Janis' Crocus news- home and away- June 2013

[Janis Ruksans]

Harvesting of Crocuses are in full speed. Today harvested Crocus pulchellus and vallicola - very good corms, good size and health. Yesterday I worked on speciosus. They suffered a year before but now nicely recovered, size of corms is good, but there are some losses. Surprisingly well developed corms collected last autumn at blooming time when I made research on Crocus speciosus wild populations in Greece and in Turkey. Regardless of replanting at blooming time, many developed to very good blooming size corms. But between some Turkish acquisitions appear some problem about which I want to warn all who collect some crocuses.

Between plants collected at lake Abant and on Abant heights appeared some corms with some white maggot in corm. It certainly developed from egg laid on flower stalk before collecting in Turkey - similarly as it is done by daffodil fly. Such a way it is possible to introduce new pest. Of course all suspicious corms were destroyed.

I saw maggots in wild Alliums and in Juno irises. When we worked on Juno irises, we introduced some bulbs with similar pest who eat bulbs and fat roots with Iris persica and it invaded fat roots of Iris magnifica, too. We successfully cleaned our stocks from this pest during 2-3 years. Similar pest invades seed pods of Juno irises and Eremurus in wild, too.

[Janis Ruksans]

I went to Macedonia to see last spring crocuses of season. It is second trip to Macedonia this year, but first one was to Greek Macedonia (Macedonia in Greece). Now my target is another Macedonia – Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia situated North of Greece and surrounded from other sides by Albania and Serbia.
   I wanted to go there a year before – even had tickets, nice company, but got Lime disease (boreliose) and was forced to stay in home and to enjoy only beautiful pictures on Kees Jan website after his return from there. Reason to go there was finding of new crocus described by local botanists – Crocus jablanicensis. By features given in this publication it was compared with Crocus cvijicii and C. veluchensis but a lot of features overlap and comparing with my acquisitions of both relatives remained some doubt – is it really species or only colour form of one of relatives. I want to check its variability by proper eyes.
Checking known dates of blooming and Kees Jan’s report I decided that best time to go there could be mid-June and so I proposed to Kurt Vickery (UK) and Henrik Zetterlund (Gothenburg BG, Sweden) to join me and so we decided to start around 11th of June. It was not easy to find good flight connection to Skopje – capital of Macedonia. Finally the most comfortable turned flight to Stockholm and after that with JAT Airlines (former Yugoslavian, now Serbian Airlines) to Beograd and further to Skopje.
Skopje great us with rain. Weather broadcast offers two rainy days but after that temperature would rise to even 37 C. Horrible. I hate hot. Fortunately rented car has air-condition. This is one of quite rare cases when weather broadcast is correct. It is raining all the night and only around nine o’clock between clouds appear some slightly lighter spots but mountains around Skopje are in deep clouds.
We decide to start with Šar Planina Mountains – locus classicus for Crocus scardicus – marvellous deep yellow crocus together with purple C. pelistericus forming a pair of „outsiders” in large crocus family. Both easy separable from other crocuses by lacking of white midzone on leave upside. We go up from Tetovo city by winding road and sometimes fog (clouds) is so dense that only short distance ahead can be seen. Left hope that crocus spots will be over clouds. At top villages’ road becomes not so good more, some spots are closed and former skiing resort looks something abandoned. Several hotels are demolished and half-ruined but a lot of new one, mostly apartment style small houses is built up. Unfortunately there are almost no road signs so we select some turn by dirty road which ends at ruined 4-flat former hotel. There is good parking spot and so we decide to leave there our car.
Outside is cold wind so I’m lucky to having with me wool sweeter, but I forgot to take with me the cap. After some hundred meters ascending by quite steep grassy slope starts raining and I even want to return being afraid to get overcooling of my ears but Kurt gave me scarf from his bag, so now we are joking that now I’m more looking as old lady. In some moments when clouds become thinner we can see few small snow tongs at higher altitudes, but really it seems that we are coming too late. Everywhere in grass we spot crocus leaves – quite narrow and wider but they all has white midvein – so it undoubtedly is Crocus veluchensis reported as growing here together with C. scardicus. But still no one flower.
It seems that climate really changes and may be after some years we will be talking about blooming of crocuses at high altitudes at end of May. I’m planning for next year „memory trip” to Kara-Tau Mountains in Kazahstan. Looking in my diaries from eighties I saw that Tulipa greigii there is blooming at very end of April and first days of May. Now Vladimir from there reports that every year tulip blooming starts earlier and now T. greigii is blooming at first half or even start of April. Here looks the same.
Kurt is youngest of us and he runs ahead to closest snow spot – only few square meters in size. And his gesticulation shows that we must follow him. And yes – here they are very few but still blooming Crocus scardicus and something more and a little lower C. veluchensis. Flowers are closed and mostly damaged by rain, so very few pictures is possible to make. Higher we can see few more snow patches and we continue our road up. Then Henrik spot some yellow spots lower by hill – in some galley there are something crocus like, although could be mixed with Ranunculus.

