The Hunt for Crocus wattiorum

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We planned our holiday in Turkey in time with the anticipated flowering of Crocus wattiorum.  This meant we were approx 2 weeks later than normal.  Whether the delay was responsible for the sometimes appalling weather I think we will never know.

We had no planned itinerary, other than to be near Goynuk at the end of the holiday.  This was fortunate as we changed our 'preferred' itinerary several times to take account of the weather.

We flew to Antalya and then drove to Alanya.  Finding a hotel was difficult out of season, but if you persist you can generally find something acceptable - i.e. with hot water.  We stayed in Mahmutlar, just outside Alanya

Next day we decided to explore an area to the east of Alanya - Saperdere Canyon.  We found Cyclamen graecum (few flowers only) some Colchicum and then Crocus cancellatus pamphylicus.  Day was interrupted by monsoon rain on several occasions and lunch was in the car.

I would like an identification for the Colchicum please.  (Possibly Colchicum decaisnei - thanks Dave M)

The Spiranthes autumnalis was a bonus.

  

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Next day we set off for Akseki via Gundogmus.  Beyond Guzelbag we spotted Cyclamen cilicium and more Crocus cancellatus pamphylicus.

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I went with three friends - Dan (He attended the Discussion Weekend), Christiane Gifford (Some of you will know her from the Cyclamen Society) and Jill White (She was responsible for my plant travels and organises our trips to Iran).

Jill was unwell when we reached Akseki and Chris stayed with her.  Dan & I went looking for food.
Dan is a vegetarian who does not eat fish or eggs!  We only knew 2 restaurants in Akseki and one was closed.  A third restaurant that appeared to be closed, opened its doors when we looked in its window.  Two old gentlemen tried to interest us in their displayed food - remember we do not speak Turkish and they do not speak English.  On display were 3 meatballs, carrots and tomatoes.  Then they showed us a bowl containing a liquid that smelt like humous, a cucumber and an onion.  We discarded the meatballs and waited to see what appeared - a small bowl of 'salad' with lots of bread and washed down with Nescafe.

We were shortly joined by a group of Dutch people who had sailed to Turkey, parked their boats in Marmaris and decided to see some countryside.  They asked for our recommendation! - we had eaten it by this time.  Fortunately one of the group spoke Turkish and they persuaded the old men to buy some eggs for omelettes - me too I said.  A young Turk appeared who could speak English and cook, beers and wine were ordered and we had a really fun evening.

Next day we went looking for Crocus assumaniae near to Ibradi.  Weather was brilliant with sunshine and a temperature exceeding 20C.  At our first stop the asumaniae were mixed with Crocus cancellatus pamphylicus, with the latter dominating.  At a second stop they were all assumaniae - I think we also managed to photograph the same Biarum pyrami that Tony Willis photographed.
We drove further to a village called Ormanak where we photographed some old houses.  In a field we found an aberrant form of assumaniae.  

The photos show:
Biarum pyrami
Why don't the ants' nests get wet when it rains - a perfect funnel for the water  
Crocus assumaniae
Old houses
12 petalled assumaniae

[Armin]

Arthur,
very interesting trip - guess you will still continue the story as you have not yet found C. wattiorum

[art600]

Armin

Yes of course - but one must eat 

[Gerdk]

Arthur,
very interesting trip - guess you will still continue the story as you have not yet found C. wattiorum

I can only confirm Armins notes - please continue!

Gerd

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The next day we had planned to travel to Beysehir, but we set off in rain that rapidly turned to snow.  Abandoning any thoughts of Beysehir, we headed for Egridir.

Just north of Yesildag, Chris spotted something blue.  It turned out to be a beautiful blue Crocus pallasii - regretably due to the snow we were unable to photograph the Crocus - fortunately we saw it again and were able to take some shots.

We were delighted to reach Egridir, book into the Hotel Egridir and luxuriate in hot radiators and hot water.

Next morning the skies were blue, the sun shone, but it was very cold.  We set off for a Milli-park that had been filled with paeonies, Frit whitallii, Irises and Ornithogalums in the Spring.  In the Autumn it was devoid of flowering plants.  We did locate some Frit seedheads of whitallii and collected some seeds.  On our way back we spotted some Sternbergia lutea.  

We decided that the weather was too cold for a picnic lunch and returned to Egridir for lunch in a favourite restaurant - the Big Apple.  We were the only customers - the lentil soup was both nutritious and warming.

After lunch we decided to go to a Ski Resort on Davas Dag.  This has expanded significantly since we were last there in 2004.

