Crocotrip in Turkey

[Janis Ruksans]

My second trip this year was to SW Turkey. I had fantastic companion and guide on Turkish mountains who really ensured all success of my trip. Without his driving skills we never could reach those mountaintops where some rare crocuses grow. I learned a lot from him, and greatest lecture was - never stop and never return from your target halfway (I many times would return if Imy friend would not be driver). Roads really were horrible - usable by tractor only (by my opinion), not for Renault-Symbol what we rented.
   But I must return to travel step by step. In Turkey (as in Latvia, too) returned real winter. First shock I got in Istanbul Airport when I saw on screen that temperature in Antalya is minus 3 C. And that in March, in Antalya, on Mediterranean coast! Ibrahim maid car reservation, but we at first checked resin on wheels and accepted only third offered car with only 20 000 km on odometer with good trod on wheels. I’m attaching picture of our car that was our main tool in this short-time but not short in mileage trip. During four days we passed 2000 km - so in average 500 km in day.
   We slept first night in my usual Lemon Hotel on W side of Antalya and morning view through our room’s window was not promising. I many times was in Antalya but never saw so much snow on neighbour mountains. Internet picture of urkey immediately stripe out our main target of this trip - Crocus lydius. Map shows that this part of Turkey is under deep snow. So we start to North in direction of Denizli but quite soon we decided that it is not worth, so we turned to West in direction to Muģla, where some years ago found locality of Crocus fauseri (when it still was not named by Erich Pasche), hoping that at least this place will be without snow. At Korkuteli we turn west through snow covered mountain sides. Near Bekciller there are some crocus-like spots without snow - so we maid small stop - and there they were - nothing special - Crocus danfordiae - but very nice bright yellowish form. Another plant blooming there was Cyclamen trockopteranthon. As I’m interested in corm tunics, I dug out one plant to picture underground parts. It was not easy as soil were frozen up to 10 cm deep. Same was almost everywhere.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

After short discussion about priorities we decided to go for Crocus fauseri - just recently described by Erich Pasche. Ibrahim found this crocus few years ago during one of his trips and after Erich’s article understood that he found just C. fauseri. Search of locality on Google map confirmed that Ibrahim’s and Erich’s localities are the same. Really it was not easy to find where road up starts. When we leave asphalt my eyes open wide. I never could have courage to drive by such road. It is windy, sometimes very narrow, but fortunately frozen, so not slippery. At some spots we step out to look how better to pass some turn where melting snow waters cut deep ridges and in some places we even are placing stones at spots which wheels must to pass to make those ridges passable. I several times offer my friend to stop and follow on foot but he continues higher and higher. Then our road is crossed by large fallen pine tree. Fortunately some cut narrow pass through trunk some 10 cm wider than our car, but we must take out branches from bottom. Unfortunately I can’t help as my right hand isn’t at best shape - I’m living on painkillers. But finally we pass the spot without scraps on car sides. Further road is better but regardless at every wider spot I offer to stop for turning car back way and walking up on foot.
But top is not very far - and there it is - Crocus fauseri in company of Crocus fleischeri and C. cancellatus.  A little higher starts snow. There are flowers of C. fauseri, too (on snowless spots) but soil is frozen hard. With some efforts it was possible to dig out some corms for collection and corm tunic pictures. Fortunately still some evening sun keeps some flowers half open. One of best is bud with quite prominent yellow shade. As you can see from habitat shot - conditions for this crocus is quite hard. It is growing in small pockets of soil between those stones and a lot we saw just on road. The greatest surprise for us was well expressed, long side growing stolones from single Crocus fleischeri corm dug by us. They are longer and fetter even than in case of C. herbertii. Such C. fleischeri plants are mentioned by Brian Mathew in his monograph, but I never saw such by myself before. Road down is easier and it is completely dark when we reach hotel in Milosh.
Janis

[Armin]

Welcome back - it sounds we can expect again an adventure-filled travel report
Thanks for showing the corm tunics of C. danfordiae.

[Janis Ruksans]

Few more pictures of Crocus fauseri.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Cro9cus fleischeri from Bencik Dag (C. fauseri neighbour).
Janis

[ronm]

Beautiful Crocus Janis.
Congratulations on finding your prize, on what sounds like another very interesting expedition !
Amazing habitat photographs. Really harsh environment.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Fantastic pictures Janis !!!
C. fauseri is magnificent !