    Crocus scardicus
    Crocus veluchensis
    Janis
    Kurt & Henrik

[Maggi Young]

Good to hear your trip went well this year, Janis.

A reminder of a report from Kees Jan last year, plus Ibrahim's Crocus site and a link to the paper naming
Crocus jablanicensis

http://crocusmania.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/crocus-jablanicensis.html  Ibrahim -  Kees Jan's pix etc
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=9365.0

http://pythonkit.com/download.php?id=65726

[Janis Ruksans]

They really are Crocus scardicus. There we observe two opposites – both have deep yellow flowers but in some flower tube is distinctly purple or at least purple striped, but on opposite flank are plants with white flower tube. Which of them is better? I can’t judge but I collect some plants from both forms looking for most distinct specimens. Corms of C. scardicus lie quite shallow in soil – not more than 5 cm. They are growing in deep turf, between dwarf vaccinium and some horizontally adpressed to soil branches of Juniperus.  I lost my scardicus last winter and now I suppose that I know the reason. It is frost. Corms are positioned very shallow in nature but in winter they are covered by very deep snow, so most likely soil remains unfrozen. Such plants usually are difficult to keep in our conditions where soil can to freeze even 1.4 m deep. Jumping a little ahead – to last day of our trip – we returned to Shar Planina Mountains hoping to find flowers open in sun as started hot and sunny period. All spots where we recorded them at first day looked empty. Only careful checking allowed observing narrow erect almost grass-like leaves – much more difficult to spot than everywhere visible leaves of Crocus veluchensis. Most easy spot-able they were on nude cattle pass without grass. And there I saw that soil really is dry! So I think that request for all year round moist soil is exaggerated. Really soil during summer is dry. Of course as high altitude plant of Mediterranean it got occasional showers during summer, too, but during our second visit there soil was completely dry, not only for dry and hot weather but dried by roots of top-grown vegetation as well. Such visits allow much learn about natural conditions at homeland of plants and helps us to grow them more successfully.
We are quite surprised finding working restaurant at bottom part of village. Meal is very good and very, very cheap. It is well after mid-day so we decide to use the road leading by foothills through small villages and cities hoping to find some hotel or another road up to mountains. Road turns real nightmare – manoeuvring between holes in asphalt and unmarked sudden “sleeping policemen”. So it takes around three fold longer time and no one hotel in smaller cities. It is good afternoon when we reach Gostivar where again some time is needed to find hotel. Another half hour is requested for finding some restaurant for evening meal. We are very satisfied with results of first day. Tomorrow we will follow to South in direction to Jablanica Mountains.

    C. veluchensis & scardicus
    Henrik
    Henrik & Kurt
    Shar Planina -1.
    Shar Planina -2.

[Janis Ruksans]

Some more pictures from Shar Planina

    Crocus scardicus -1
    Crocus scardicus -2
    Crocus scardicus -3
    Crocus veluchensis -1
    Crocus veluchensis -2

[Janis Ruksans]

