Trip to Jordan Nov/Dec 2011

[DaveM]

Just returned from a very enjoyable trip to Jordan led by Oron Peri. Not a huge plant list but some very choice things to share with you. In addition to the plants we also visited the Dead Sea, Jarash, Petra and Wadi Ram in the south. Wall-to-wall sunshine during our stay, but quite cold, especially in the desert. It'll take me a few days or so to download and process the photos (things to do and all that), so forgive me if I just whet your appetites with a small offering:

Crocus moabiticus - on limestone to west of Madaba.

Many thanks Oron for leading such an excellent trip - much enjoyed being in the field with you!

[Maggi Young]

Welcome home, David.... you lucky man !
We'll be patient.... your report on the trip will be worth waiting for, I know 

[ranunculus]

Oh my, David ... I'm not really a bulb man, but that crocus is beautiful!  I await your future postings with relish.

[Kees Jan]

What a fantastic plant ! Ik look forward to see more Jordanian bulbs at some stage!

[Lesley Cox]

That will be a bit sticky won't it Cliff?

Oh my, what a magnificent thing is Crocus moabiticus.

[ranunculus]

That will be a bit sticky won't it Cliff?

You know your onions, Lesley!   

[Lesley Cox]

Actually, I don't very well, at all, only the very few I grow but when they're fried gently in a little butter and served with steak.......Mmmmmmmm!!!

[tonyg]

Looking forward to more ... and would you like to come and give another talk in Norfolk in 2012?

[DaveM]

Thanks for being patient folks, first few batches of pics coming up.

Tony, it would be a pleasure - email me please.

[DaveM]

Jordan is a relatively small country and the interesting part from a botanical and historical perspective is the Jordan "rift" and the mountainous area that borders it to the east. The eastern plateau towards Iraq and Saudi Arabia is desert. Our journey (Greentours for the AGS) took us the length of these mountains and a visit to the Dead Sea. The northern part of the country is typically Mediterranean (pic1), whilst the south is dominated by rock and sand deserts.

The latter is typified by Wadi Rum, located some 60 km east of Aqaba on the Red Sea with its mountains of Cambrian sandstone towering over the sandy bottom of the wadis. This desert is an amazing sight, particularly in good conditions with its ever changing quality of light.

[DaveM]

More pics of Wadi Rum.

Wind scuptures on the rock faces.

[DaveM]

Water is not far beneath the surface in the sand of the wadi and this supports deep rooted plants such as this Acacia tortilis subsp. raddiana, which has been neatly cropped by camels.

The second pic shows what has been named the Seven Pillars of Wisdom - some aspects of the tourism here are now headlining the "Lawrence of Arabia" theme.......  But note that at the base of the Seven Pillars is dark coloured rock beneath the main sandstone of the cliffs. The dark rock is Precambrian in age and impervious. Thus, there are springs at intervals along this contact where it is exposed in the parts of Wadi Rum near to the village of Rum and these give rise for example to scattered lines of palms, figs (Ficus pseudosycamorus) and Retama.

In fact, farther south where the Cambrian sandstone is at depth, it has been proved to be a good aquifer. The Jordanians and Saudis are now building pipelines from this aquifer to pump much needed potable water to their cities.

Citrullus colocynthis - the desert water melon, not good, very bitter to the taste. Apparently best to dry the pods and use as musical instruments!

[DaveM]

The hammada - Hammada scoparia

The desert is a hard place to live, but it is the home to the bedouin. The preferred mode of transport these days seems to be the jeep rather than these "ships of the desert".

[DaveM]

The Wadi Rum area is really the start of the sandy desert which extends south into Saudi Arabia. To the north the mountains are bare rocky desert. Her though there are relics of wetter, Mediterranean times with scattered plants and small stands of trees such as Juniperus phoenicia, Quercus coccifera and Pistacia atlantica. All of these are old specimens, there are no juvenile plants. The Pistacia here is said to be 900 years old!

This area receives very little rain each year and has been particularly sparse these past seven years. Yet here is found Crocus pallasii subsp haussknechtii.

[DaveM]

Crocus pallasii subsp. haussknechtii

No rain needed for flowering; no roots at flowering time; leaves will come when there is moisture!! Note the dried leaves from a previous year - there can be as many as 17.