Yellow fever in Turkey, March-2013

[Janis Ruksans]

   Whilst in Latvia still is strong frost (last night we had around minus 20 C) and is nothing to do in my greenhouses where all crocuses are again covered by glasswool sheets (regardless of blooming), I decided to search for crocuses in warmer countries – so I with few friends went to NW Turkey from where several new crocuses are recently described. Contrary to Latvia, spring in Turkey this year was early, but we successfully brought some frost there from frost hardened Central and East Europe. With our coming even in Turkey started rains and snowing at higher altitudes (300-400 m).
   I named this entry – “yellow fewer” – usually this combination is used for yellow daffodil blooming time, but during our trip we really saw only flowers of yellow species. Blue & white ones finished, still not started or we simply didn’t find them in blooming stage.
   Was the trip successful? I think yes, although two unusual and beautiful new-comers to large biflorus family we didn’t find, but we found most likely one new and some other nice discoveries compensated everything not seen. Our team is very international Two were from Czech Republic – Jirka likes Mediterranean nature, he is chief gardener of Pardubice city and all city parks are his garden. He is growing few plants – in pots on balcony of his apartments. Vaclav is very long-time friend and during communist era he was chief lily-breeder in former Czechoslovakia, but in free economy breeding is not profitable and he was forced to change profile – now he is importing and selling Dutch bulbs to all Czech Republic. His main interest still is lilies but he joined Cyclamen Society and is proud that in his collection are all but one wild Cyclamen species. Single exception – Cyclamen somaliensis. In Turkey he wants to see cyclamen variability in wild and their habitats. We strongly decided - nothing to collect but to follow this rule is not easy and really I secretly from others collected two samples – unusual colour form and most likely new one species – only 4 corms – 1 for herbarium, one for DNA and two for following seed crop. So I brought home only 5 corms and more than 500 pictures, a lot of impressions and habitat pictures. From other crocuses seen I had some sample in my collection before. Of course – we dug up some corms at each location – for identification purposes and corm pictures but after that replanted them back.
   This case we decided to visit NW Turkey. I visited this part in 2008 together with Vaclav, our forumist Rik and famous galanthofile Colin Mason, and then we looked there mostly for snowdrops, travelled through quite low altitudes visiting by way a lot of historical monuments. Now we will go to tops and our trip starts in Izmir. It is huge city but we found reserved hotel in city centre surprisingly easy.
   My main interest is Crocus lydius – just described by Erich Pasche & Co – with up to 5-6 ridges in each grove of leaf, growing exclusively on granites (3 localities), and seem to be easy foundable as the ridge isn’t very large from where it is described. It has very few but wide leaves, so there couldn’t be problems with its spotting.  Day is very nice and sunny and by the way we decide to go up to snowy tops of Bozdag ridge.
   Very soon we stop as on roadside is fantastic population of Anemone coronaria - with full spectrum of colours. It is not so often that you on same spot can see flowers of all shades from white to deep blue and brightest red. We saw Anemone in many localities, but nowhere so completely representing variability. On opposite side of road crazy river with nice waterfall – looks natural but slightly “corrected and bordered”.
Janis

     Bozdag.JPG
    Anemone coronaria - 1.JPG
    Anemone coronaria - 2.JPG
    Anemone coronaria - 3.JPG
    Anemone coronaria - 4.JPG

[Maggi Young]

Janis, while it is a shame that winter continues so hard, we are fortunate that it gives you time to share these trips with us, thank you!
The spot of "curling" is very popular n Scotland- on television right now we can follow the Championships being held in Riga - with the temperatures you describe of minus 20, they could be curling on ice outside , never mind inside the ice- rink!

 Edit : No, I'm wrong: Ian tells me that at minus 20 degrees C the ice outside would not be in good condition for game of curling   

[Janis Ruksans]

We go up noting spots where to stop on way back… And then double shout – I and Vaclav in same time spotted yellow on right side of road. Of course – it could be only C. chrysanthus but approximating my eyes widens, no, no, it isn’t chrysanthus. By flower it looks very similar to C. gargaricus, but taking out of soil a pair of corms allows identify it as Crocus herbertii without any doubt. White few cm long stolones springs to sides of corm. Further checking of corm tunics confirms identification, although altitude is surprisingly low for this species – only 950 m. For both species it would be widening of area but for herbertii it is long way away from its traditional locality.
   I turn my eyes up and there just where forest line changes to roadside slope a group of white crocuses. Crocus biflorus? It is not easy to climb up but it rewards. We found albino of herbertii. I never before hear that such exist, although I saw millions of herbertii on Ulu Dag – they all were very constant even in shade of yellow. But here group of pure albinoses with only slight shade of yellowish. Of course – they all derivate from single mutation just because of stoloniferous habit of this species and I don’t feel me making damage to nature when instead of replanting I’m picking up one corm.
Janis

    Crocus herbertii -1.JPG
    Crocus herbertii -2.JPG
    Crocus herbertii alba -1.JPG
    Crocus herbertii alba -2.JPG
    Crocus herbertii tunics & stolones.JPG

[Janis Ruksans]

Few more pictures of Crocus herbertii with habitat.

