Anthos

Proyecto Anthos is a website hosted by the Royal Spanish Botanical Garden that has a comprehensive database of Spanish flora. It provides taxonomic information, common names, references, conservation info, pictures, botanical drawings and has a very easy to use and powerful search tool. The site is both in English and Spanish.

The tool I that find most useful is the Geographical Search. It allows you to find in a map (based on Google Maps, and enriched with more information layers) specific locations where a species has been reported to grow. This helps while organizing field trips and also provides information when trying to verify the species of a plant that one has found in a specific location.

As an example, you can see in the following screen capture the location of Pinguicula mundi in Spain (click to enlarge).

Catalogue de Plantes

This is the first post in Plantaland not exclusively related to CPs. I'll talk about music. However, this is not particularly convential music. I wanted to write about Catalogue de Plantes, by Bob Verschueren. The music of this absolutely great disk is completely "played" with plants as instruments. Each track has the name of a plant, both the common name and the latin one, and the sounds of the track are produced by the corresponding plant. The work is described by himself as:

Exploration de toutes les sonorités qu'il es possible d'obtenir à partir d'une plante.

We can also read in his website that his technique consists of a series of "microscopic" sound recordings next to the object that allows the artist to take out unexpected sounds while manipulating various vegetables.

As one listens the disk, I'd say that the main feelings are inspiration and confusion, which follow one another along with the different sonorities. I definitely recommend it, I'm sure you won't be indifferent to it.  I'd listen to it at least once with headphones, since there are some very well done stereo effects.

Yes, and now it's the time to see what happens when plants listen to music played with plants. I'll try and tell you, just wait for news.

Pinguicula longifolia & vulgaris in Ordesa

I spent some days in the Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park. We climbed Mt. Perdido and did some trekking around. Once more, I saw some CPs (seems that I'll see CPs in every summer holiday). There were massive colonies of Pinguicula longifolia and I saw some small groups of P. vulgaris.

I found colonies of P. longifolia in the three valleys I visited: Bujaruelo, Añisclo Canyon and Ordesa. I'd say that some colonies could have hundreds of specimens. In some places plants had very long leaves, reaching more than 20cm. Plants were mostly found in vertical stone walls, with no specific orientations. I did not see P. longifolia plants avobe 1700m approx.

On the other hand, P. vulgaris were found in much higher places, ca. 2300m, near the Goriz refuge. There were small clumps of plants in west-facing grassy slopes.

I'd like to thank J.S.F, M.P.O. and P.C.C for their patience and understanding while taking this pics. CPs are not exactly one of their main interests, and it might not be easy to go hiking with someone shouting "Hey! take a pic of this one!"... "Stop the car! I found one in that rock!"... "Wait! there is a huge one there!"...

Enjoy the pics!

P. longifolia in Añisclo Canyon

P. longifolia, detail of flower, in Añisclo Canyon

P. longifolia, detail of flower, in Añisclo Canyon

P. longifolia in Añisclo Canyon

P. longifolia long leaves detail in Añisclo Canyon

P. longifolia growing directly from bare rock in  Añisclo Canyon

P. longifolia with shorter leaves in Ordesa valley

P. vulgaris near Goriz refuge

P. vulgaris flower detail near Goriz refuge. There were no fresh flowers.

Kew Gardens (London)

I spent some days with my girlfriend in London, including a visit to the Kew Gardens which I really recommend. I did not know if there where CPs in them, until I discovered a little room in the Princess of Wales Conservatory where they are all grown. There are also some Nephentes in the Temperate and the Waterlily House.

There are many Sarracenia and Drosera species and a few Nephentes, Dionaea and Utricularia. I could also see some healthy specimens of Roridula gorgonias and Drosophyllum lusitanicum.  There is a small Cephalotus follicularis in a corner and some Heliamphora nutans, with some clumps of large specimens.

Enjoy the pics!

Nepenthes ampullaria red pitcher, in the Waterlily House

Tuberous Drosera sp.

