Iran 2008

[Kristl Walek]

an absolutely superb thread...

my favorite plant so far is the elegant Iris acutiloba

[tonyg]

Great selection of pics and info Arthur - thanks

[Hans A.]

Congratulations Arthur - thanks for the wonderful photos and the good information - after the dry winter there i did not expect you would find so many extraordinary plants.

[art600]

Just outside Sanjan we found this typical village.  The surrounding area was very dry, but we did find Iris meda and several other plants.

0377/8  Tulipa humilis
0379/82 Corydalis
0376      Ranunculus sp.     

[art600]

Further along the road we came to the first site that had flowers behaving as if it had been a normal season.  The Fritillaria - possibly olivieri - were growing alongside a stream that could only be reached by a scramble down a very steep slope.  The risk of a broken limb was, however, worth it.

[art600]

Further along the road, at the site of the outstanding Iris acutiloba ssp acutiloba, we found some very impressive flowering mounds.  Would certainly like these in my garden, although they would take up quite a lot of room - approx 1 metre across

[art600]

Some of the villages are located in very difficult places with donkey tracks for access.  However further along the road we found evidence of roads being built to reach these villages.

[art600]

We travelled along the Caspian Sea for a short distance, before turning inland towards Khalkhal and the Talysh mountains.

Along the sea are many paddy fields.  We also saw this 'interesting' bridge.  It looked of quite recent construction, so we could only imagine it was part of a future park   There were steps down to a filthy stream and rubbish was everywhere - the Iranians follow the Greeks and Turks in disposing of rubbish anywhere.

In the forest we managed to see some woodlanders.  I think the orchid is the white helleborine, and the yellow plant is something like Rhinosaur elephantis - would appreciate someone giving me the correct identification. 

[art600]

We reached a point on the road where in 2005 the hillside was covered in Corydalis cava, red, yellow and intermediate shades.  This year nothing.  However, there was a beautiful Paeonia and the following photos are by Janis Ruksans who, along with some others braved to risky climb to capture its beauty.  I climbed a dry waterfall - not easy- and was rewarded with photos of a rare orchid Stevensellia satyroides (I was told) - apologies for the not so sharp photos.

I have added 4 photos from 2005 (Just managed to find the card and download the photos.  I felt that you should enjoy the magnificent Corydalis cava

[ranunculus]

Amazing trip Arthur ... many thanks for posting.

[art600]

The best is yet to come.

[art600]

A little further along the road we came to some of the Yaylas.  Then a hummock covered with another of my favourite plants Pulsatilla albana.

[art600]

Then we reached a place we had hoped to find all trip - plants in profusion according to the season.  Not sure why this particular spot had so many flowers, but we were very grateful to spend a happy hour photographing them.

The Fritillaria is grandiflora or kotschyanus ssp grandiflora, and is growing through a thick carpet of Colchicum speciosus leaves and Galanthus transcaucasicus leaves.  Search as everyone did, we could not find a flower of G. transcaucasicus.  You will notice evidence of Lily beetle and I think on 0459 evidence of virus.

Enjoy - we certainly did
 

[art600]

A few more Fritillaria grandiflora

[hadacekf]

Congratulations Arthur, great selection of stunning pictures and the good information. Thanks