Syrian onco trip 2011

[BULBISSIME]

Let's start a new topic with this tour we made few days ago with Thomas.
The aim was of course to see Onco's in nature, and you will see we had some success, it was a really wonderful week....
Fisrt day in Damas, big city with Jabal Qassyoum surrouding the city, where iris damascena grows.
It was the end of the flowering period but this year was a bit later for Onco's than usual, and we were happy to find few clumps with some buds and flowers remaining... and waiting for our cameras.
Some of them were also eaten by hundreds of caterpillars 

Here are the first pictures and I hope Thomas will join me quickly  after jumping from the cliff...

[christian pfalz]

fred, fantastic, i hope i where in this area too 
pleas more pictures.....
cheers
chris

[PeterT]

Thankyou for sharing these Fred

[Hans A.]

  SUPERB!!! More please!
Seems on this trip you was just right in time!
Glad here do not exist those caterpillars.

[Miriam]

WOW
Like Hans I am waiting for more 
These caterpillars (Ocnogyna loewii) ate almost all the Irises (Iris atrofusca) in Tel-Arad this year
Usually they are fed on annual plants, but in Tel-Arad there was very little rain, so what left to eat are the Irises and other bulbs.

[arillady]

Good to see Damas as well in the first photo.
I do envy those of you who are able to visit the natural areas for the oncos.
You all live - relatively- close and flights seem to be fairly reasonably priced compared to an Australian visiting.
I am sure glad that caterpillars do not visit the arils here.
Keep the pictures coming. Good to see Thomas's happy face again. Is he having to visit the oncos to get enough articles for the next Yearbook??

[BULBISSIME]

Don't worry Pat, Thomas will have hundred of pages to write 

[Lesley Cox]

Looking forward to seeing more of this exciting trip. Your picture of Damascus doesn't show the horrors presently going on there. Were you comfortable travelling in Syria at this time?

[BULBISSIME]

Lesley, the trip was very nice and we didn't have any problem; Syrian people is so kind.
I'm still waiting for Thomas.... so some Iris swensoniana to wait for him.... different forms, and as usual colors differs depending of the light.

[PeterT]

Glad you were not hamperd by the politics there Fred.
I like the look of swensoniana, I hope I may be able to try growing it one day, is it posiable to grow or is it a more difficult species?

[arillady]

Fred there is much variation in colour in swensoniana - looks like some of the leaf ends have been munched off.

Can someone tell me if the redness in the last photo signal is just bleached out and that the signals in the others are concentrated to make their darkness? In other words the same pigmentation colours but in different concentrations??

[Hans A.]

Fantastic pictures, Fred!

[BULBISSIME]

Pat, the pink one is a variant, no more.
but all the plants are quite similar in this area.

[Thomas Huber]

Hi Fred. Another great trip and hopefully many of your marvellous photos to share with us!

[xthomasx]

Great photos, Fred! But why in hell do I look so fat  ?

I will join in tomorrow, God willing, or after the weekend. I haven't got the complete overview over my photos (I took ~800 in six days) yet.