Roridula gorgonias with flowers

More Roridula gorgonias with flowers

Macro of leaf from R. gorgonias, showing hairs and glands

Leaf tips of R. gorgonias, showing hairs and glands

A big clump of S. purpurea

 
Drosophyllum lusitanicum (yes, exactly the one I did not find in my trip in Spring '08)

Closed flowers of D. lusitanicum

Macro shoot of D. lusitanicum leaf, a bit blurred

Nice clump of H. nutans

More H. nutans

Macro shots

It has been a long time since my last post. After hundreds of inquiries about the future of Plantaland I've decided to write a new post. This time, I'll share with you some macro shots I got with the invaluable collaboration and expertise of V.M.D. Not close enough? Click on the pics to see a larger image! Enjoy!

Drosera filiformis

Drosera filiformis developing leaf

Drosera scorpioides

Byblis liniflora leaf

Dionaea muscipula malformed trap with prey

Byblis liniflora flower bud

Pinguicula grandiflora in Picos de Europa (Spain)

I spent some days in Asturias (Spain) hiking over the beautiful Natural Park of Picos de Europa and visiting the impressive beaches around Llanes. I had the opportunity to see hundreds of Pinguicula during the whole trip. They could be easily seen at the sides of the mountain roads and in many wet spots in the countryside. They were virtually omnipresent along some walking paths over north-facing slopes.

I could see many P. grandiflora colonies in the mountains surrounding the Covadonga lakes. Plants were notably present in north-facing slopes below 1800m approximately. Above that altitude I could not see any P. grandiflora. At this altitude, the plants were still flowering, while at 1500m approximately some seed pods were already present. At some points the plants where entirely covered by grasses, and only the characteristic flowers where visible.

Pinguicula grandiflora near the Cotalba summit, at 1750m approx.

Pinguicula grandiflora flowers near Cotalba peak, at 1750m approx.

Pinguicula grandiflora near Enol lake, at 1500m approx.

I also found spectacular Pinguicula colonies at the Cares canyon, while walking through its well known route. No plants were flowering, so I could not determine their exact species. In these areas, P. grandiflora and P. vulgaris are common.

A massive colony of Pinguicula sp. at the Cares canyon

Detail of the colony of Pinguicula sp.

Drosophyllum lusitanicum near Ubrique (Spain)

I had the opportunity to drive through the Natural Park of Los Alcornocales, in Andalusia (Spain) during a trip from Granada to Huelva. I had read in Das Taublatt and in the CPUK Forum that in that region, Drosophyllum lusitanicum could be easily spotted. So I planned it all, I double-checked the directions about locations, I took my cam with extra batteries (just in case), my laptop with a 3G modem (just in case I needed some more info) and I drove to Ubrique.

I was absolutely sure about the easiness of finding Drosophyllum there. I repeated to myself "It's easy: look for red soil, Erica and Cistus and there it'll be".

From the astonishing vast amount of pictures below you can imagine the result of my trip.

No plants. No pics. No joy. :(

Disclaimer: I must say in self-defense that many places of the roadsides had been recently disturbed as road works were being performed. To make things worse, I had less than 2 hours to look for the plants. I must thank my girlfriend for coming with me to look for CPs. You may suppose that she is not exactly a CP fan.

Spring 2008 (I)

During this spring the weather has been really variable. We have had hot and sunny days in the first weeks of may, and very rainy and cool weeks in late May and June. This has made the plants to wake up early, but many flowers and leaves have malformed during the following cool weeks. Here are some pics I did during the last weeks.

Sarracenia flava

General view of most of my outdoor plants

Sarracenia alata

Drosera capensis

Sarracenia flava

Darlingtonia californica flower. This is the first year that it flowers!

Autumn 2007 (I)

This is an archive post of 2007. The pics were taken in December and show how do the plants look during the cold season, specially if kept outdoors as mines. It's a clear example of why having carnivorous plants in winter is not as funny as in summer...

Sarracenia leucophylla late summer pitchers tend to last until late winter

...but it is not the case of its surrounding plants

Some parts start to dry out, specially due to captured prey

Sarracenia flava pitchers don't last so much...

Some of the Sarracenia minor pitchers still look OK in december...

...this is not the case for Sarracenia rubra

Most of the pitchers of Sarracenia oreophila are dried...

...so they have to be trimmed...

...and only phyllodia survive.

Drosera scorpioides has produced the characteristic winter gemmae.

Dionaea muscipula looks really creepy. It definitely needs a haircut!

Voilá ! After a haircut!