Dutch gentians in the wild!

[Kees Jan]

I'm attaching a few pics of Gentians, photgraphed in the SE of the Netherlands in limestone meadows. The blue one is Gentianopsis ciliata, the other one Gentianella amarella (file names should be the other way around). It's amazing how late these two species flower (September 15th). Not all of The Netherlands is below sea level you know - the gentians grow at approximately 200 m... quite an altitude by Dutch standards, isn't it!

Gentianopsis ciliata has only 2 stations in our country and is very much threatened.

[Maggi Young]

I am surprised to see these gentians flowering so late, Kees Jan, do they do this every year or is the weather this year making them behave differently?
By the way, with the 'mountain slopes' in Belgium in another thread, and this 'mountain range' here in the Nethrlands, we must revise our opinions about these countries and pack our ice axe and crampons for the next visit!!

[Lesley Cox]

You're right about that Maggi. In my total ignorance and stupidity, I thought the Netherlands was one vast tulip field, scattered with glasshouses and a few towns for light relief, such as Amsterdam and The Hague. Of course there's one of the world's greatest orchestras there too. A "wild" countryside simply had never occurred to me.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Quite a surprise Kees 
I didn't realise we had any Gentians growing in the wild in the Lowlands ! 

Maggi, where's that thread about Belgian mountain slopes
Where I live (West Flanders) our highest mountain is 144 m high.
Alas, due to global warming (some 10.000 years ago) the last glaciers on it melted....

[Maggi Young]

Luc, it is in the Cochicum thread, here http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=706.120

Kees Jan showed Colchicum autumnale on a slope!

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Thanks for showing me the way Maggi !

[Kees Jan]

I am surprised to see these gentians flowering so late, Kees Jan, do they do this every year or is the weather this year making them behave differently?
By the way, with the 'mountain slopes' in Belgium in another thread, and this 'mountain range' here in the Nethrlands, we must revise our opinions about these countries and pack our ice axe and crampons for the next visit!!

This was the first time that I found these species but Gentianella germanica is said to flower from late-August - early October and the critically endangered Gentianopsis ciliata is said to flower from late-August until the end of September (occasionally mid-October). I think most of the Gentianella's in the Alps flower much earlier!

By the way, we do have a few other gentians here in the Netherlands:
Gentianella campestris (sand dunes in coastal regions, August-autumn);
Gentianella amarella (sand dunes in coastal regions, humid-moist places, August-October);
Gentiana cruciata (sand dunes in coastal regions, July-September);
Gentiana pneumonanthe (peat bogs with Drosera etc., July-September).

It's funny that all Dutch gentians flower late in the season...

[tonyg]

I think the gentianellas generally come into flower later than the gentians, even in the alps.

Across the North Sea from the Netherlands, Gentiana pneumonanthe grows in Norfolk, in boggy ground where drosera also grow.  The site I know of is no more than 50m above sea level.  It flowers in August here, I saw seed pods last week.  (Its protected here, so, no I did not collect seed!)

[Maggi Young]

Gentianella campestris grows quite high in the Cairngorms in northern Scotland, flowering in August. It is a truly lovely sight over a meadow.

[Matic Sever]

Photos of Gentianella (Codonopsis) ciliata an G. germanica were taken in the middle of September in Karavanke mountains (Alps, Slovenia) 1500 m above see level. In lowland they start to flower later so I'm not surprised by "late" flowering Dutch gentians.
Gentiana asclepiadea for example still flowers in woods near my home (300m asl) and we are in the middle of October.

[Paul T]

That last pinky one is beautiful.  Gorgeous colour to it.

Welcome to the SRGC forum Matic Sever. 

[gote]

There is a good reason why the gentianellas are so late. They are annuals.
Göte

[Katherine J]

We saw many flowering Gentianella ciliata (or is it Gentianopsis now?) and Gentianella austriaca on the Raxalpe in October! On approx. 1500 m. Here they are:

[johanneshoeller]

Here are some Gentianellas from Austria (ciliata and germanica or austriaca)

Hans
Austria

[Katherine J]

The other picture did not work yesterday for some reason. Here it is, from Raxalpe, Austria, Oktober 10.