We found Crocus chrysanthus blooming here, too. It is late for this species and flowers are damaged by bad weather, but they are invariably with brown back of petals. We spot only few plants but all seem to be identical. We are driving up and up and stopping from time to time to picture more and more C. herbertii on openings between forest. More and more C. chrysanthus appear on our way up and still all are invariably with brownish back of petals. Laying down for closeup pictures I push my eyes up – there I spot something unusual – it is another albinos, but this case of C. chrysanthus growing side by side with C. herbertii.
   Here are some snowdrops with last flowers and between them one with double number of petals. Now I will fall in “obstruction“ by all galanthofiles – I didn’t collect it but left untouched. Sorry, Colin, we decided not to collect during this trip, so I can show only picture. But in any case – by my opinion it isn’t permanent, only two stems grew up together and next season it will return to normal shape. But – who knows? There are Corydalis wendelboi in full bloom, too, an of course - everywhere blooms Scilla bifolia. We reach 1300 m altitude. Unfortunately further road is closed by strong iron gate and several roadsigns not allowing driving up. Reason very simple – road slides down during snow thawing. Of course – we could walk up but it isn’t place of Crocus lydius (main target of my trip) and time is running fast. So we make some soup (we have with us thermoses with hot water), coffee and turn in direction of Göldağ.
Janis

    004 Crocus herbertii -11.JPG
    005 Crocus herbertii habiat -03.JPG
    008 Crocus chrysasnthus Bozdag -04.JPG
    008 Crocus chrysasnthus Bozdag -06.JPG
    010 Crocus chrysasnthus Bozdag albino -01.JPG

[Janis Ruksans]

Last pictures from Bozdag before turning to Göldağ.
Janis

    011 Corydalis wendelboi -03.JPG
    012 Galanthus elwesii Bozdag.JPG
    013 Scilla bifolia Bozdag.JPG
    014 Snowy Bozdag tops -01.JPG
    014 Snowy Bozdag tops -02.JPG

[Janis Ruksans]

There we have discussion  – on my map highest point is marked at west end of ridge, on my friends map – just opposite. Finally one view wins and after long winding by small but well kept roads between villages we reach the Göldağ. We are making several stops by the road to Goldaģ where we spot some flowers, but everywhere it is only Crocus flavus subsp. dissectus, to which I would like return its historical name - Crocus mouradii. It looks closer to C. antalyensis and its distribution area doesn’t overlap with subsp. flavus. Unfortunately both last main DNA research papers don’t compare both taxa. Gitte Petersen et all. researched subsp. flavus but Dorte Harpke et all. - subsp. dissectus.
Finally we reach Göldağ. There really are volcanic outcrops which could be habitat of Crocus lydius. We make one walking up by narrow tractor track with a lot of rubbish heaps on sides. But there are no crocuses. And altitude isn’t sufficiently high. As you can see from picture where I showed my collegues going down from our first research up by slope of Göldağ, we don’t look very happy.
Janis

     014 Crocus flavus dissectus habitat -01.JPG
    015 Crocus flavus dissectus -03.JPG
    017 Ornithogalum sp. -03.JPG
    017 Ornithogalum sp. -04.JPG
    018 On rubbish heap road -02.JPG

[Janis Ruksans]

Next road up, although it is ground road, is passable by our car and we drive almost up to maximal altitudes. There are yellow crocuses blooming but in this case they are Crocus flavus subsp. dissectus. It blooms later and confirmed that spring here was very early and remains little hopes to find our target in flowers. We saw it in gullies where in winter collected more snow. Weather is dark and it is quite late, so flowers are closed and not easy to make good pictures. Up to now we found only subsp. dissectus and autumn blooming pulchellus in leaves.
There is growing one of most spectacular Ornithogalums - O. lanceolatum. It has very spectacular leaves, but such shape they have only in mountains, in their natural habitat. During my earlier trips I many times collected 2-3 bulbs of this very early blooming species. Everywhere my attention was attached by its curved leaves, but in garden (at least with me) they always are growing straight. Of course, it is less ornamental than in wild, but in any case worth to grow. Request for it is so great that I’m always short with it. In “Gartenwelt” I read that in Germany it sometimes is even autumn-bloomer. In Latvia it blooms as one of the first, in garden sometimes too early and is damaged by frost.
Janis

    019 Crocus flavus dissectus -01.JPG
    020 Ornithogalum lanceolatum -01.JPG
    020 Ornithogalum lanceolatum -02.JPG
    021 One of Goldaģ peaks.JPG

[Janis Ruksans]

It is very late and we must go to nearest city to search for hotel. By road we pass western peaks of Göldağ but they all looks formed from calkstone, so not suitable for C. lydius, growing exclusively on volcanic rocks.
We are sleeping in Akhisar. Weather forecast is very bad - heavy rains offered for second half of day, but they start in night. Following days will be even worth - Siberian cold will reach Turkey, too and even snowing is forecasted. TV shows floods and other nature disasters. In morning we start early and from time to time we meat stronger or weaker showers. Now we took rod by opposite side of peaks. The hill which we yesterday saw from highest point reached by us, is covered in clouds. We found some road to it and decide drive by it as high is possible and then walk up. But soon our attempt is stopped. Night rain filled gullies with water, small streams turned in waterfalls and we are stopped by washed out roads. This side of this hill remain unexplored. Further by asphalt road we met granite outcrops and there are plenty of crocuses in leaves, but they all are only autumn blooming C. pulchellus. It seems that from this point this species follow us everywhere.

