Crocus Trips October, November - 2013

[Janis Ruksans]

Passed some time from my last entry. I was very busy in garden and after that together with my wife went to holidays in Turkey - real holidays with only one crocus for which I was looking and 2 more species pictured by the way. But now back to Armenia
Zhirair brought me just to border with new state - Nagorny Karabach. Now there was referendum and people voted for independence - so there are real border with border guards, custom and even visas (price 30,- Euro) which you can receive at border check-point. In this entry some not-crocus pictures of Nagorny Karabach, Monument to Armenian soldiers which died fighting for freedom of Nagorny Karabach.
After that we went to famous Tatev Monastery. There is long funicular to Monastery (they wrote that longest way between two supports over huge canyon in the world), but it was Monday and just on Mondays funicular not works. So we drive by long serpentine down in canyon and again up by opposite side. At bottom are bridge - named Devil's Bridge (partly natural, only improved) to opposite side of gorge. There are hot water springs and even bathing basins, but I didn't tried swimming.

[Janis Ruksans]

We tried to visit another spot with Crocus speciosus but it was very late and too dark for research, so we returned back to Vanadzor. Next day Zhirair brought me to his garden - in some distance from city. There I saw his Crocus speciosus cultivars in full bloom. So in this entry are two of his varieties - 'Vahagni' and 'Cloudy Sky' - both very floriferous and both comes from surroundings of "somewhere near Vahagni". At Vahagni is garden of Zhirair's colleague, who improved her garden with soil somewhere from vicinity and together with soil came some very beautiful crocus corms. I think that Zhirair must to search for their original locality. On pictures you can compare both varieties. On last picture Leonid Bondarenko's variety 'Late Love' - with smaller flowers and not so good increaser but blooming in same time.

[Janis Ruksans]

Of course - we visited garden not only to see it and its crocuses (I very wanted this) but Zhirair used this visit to plant some crocuses which we collected at Goris. Here you can see some pictures how this process is done and on last picture - place prepared for new roses which he bought at Kordess & Sohne Company in Germany (by the way - to buy them he was forced to take credit from bank). He waits for plants everyday calling post office.
Zhirair is even greater perfectionist that I'm. Each stick marks planting spot with accuracy of 1 cm. In evening we visited Zhirair's mother house where his step-father feasted us with fantastic 25 years old Armenian Cognac. By the way - by my opinion Armenian Cognac is the best in the world - according my taste far better than French. Only very few French cognac's something approximates by taste to Armenian's.

[Janis Ruksans]

To visit Armenia from Riga isn't easy. My flight back is at 6-00 in morning, so I must to be in airport at 4-00. Road to Tbilisi takes another 2 hours + some time on border between Armenia and Georgia. So in my brain suddenly came idea - to go to Georgia in following morning and to visit some Crocus speciosus locality there. I need herbarium from Tbilisi. It makes driving easier, too. Using Google it was not very difficult to get Czerepashje lake where I know Crocus speciosus locality. Weather in Georgia is much warmer and I'm afraid that no one crocus will be in bloom. Soil is dry and brick hard. But crocuses are, flowers something wilted and only very few of good shape. On picture with Zhirair you can see habitat - here Crocus speciosus is growing between low and spiny shrubs, sometimes coming out from moss, so spot must be quite wet normally, but not this season. Collecting few good specimens and after some pictures we returned back to Airport. There I'm passing all night reading some novel-book and then back to home - to prepare all collected herbariums, to plant new crocuses. Few days in home and again to Airport - now to Antalya together with my wife.