Next day still is cloudy and rainy. We are taking road to Struga through Mavrovo National Park.by NW coast of Mavrovo lake. It is artificial lake made by huge damm crossing Mavrovo river gorge. At south end of lake we take rod up to mountains in East direction. Fog is very dense and we are driving slowly. We made first stop at some meadow bordered by beach forest. There blooms some ornithogalum but flowers are closed. Under trees we collected some seeds of Scilla bifolia. Higher up road looks as not used for long time. On asphalt lies a lot of stones which fell down from upper slopes. So driving is slow. And then just near Carevec pass (1705 m) we are stopped by long snow tongue which crossed road. May be it would be possible to pass it by side, but it is so wet and muddy that we decide to stop there. We try to walk up by slope but fog is very dense and we are afraid to lost road back. Blows cold wind with drops of water and we soon turn back to our car.
Weather improves when we are back on main road and we go by Mavrovo river gorge through beautiful canyon where Henrik remember Ramonda serbica seen during his previous trip here in 1985. And it really is there and are marvellously blooming on rock side. Deeper in shrubs Kurt spot Lilium martagon, but it is still without flowers. I collect 3 bulbs as present for my wife who very likes martagon type lilies. There are several Arums out of flowers, too.

    1 Ramonda serbica -1
    2 Ramonda serbica -2
    3 Arum albispathum

[Janis Ruksans]

We are taking some narrow side road by some river bed up to mountains. There on steep stone-slide Henrik spotted beautiful clumps of Corydalis ochroleuca (now renamed - Pseudofumaria alba) and on stable rocks are blooming Saxifraga aizoon. When road becomes too difficult for our car we are making short stop for lunch and turn back to main road. In afternoon we reach Struga where found very good moderately priced Drim Hotel which will be our home for next two nights. Just on opposite side of street is nice restaurant with good meals and drinks at very low price.

[Janis Ruksans]

Following day is the toughest day of our trip. We are going for main target - Crocus jablanicensis growing at tops of Jablanica Mountains. Another target is Fritillaria macedonica. Last year Kees Jan spotted only one plant of it and gave me its coordinates to take some leaf off for DNA research to check its status and kin-species. Our first spot for today is heights over Gorna Belica village, leaving Kees Jan’s locality over vil. Vevčani for tomorrow if we will fail today. It is not easy to find correct road. There are national/political problems between local people. On some road signs by black paint are covered text written by Latin litters, on others those in Kirillica, but in some spots both variants are hided. So we several times must to ask where correct road is before reaching Gorna Belica…..
Road is narrow but well kept with only few holes in asphalt. Gorna Belica earlier was second most important city in Macedonia - huge trade and administrative centre where peasants housed 100 000 sheep. Now it is small village of small houses, we didn’t find any remnants of old Roman roads and aqueduct reported from there in antique literature. At end of village asphalt ends too and we use stony ground road up to last possibility where road stops. On roadside is rusted shield slightly readable that here starts borderland, entry there without special permission is forbidden. But it is rusted, not easy to read, especially English part of text - so we decide that we didn’t see it.
There are quite good path-signs painted on stones, trees guiding us up to mountains. In one spot I misunderstand sign, reading turn as arrow and we loose some time searching for path and are forced turn back at dead end. I want return and to repeat attempt at Vevčani, but Kurt notes some road-like pass on opposite side of stream. After short discussion we decide to go up just here. Still short misunderstanding of signs but then we are on correct path. It is moderately steep and in first part lay in beech forest, so we are protected from sun. Temperature is around 25-27 C. Horribly hot. Forest changes to wet meadow where nicely bloom orchids, then again forest and then tree zone ends. After 3 hours of walking we reach alpine meadows and saw some snow tongues in front of us.
There are crocus leaves but without flowers it is impossible to separate jablanicensis from veluchensis and by Kees Jan both are growing together. Kurt is youngest of us and runs in front. I and Henrik slowly follow him. Kurt reaches the first snow tongue and start to wave hands. It is here - we understand his gesticulation. Crossing small stream we note some deep purple flowers, too. Quick photo supposing that it is veluchensis, later reality turned far better. There some clouds appeared and so flowers are half-closed. So mistake could be forgived…

    On road up
    Viola sp.
    Crocus as veluchensis - ha-ha

[Janis Ruksans]

But we run up to Kurt. And here they are - white blooming crocus just below melting snow. Its main feature separating from relatives - cvijicii and veluchensis is white stigma well overtopping anthers. Most plants here respond to this, but between them are specimens with stigma ending at tips of anthers and with creamy stigmas. Typical Crocus jablanicensis you can see on picture # 4. We are discussing with Henrik that it very resembles albino of cvijicii. Running ahead I can inform that after returning homer I got mail from Gatersleben Institute that they checked DNA and this research confirmed that C. jablanicensis is good species.