Photos show:
Sternbergia lutea
A view across Lake Egridir
The ski resort at Davas Dag

[mark smyth]

Arthur could you name your images, please

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November 4th was a special day for Jill - her birthday, and a significant one.  We had spent time the previous evening looking for a special cake - we found one and she was delighted.

The weather had turned foul and we abandoned our planned itinerary to return South to Kemer and start to look for wattiorum.  We learnt from the TV that there had been a severe storm (looked more like a Tornado) near Antalya with dramatic flooding.  We hoped that the weather would now improve.

On reaching Antalya there was a brief glimpse of blue sky before the heavens opened and the deluge continued.  Finding a hotel out of season again proved difficult and Jill and Chris were soaked by the time they found one   - I should explain that Jill does speak some Turkish, likes to inspect the rooms and ensure we have hot water.  Dan & I were happy to wait in the car.

We eventually found a hotel and celebrated Jill's birthday with an excellent meal in a local restaurant.

Surely tomorrow would be better.

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Next morning the sun shone and we started our hunt for wattiorum near Goynuk.  Following some instructions from friends we expected to find the location without difficulty - how wrong we were.  Unbeknown to us a major change had occurred to frustrate us.

We knew we had to keep to the left bank of the river leading into a Canyon.  We drove as far a we could and then walked - to find our way barred by a wire fence that stretched across the river.  We then drove along the right bank until we were confronted by a wire fence enclosing the Goynuk Canyon Park.  Our friends had not mentioned this so we decided to go elsewhere and resume the search the following day.

We went to Gedelme where we knew we would see Galanthus peshmenii and hopefully Crocus.

The peshmenii were plentiful and just as beautiful as I remembered them.  Then we saw an attractive clematis - I would really like to identify this please.  And then we found a Crocus - cancellatus lycius.  Cliff and Ian, please note Dan is continuing to spread the joys of Bob Dylan amongst the natives  

We returned to our hotel in Kemer very happy.

Photos show:-
Galanthus peshmenii
Dan looking for Crocus
Crocus cancellatus lycius
Attractive clematis - now identified as cirrhosa
Galanthus peshmenii
Very poor photograph of an unusual peshmenii - it has outer marks identical to the inner marks  

[DaveM]

Arthur - looks to have been a super trip, bringing back memories of my visit to the area a few years ago. I look forward to seeing more great photos!

I think your colchicum is probably C. decaisnei, certainly in respect of the approx equal length of the anthers and style. However, the plants of that species I saw typically had many more flowers than yours seem to have.

[Hans A.]

Arthur, thanks a lot for this great pics and the added information!
Your Clematis might be an early form of Clematis cirrhosa.

[DaveM]

Agreed, Hans. Lovely Clematis cirrhosa!!

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We decided to phone our friends to seek further info.  Dan and I went to the PTT (Post Office).  We spoke for approx 5 minutes and when we came to pay saw what we thought was a bill for TL15.00 (approx £7).  We were wrong - it was only TL1.50.  We only had TL1.40 in small change and the very helpful assistant took this and wished us a good evening.  Cannot see the British Post Office being so helpful

We had planned to go to Fethiye, but determined to find wattiorum and armed with the further information from our friends, we made our way to Goynuk and booked into a very nice hotel for the remaining 4 days.  Then we returned to the river.  

We had spotted a dirt road going up the mountain on the left bank before the wire fence - this tied in with the fresh info.  We headed to this road with high hopes.  The road, however, stopped after a very short distance.  Not to be deterred, we walked through an orchard, found a hole in a wire fence and proceeded upwards on what we assumed was the right path.  An hour later we found ourselves at the bottom of a rocky outcrop - wattiorum is a chasmophyte and loves rocky outcrops.   Chasmophye - a plant which grows in the crevices of rocks and rock faces.  We must be so close.  Wrong!!

It proved impossible to proceed further and Jill and Chris decided to return to the car.  I was next, having made a futile attempt to find a way round the rocks, and Dan was last.  We all returned to the car by different routes - it is so easy to get lost on a mountain.  At least I saw some Colchicums on the descent.  Met up with Jill & Chris and we decided to leave a note for Dan and to walk back to our hotel - frustration can make you do funny things.  We were relieved when Dan picked us up halfway back to the hotel.

Wattiorum had defeated us for another day  

Photo show:-
A view of the river leading to the Canyon from the rocky outcrop
The rocky outcrop
Colchicum baytopiorum
Unknown Colchicum

[art600]

Hans, Dave - thanks for the clematis identification