[Tony Willis]

Janis

super report,makes me wish I was there.The fauseri pictures are excellent.

You mention the C. fleischeri stolons and I found these on corms from near Feithye. They were up to 10cms long and each corm had two or three with tiny cormlets at the end.

[tonyg]

Fascinating and highly entertaining report!

[Janis Ruksans]

Thanks to all for kind comments. Today I will try to write some more about search of Crocus biflorus caricus and others. For my right hand problems for me is not easy to long work on computer. Returning to earlier posts I would like to turn your attention to picture with yellow shaded fauseri bud. Note the leaves grazed by cattle almost to ground level before flower bud pushed out. Normally fauseri leaves overtops flowers and it is single fault of this otherwise very charming species. The plant with speckled back of petals (next after yellowish) is quite unusual in this aspect. The leaves only started development at blooming time, it isn't typical for fauseri but only confirms that isn't possible to judge about species features only by single plant. Of course it makes identification more difficult if you have only one specimen in your collection. But those are crocuses. May be we would not like them so much if everything will be too clear...
Janis

[Otto Fauser]

Janis and Ibrahim, sincere thanks for letting me and all Forumists take part in your fascinating and adventerous planthunting trip - the next best thing to be there in person which I doubt will eventuate . So glad you found "my" Crocus fauseri . ,so I'm hoping to see it in cultivation in a few years . Your photos are superb and they show some variation

                                                  Otto.

[Anthony Darby]

Thanks for sharing this. Some lovely pics and so cool having a crocus named after you.

[Janis Ruksans]

We had very good evening meal in restaurant with glass of wine for me. My right shoulder is very painful, so I’m using painkillers and sleeping tab for night. Frozen soil was too hard experience for me. Next day we have two targets - number one is Crocus biflorus subsp. caricus, and after that we decide to search another novelty - subsp. yataganensis. Still remain hope to find somewhere subsp. ionopharynx. Both - yataganensis and ionopharynx flowers inside is blue, so easy separable from white caricus and fauseri.
A day before in late evening when around was dark we visited one of Ibrahim’s localities of crocus marked by him as “caricus?”. In second attempt driving in by small round we found his locality recognised by large gravel heap staying there for years. After short look around we spotted this crocus, just on side of pine forest. Soil was frozen so hard that it was impossible to check corm tunics but heating flower by breathing on it and slightly helping opening - we found that it really is caricus. The attached picture shows that filament colour can vary a lot.
In morning we are going to Labranda - locus clasicus for autumn Crocus nerimaniae. It is my fourth visit to Labranda. At first time I was there in mid summer and found some crocuses which turned heavy virus infected nerimaniae, but between those were two corms of perfect healthy caricus, too. Thinking that all is nerimaniae one reached Rik’s collection, other went to Gothenburg BG labelled as nerimaniae.
After so bad experience (virus) I went there in autumn and found that less than 10% of plants seem to be healthy. But in flowering time it was possible to collect few healthy specimens for further propagation by seeds. Last year I went there in spring to look for more caricus. All forest looked as ploughed up by wild boars. It was very difficult to find some crocus especially for deep fog and fine rain all the day. Few I spotted but flowers were too damaged by water for checking. Now weather was marvellous, but again there “worked” wild collectors - crocus lovers. Turkish people are not eating pig’s meat, so no one is hunting wild boars. It was very difficult to find even few leaves but in one small spot we finally found few blooming crocuses and they really were very typical caricus. Soil is frozen and temperature regardless of sun is only around zero. You can judge by small picture of icesticks in pine forest.
On spot we decided to change our plans and to go further to few mountains not visited by Ibrahim before hoping to find there subsp. yataganensis - described by Erich “from mountains near Yatagan”. Ibrahim visited almost every mountain around before, and found nothing. Still left a pair not visited - so we will go there.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Few more pictures for previous entry.
Janis

[Lesley Cox]

As always, this report of a crocus trip is exciting and brings on the "wish I were there" feeling.

I know there are some car-mad people in the world - I live with one - but why are we looking at a car picture 54 times and the crocus pics in the 20 and 30s?