    022 Opposite side of peak.JPG
    023 Roadside waterfall.JPG
    024 Road damage.JPG
    026 Granit outcrops.JPG
    027 Crocus pulchellus habitat.JPG

[Janis Ruksans]

It is heavy raining and searching for crocus I became completely wet and my colleagues even push me back in car and we drive further. Again place looks very, very promising, but rain is so heavy that we make only some Turkish village pictures through car windows. So again this locality remains unexplored. We continue our road, hoping that we will not forced to return, because by map in some distance will start dirty road, not the best for such car (although it is 4 wheel driver) in such weather.

    027 Turkish village -01.JPG
    027 Turkish village -02.JPG
    027 Turkish village -05.JPG

[Janis Ruksans]

In opposite of weather forecast in afternoon rain didn’t become hardier, but just opposite - it stops and even sun shines through clouds. At very nice and promising looking spot we make our daily soup. Opposite side looks ideal for crocuses - all neighbour plants of C. lydius are here, excellent volcanic base rock, but there again only pulchellus, chrysanthus and some pallasii which I’m picturing here showing its leaves and typical corm tunics.
Here we decide to walk up as high as possible and we really are going up to spot where further up going would turn in hopeless enterprise, on picture it is spot where starts only steep rock up to top from some lovering after highest point in right side. On top we found blooming C. flavus dissectus, but flowers are closed and covered by waterdrops from just passed rain. But there in deep shrub blooms Galanthus elwesii, too.

     028 Excellent Crocus habitat.JPG
    030 Crocus pallasii leaves -02.JPG
    031 Crocus pallasii corms -01.JPG
    031 The same peak -01.JPG

[Janis Ruksans]

Crocus flavus dissectus and Galanthus elwesii at highest point reached by me and Ibrahim - 940 m.

     032 Crocus flavus dissectus -01.JPG
    032 Crocus flavus dissectus -03.JPG
    033 Galanthus elwesii.JPG

[Alan_b]

Here are some snowdrops with last flowers and between them one with double number of petals. Now I will fall in “obstruction“ by all galanthofiles – I didn’t collect it but left untouched. Sorry, Colin, we decided not to collect during this trip, so I can show only picture. But in any case – by my opinion it isn’t permanent, only two stems grew up together and next season it will return to normal shape. But – who knows?

It's hard to tell from the camera angle but it looks like a snowdrop with a fused ovary, part-way towards producing two separate flowers on the same scape.  A number of snowdrop cultivars have a tendency to do this.  Typically such snowdrops might well be normal next season but you might see this or something similar a few times if you observe them over a decade. 

[Janis Ruksans]

Our Czech companions started to worry - where we both disappear because going up took quite a long time + search in vicinity. But no Crocus lydius we found there. Soon asphalt ends, but dirty road turns quite good and some kilometres long driving we are in same spot where last evening stopped searching. Now we decide to go up to the highest point. Locality really looks ideal, but everywhere we found earlier seen species only C. lydius not. Sun opens flowers of C. flavus dissectus, so a pair of pictures again, and picture of Crocus pulchellus corms. All the time I’m opening my hand lens to check leaves, but always it turns only many times before seen crocuses. We passed for searching of lydius more than one and half days. We can’t use more time for it. Evening is approximating and we must hurry to next spot - where we will look for Crocus simavensis. I’m telling to myself - finding of new locality and albino of C. herbertii compensates this failure.

    034 Habitat.JPG
    035 Crocus pulchellus corm -01.JPG
    036 Crocus flavus dissectus -01.JPG
    036 Crocus flavus dissectus -03.JPG
    Bye bye Goldag.JPG

[Janis Ruksans]

It's hard to tell from the camera angle but it looks like a snowdrop with a fused ovary, part-way towards producing two separate flowers on the same scape.  A number of snowdrop cultivars have a tendency to do this.  Typically such snowdrops might well be normal next season but you might see this or something similar a few times if you observe them over a decade.

Thanks, Alan. I'm not snowdrop grower, so a lot od such "secrets" are unknown to me.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

We took some smaller road over ridge to Simav and soon after pass again we saw yellow flowers (oh, how I tired from this subsp. dissectus everywhere again and again). I’m picturing it only to document growing of dissectus at this spot, when my friends tell me - Janis your knees are on C. biflorus. And really I’m staying just on almost died flowers of blue coloured crocus. It looks very interesting and just this one is the other one which I can’t withstand to collect few corms - one for herbarium, another for DNA and two for my collection. This looks very close to lydius, but corm tunics are very different. Checking in home all descriptions of biflorus group species I can’t to find any which could match with this one. Excellent end of day!

    038 Crocus flavus dissectus -01.JPG
    039 Crocus sp. nova -01.JPG
    039 Crocus sp. nova leaves -01.JPG