first I want to excuse me, that some of you did not hear from me any
more, but in July I had a congress in Spain and a seminar in Alps and
before some preparations.
I was happy, that the congress was in Granada, so I could use the
possibility, to visit 3 stands of Pinguicula in Spain: the first stop,
we did S of Barcelona at a valley of Mt. Caro, the localization of
Pinguicula longifolia var. dertosensis. It was growing at a very hidden
place in a valley at a small rivulet and that is fine, because there
were growing just some very few plants at very wet, clayed soil at an
open place between grasses. The flowering period was over, and they
seemed to prepare for winter by the development of a winter-rosette.
Granada lies
besides the phantastic Sierra Nevada in the very Southern part of Spain,
with about 3000 m altitude. So, you can find snow there until summer and
in winter it is used for skiing. It is the home of P. nevadensis, a small
specie, with short leaves, not at all related to the other species, which
you can find in Spain, like P. longifolia and the phantastic
P. vallisneriifolia. It is growing also at small rivulets, the soil seems
to be quite acid and here, you can find a lot of plants. At other, similar
places, where in winter is skiing, I had not the chance to find it.
At the way back from Granada, I visited the Sierra de Cazorla, the home of
P. vallisneriifolia. It is growing in a realy nice, mountenous region, but
the stand seems to be extremely endangered. It seems to grow just anymore
in one single valley; here, you can find a population with hundreds, maybe
thousands of plants at a wet rock-wall, the sight is realy absoultely
fantastic; but several stands like this are extinct in the meantime, because
the walls are dried out by the canalization of water by the Spain people.
So, maybe these are the last plants of this specie.....
In the next week, I was at Alps, where we could find P. alpina and P. vulgaris,
2 quite common species in this region.
I hope, my description was not too boring to you, when you have read the
one of Paul Temple several days before (I could not read it, because by
an accident I have lost this mail :-[)
Bye
Joe N.