[Janis Ruksans]

Few days after returning from Armenian-Georgian trip I again packed my travel bags for new trip to Turkey. My target is Crocus speciosus subsp. elegans. Last year I got 4 corms of it through my friends from Gothenburg BG - two specimens were used for herbarium, one for DNA (which failed - best for DNA research are leaves, corms can be used, too, but sometimes not works in laboratory which helps me) and the last died - didn't came up in spring. So I needed sample for DNA and of course some corms for my collection. I gave me strong limits - only this one crocus, nothing more and offered for my wife to join me. After some doubt she agreed and so in last day of October we started our travel.
We got our hotel at 01-00 in night. Surprisingly, but they hadn't my reservation (repeated twice). In morning was another surprise - one wheel of our car had thin nail in it. Fortunately I was warned by another driver before tire became unusable and with kind help of some Turkish men tire were changed and in next petrol station repaired. Next surprise was that inner electro contact were to attach navigation was out of power. So I had no possibilities to check road. Fortunately I so many times were in Turkey, that really I needed navigation only for coordinates of single gathering. For that was sufficient with battery recharged in home. Air temperature was around +25 and there were no rain before our coming, so I was afraid that no one crocus will bloom and I started to think about another short fly to Antalya for another search if this trip will fail.
But at very first we went to ruins of Perge (picture 02) - magnificent large antique city. Comparing with last time now larger part was opened to visitors. Followed fantastic lunch with ala balik (trout) on road to Gembos Yaila near Akseki and as it still was light enough we went to Crocus speciosus locality. At first stop which looked similar to description given me by Swedish friends, I found it under first roadside shrub. It was large population and later I found that I stopped around 500 m from locality marked by Swedes.
And then third surprise - battery of my camera ended, but luckily I maid several pictures from both - plant and locality (pict. 03). On our way back to main road we maid two another stops and on both were searched crocus, but it was too dark for pictures (I changed buttery after returning to car). As I got everything - we decided to go ahead and slept at Beyshekir. I took few plants in bud for later picturing next day when flowers will open. All three populations were very uniform - flowers were small, almost without stripes on inner surface (they were pale), outside light blue without veining. Throat and flower tube both were glistening white. I didn't find anyone specimen with white anthers, so I suppose that white anthers mentioned by Turkish botanists was mistake and most likely they were sterile anthers. I specially opened some buds to check unopened anthers and they all were yellow. So I was right when in my article in AGS Bulletin put under doubt white colour of anthers. Long neck of old tunics were better expressed on specimens growing in forest and it really was very weekly attached to corm. This subspecies tend to some protection from trees and I found very few on yaila meadow and even those near trees. Many specimens grew just below huge Pinus in quite deep shade. But many specimens had small cormlets at base, so it must be good increaser in garden. I found even several seedpods with seeds still inside. Soil were extremely dry and may be poor shape of most flowers were caused by high air temperature and dryness.

[dominique]

Janis thank you very much for all this trip that we can "live" with your pics and words. I hope that all these gems will be proposed in your catalogue in.......several years !!!

[Janis Ruksans]

Now some more pictures of Crocus speciosus subsp. elegans. I more and more tend to think that it must be regarded as species. Final decision will be made after DNA research. Here you can see corm tunics of it, too.
After night in moderate ParkMotel at coast of Beishekir lake were river falls in it, we went to Pammukale - famous hot water springs and huge Roman city Hieraklion attached to it. Our trip goes through apple districts and we maid some pictures how apples are gathered before preparing of juice etc. Now I think that only juice from my orchard can be used...

[Janis Ruksans]

I was before in Pammukale but then weather was rainy and wet. Now it is beautiful, sunny evening. We got excellent hotel (Hal-Tur Hotel) and after leaving our luggage went to warm springs and geological formations. From Roman time buildings I was mostly impressed by Amphitheater - reconstructed from ruins (really from heap of stone fragments) with incredible skill. It is one of "must to visit" objects in Turkey.

[Janis Ruksans]

Dinner at hotel was excellent as well as wine (Turkish). Following day we want to visit two objects - the first is quite recently rediscovered and another "must to visit" antique city Aprodisias. There surprisingly well was conserved monuments. Earthquake destroyed city and most of bas-reliefs felt with "face-down" so early christians couldn't destroy heads and other parts. In museum we can see a lot of bas-reliefs and compare those which were "lucky" and escaped Christian fanatics, and those which were victims. The stone-cuttings are so fantastic that I decided to show there some. There are many sarcophagus, no where else I saw so many, so well conserved. And there are still huge areas which arheologists still not recovered.

