in winter!).  3 is an old cabin and I was stuck by the height of a Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) in full flower beside it, reaching almost 2/3 of the way up this Norwegian Spruce (Picea abies), sorry difficult to see. It’s a good year for rowan blossom, which is good news for the Apple harvest in my garden as the Argyresthia conjugella (the Apple Fruit Moth) can cause a lot of damage on the fruit when there a few rowan blooms (which it prefers) and it means there will also be plenty of winter food for thrushes (Fieldfare and Redwing) and Waxwings. Over the next couple of kilometers, I spent some time taking pictures of some of the flowers:

4. Moneses uniflora: this is a local species and this was the only patch I saw on the trip growing in deep shade of the spruce forest. It brightens up the forest floor where it grows which is presumably one reason it is known as Olavstake (or St. Olav’s Candlestick) here. Moneses is a monotypic genus and it’s a circumboreal plant also found in North America.
5. Pinguicula vulgaris (Common Butterwort) is also circumboreal and very common in damp areas.
6. Vaccinium vitis-idaea (Tyttebær here or Cowberry or Lingonberry) is also circumboreal. The berries are very popular here and used like cranberry sauce with meat.
7. Wild Strawberry (Fragaria vesca)
8.  is our local ski cabin where you can have a rest and buy coffee, redcurrant juice and waffles with Norwegian brown whey cheese.
9. Our Maianthemum bifolium is tiny compared to the North American species. The scientific family name has the same meaning as the common name Maiblom or May Lily in the UK. However, you can see that this year it’s coming into flower in July!
10. Finally, our local bramble, Rubus saxatilis (Stone Bramble)

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Great stuff Stephen !!
Wonderful bike ride in your area !!
Makes a difference to the Tour the France ! 
Thanks for taking us along.

[Stephenb]

On our weary way again on today's stage of Le Grand Tour de Malvik (and, no, there was no team car following me, Luc!).

1. A wayside moth (looks a bit like the small magpie moth, Eurrhypara hortulata,  but probably isn’t). Edit:Better guess - Lomaspilis marginata (The Clouded Border)
2. Road view looking up to part of Jervfjellet (Wolverine Mountain). Wolverines are no longer that common in Norway, only about 300, much persecuted as they take sheep. One lone animal was observed in this area not too long ago. Although dog-size and looking a bit like a small bear, they are actually in the weasel family! http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wolverine.jpg
3-4. Wood Cranesbill or Woodland Geranium (Geranium sylvaticum) was in full flower and is very variable in flower colour and size. Here’s the common white form and a small-flowered half-way form.
5. A Cardamine (flexuosa?) with nice pink flowers.
6. In this field I’ve often seen Cranes feeding - once again quite common breeding birds in open boggy areas in the hills around. One can often hear their trumpeting from miles away…
7-8. The road (I’m now back on asphalt) follows the River Homla whih rises in the area I'm headed. Here’s a view from a bridge showing a characteristic plant of the riverbanks, the Ostrich Fern (Matteucia), probably my favourite wild edible (gourmet food in North America, largely untouched in Norway).
9-10. There’s a long tradition of using the well-known herb, Caraway, in the Norwegian kitchen as a seasoning (e.g. in Sauerkraut), in the National beverage Aquavit and the young spring shoots were also used to make karvekålsuppe (Caraway leaf soup). It’s common in the cultural landscape, being found throughout the country, along edges of fields and roadsides. Easiest to spot in flower.

[arisaema]

Interesting to see the veined form of Geranium sylvaticum, I've only found it once down here, the white-flowered form is completely absent, we pretty much only have them in a dull shade of lilac.

[Stephenb]

2. Lily of the Valley is locally common, here growing on the bank of the river with that notorious garden escape..
3. Cicerbita alpina (Alpine Sow-Thistle) is a personal favourite often covering large areas, but it wasn’t quite ready…
4. I saw Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi) in a couple of places in damp fields.
5-6. Foldsjøen at 205m elevation is the largest lake in Malvik, about 3km long and 2.5km wide at its broadest. The road follows the lake for a couple of km.  
7. Potentilla erecta (Tormentil) is common.
8. Wood Vetch (Vicia sylvatica) is a local species I don’t see that often.
9. Anthyllis vulneraria (Kidney Vetch) forms a yellow carpet on the verge of this road for many kilometres. However, it had only managed to come into flower on south facing slopes so far.
10. Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla spp) with a curiously sideways growing spruce..
11. Another shot of Ostrich Fern with Aconitum septentrionale and Geranium sylvaticum growing in its shade.

[Stephenb]

At the lake there’s a rich roadside verge (1) where I’ve found some interesting plants in the past. Here is what I found:

2-3. Alpine Bistort (Polygonum viviparum), commonest on basic soils, has almost always sterile flowers, below which there are light brown to red brown bulbils (correct term?). The bulbils are great trail snacks. The rhizomes are relatively large for such a small plant and have saved people from starvation in the past. Another fuchsii behind.
5. I don’t often see Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata)
6-7. Aricia eumedon (Geranium Argus) are almost always seen on Geranium sylvaticum (the larval plant) as here.
8. Botrychium lunaria (Moonwort) is a fern, the commonest of our 6 species, it’s not often I see it.

[cohan]

always interesting to compare!
i planted some convallaria, which seem not to have survived, in spite of a reputation for being too vigorous...

moneses is here, after hunting around last year, i found a couple of wild patches in my yard!
no pinguicula around--its in the province, but i have never seen it
your geranium with pinkish veining is not too different from richardsonii here, but the range is only white to pinkish;

thanks to many european settlers here, caraway is a common weed in our parts, mostly around farmsteads here, but can spread quite fiercely... my latvian grandparents used it...
your maianthemum looks very close to trifolium here.. that might have made it to bloom in late may, barely, but canadense is in bloom now for some weeks..

in envy you the ski cabin! nowhere to stop for such treats on my routes