Date: Thu, 07 Aug 1997 18:00:50 +0900 From: ss66428 <ss66428@hongo.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg2992$foo@default> Subject: Brazilian Expedition 11
To all,
Wow, I actually found the time to write two chapters in one day!
Ok, so I arrived at the top of the Cabral Mts. and left my car behind
when I could go no further. A few meters ahead I already discovered my fist CP:
D.montana var.montana growing on a rocky overhang dripping with water. I then
had a loooong walk before I found any other CPs. I followed a trail which
brought me eventually to a small stream where I found G.violacea and
U.laciniata (I never mention U.subulata, but it's always there, where ever you
go).
Downstream was a big seepage area which looked pretty promising, but
as I began walking around there I could see nothing, not even U.subulata. And
to make things worse, a real strong summer afternoon shower passed by at that
point and the umbrella I was carrying (my raincoat had ripped apart) did
little in keeping me dry due to the winds. Luckily the rain only lasted 10-20
minutes and I soon stumbled on a good patch containing a small amount of
U.nana, G.repens, D.communis, and D.sp."Emas".
After photographing, herborizing, etc., I moved on, heading back
towards my car since it was getting late and I still had to go back down the
mountains and find a place to spend the night. On the outskirts of the seepage
I found more CPs in drier ground: U.amethystina and D.hirtella var.hirtella.
The next day I took another road up the Serra do Cabral and drove for
circa 50km without stopping at any interesting-looking sites, leaving it all
for the return trip. I just drove on and on until it didn't look like there
were any more possible CP areas, only the drier Brazilian savanna called
cerrado. I started heading back and stopping one by one at all the interesting
spots I'd seen, as well as exploring a few side roads for short stretches.
At the first stop I found D.montana var.tomentosa, U.laciniata, and
a very small-flowered U.amethystina, all growing around a smal stream, as well
as U.neottioides growing inside the stream. The next stop turned up more
D.hirtella var.hirtella, D.communis, and D.montana var.tomentosa and also
U.simulans, U.hispida, U.tricolor, U.nana, and G.filiformis.
I then decided to explore a large seepage on a hillside behind a small
farm. This turned out to be the best spot I found on the Serra do Cabral. It
was the biggest CP site as well as the one with most species. Most of the CPs
found at other sites were also found here, plus G.aurea and D.sp."Congonhas".
Both of these plus D.montana var.tomentosa and G.violacea were very abundant
at this site and the D.montana var.tomentosa were in flower, which is rare at
that time of year. The G.violacea were very large, and could've been G.sp.
"giant violacea". The D.m.tomentosa had medium to low hair density on its
peduncles (a very variable character in this taxon) and resembled very much
the ones found at Itacambira, which had also been in flower.
The last stop before I left was a marshy area surrounding thick growth
along a river. This area only turned up U.praelonga, U.hispida, and once again
their hybrid. After that I maneuvered my car back down the dirt road to the
base of the mountains and spent the last few hours of sunlight basking at a
waterfall which I had seen from the asphalt road. This place was my last hope
for finding the D.villosa-like species I had been after. Ironic isn't it? The
only CP I knew which grew on the Serra do Cabral, and the one I most wanted to
find, was not found!!! I left early the next day, heading home, back to Sao
Paulo, ending the 2-week trip, the first of 2 trips I would make during my
stay in Brazil.
To be continued..... with a few surprises on the way back to Sao Paulo (other
than the hidden policeman who fined me for overspeeding!)
All the Best,
Fernando Rivadavia
Tokyo, Japan
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