[Janis Ruksans]

Next object is Ephesus. It is famous by reconstructed library of Celsius - one of three most famous libraries of antique world. One was in Alexandria, second in Pergamon and the third is Ephesus. Before seeing of Hieraklions amphitheater, I thought that Ephesus is most fantastic object in W Turkey and certainly wanted to show it to my wife Guna. We had sufficient time for antique city but we didn't went to Christian holy cave of Seven Sleepers - our protest to phanatics destroying monuments.
We wanted to sleep somewhere not far from Ephes, but I don't know any hotel there and all which we saw by road were closed - it is out of season time, so I decided to drive up to Milosh where I know at least three hotels working at this time. My favourable was open and we got nice room there. There are no restaurant in hotel, so we went to city for dinner. The restaurant used by me and colleges during my previous visits there was open, but cooking... now it was so, so... that I never will go more to it. Such a contrast with previous visits.

[Janis Ruksans]

Near Milosh is famous Labranda, not only for its ruins (eldest seen by us during this travel) going back around 3000 years but for crocuses growing in vicinity, too. The legend tells that God sent to land huge lightening which split hill in 2 parts (you can see this hill on frst picture) and at bottom spring came out. Of course we tried water of this spring. The hill is quite steep with remnants of fortifications up to top and some amazing shaped stones. Crocuses will be on next entry.

[Janis Ruksans]

Labranda vicinity is the place from where Crocus nerimaniae was described. Road after ruins is horrible, with every visit there road becomes more and more worth, almost unpassable. During my last two visits there all around in forest was "ploughed up" by wild boars. Now it looks nicely and of course Crocus nerimaniae are in full flower. I never before saw it so abbundantly, but as allways - greatest part of flowers shows heavy virus infection. Some are healthy indeed and I mostly picture just such, but they are serious minority. It is early morning, so flowers are covered with condensated fog and are not fully open.
From there is reported one of most beautiful Crocus pallasii forms, but even after long search I found no one. During my earlier trips I found 2 or 3 specimens, but t was in summer and I saw only leaves. In garden they really showed excellent flowers. May be we were in wrong time, may be wrong spot. "Vicinity"is quite large concept.
The third species growing there is spring blooming Crocus caricus - one of most beautiful from spring blooming biflorus group crocuses.

[Janis Ruksans]

I'm using some pictures from my archive, to show other crocuses growing at Labranda. One picture  labeled as "ionopharynx aff." most likely is the same caricus, it is made in Labranda in early, frosty morning and I haven't it pictured under cultivation. Most likely it didn't bloom yet with me.

[John Aipassa]

Thank you for sharing your travel experiences and the photos, Janis.

[Janis Ruksans]

After visit to Labranda followed long drive to next hotel in Kalhan just near sea border. I accidentally late night stopped at it some years ago - was very well accepted and we got fantastic meal made by hotel owner. The name of Hotel is Kelebek Hotel - it means Butterfly hotel and it is family owned hotel. Now again we where welcomed there and got really fantastic dinner, excellent wine and room was clean, perfect. During my trips to this part I almost try to stay in it.
Next one is our last day in Antalya, so we select road through Altinyaka. I wanted to visit another one locality of Crocus speciosus, but there was dirty road winding up to yaila and our car was very simple with smallest engine and too low for driving on such road, so I only made few stops and pictured Crocus lycius there. I have several stocks of it and so made only few pictures. At locus classicus of Crocus flavus sarichinarensis I pictured Colchicum sanguicolle - last flowers of it. And then to my usual Lemon Hotel for last night before flying home. We visited local market to buy some fruits for bringing home but taxi which we used had open windows. So I caught wind, after that I ordered ice-cold beer at our last dinner and as result now I'm in bed with flu and fewer... Hope to quick recovery.