[Janis Ruksans]

Whilst I’m checking flowers and position and colour of Crocus jablanicensis stigma, Henrik goes to rocks at top of which lies Albanian border. We really are only 100-200 meters from border. And then comes victory shout from Henrik. He found Fritillaria macedonica and not a single one but many and between them the gem of day - pink flowering specimen. After picturing I turn to some flat grassland a little lower and it turns almost covered by F. mecedonica - mostly they finished bloomintg, there are many non-flowwering specimens, but some still are blooming - you can see how abundant it is here by density of leaves. There I met with man collecting Primula veris flowers. They are for tea and he come from Albania as border really are not more guarded.

    01 Fritillaria macedonica -2
    02 Fritillaria macedonica -1
    03 Fritillaria macedonica -3
    04 Fritillaria macedonica -4
    05 Albanian border trespasser

[Janis Ruksans]

Side by side is blooming nice very pinkish lilac form of Corydalis solida. I can’t withstand temptation to collect few tubers of it. And then I came to snow patch where side by side with Crocus jablanicensis blooms few Crocus veluchensis, too.


    06 Corydalis solida -2
    07 Corydalis solida -1
    08 Crocus jablanicensis habitat -1
    09 Crocus jablanicensis & veluchensis
    10 Crocus veluchensis

[Janis Ruksans]

I’m showing to Kurt and Henrik “Fritillaria meadow” but by myself I’m slowly turning back to stream where the first “dark veluchensis” was seen. Here on tops was not so hot regardless of sun which started to shine, so flowers started to open. At first I note colour of stigmas which are both - white and yellow, but then looking inside - I become shocked - it is typical Crocus pelistericus colour pattern. Checking small leaf tips seen all doubts disappear - it is pelistericus - new locality for it bringing it much closer to Crocus scardicus as supposed before. So I’m digging out a corm of each three species to make pictures of them. As you can see from attached pictures - corm tunics of Crocus pelistericus has long persistent neck of old cataphylls; absent in both other species. Crocus veluchensis tunics are quite distinctly reticulated at top, well separating it from C. jablanicensis.
Coming up took three hours, almost two hours we passed just near ridge and Albanian border looking for plants. Road back to our car requested something more than 2 hours. At car we are preparing tea (I have termos with hot water with me), taking short rest and returning to hotel in Struga. We got everything searched, so we don’t need to go tomorrow to Vevčani and we will turn to East searching for Crocus cvijicii. Pictures are divided in two entries as there is limit for 5 pictures per entry.


    11 Crocus habitat -2
    12 Crocus pelistericus -1
    13 Crocus pelistericus -2
    14 Crocus pelistericus -3
    15 Crocus pelistericus -4

[Janis Ruksans]

Last pictures for today.

[krisderaeymaeker]

Thanks for your reports Janis . We are back from FYR of Macedonie since yesterday evening. Yesterday it was 36 degrees in Ohrid  ..........We had temperatures above 30 degrees al days of  the week .We have been there from 16 until the 23 th of  june .
The snow was melting very quick now. We did see Crocus veluchensis , scardicus en cvijicii in ful flower .
We are very close to jablanicensis to, but we failed .......It was to late in the afternoon and the temperatures are to hot for long walkings ....As I told , it was 36 degrees !!!.....

[pehe]

Janis, thank you for a very interesting report. You are a good story teller, it is almost as if being there myself. It was a really successful trip in spite of bad weather and missing road signs. Very exciting to see C. jablanicensis in the wild and the finding of a new pelisticus locality is a very nice surprise.
But the most surprising thing was that you found C. scardicus in totally dry soil. At what altitude did you find them and what is the summer temperature there? Maybe the reason that they can survive there is that they don't get baked in the summer - or can there be clones that can tolerate to get dry?

Poul