Crocotrip in Turkey

[tonyg]

As always, this report of a crocus trip is exciting and brings on the "wish I were there" feeling.

I know there are some car-mad people in the world - I live with one - but why are we looking at a car picture 54 times and the crocus pics in the 20 and 30s?

Looking for dents in the car?

Crocus pics look good even in thumbnail

[I.S.]

  Janis You have explained all perfectly! I don't have much to add more! Your photos are wonderful, mines are not comparable with yours at all!
  Yes the car that we have rent was very sample but that model of clio is turkish made especialy for bad roads of Anatolian villages, It is more higher than all other rental models. Where we have passed we could never do with another car. That was the reason for choising this car.
 
 

[Janis Ruksans]

  Janis You have explained all perfectly! I don't have much to add more! Your photos are wonderful, mines are not comparable with yours at all!
  Yes the car that we have rent was very sample but that model of clio is turkish made especialy for bad roads of Anatolian villages, It is more higher than all other rental models. Where we have passed we could never do with another car. That was the reason for choising this car.
 
 

Thank you, Ibrahim. I just looked on same Renault here - it is much lower than in Turkey. But you forget to mention quality of wheels. I think that if we would accept first offered cars, we never could reach our targets.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Sorry for break in my report. Yesterday passed in hospital for checking and after some “torture” couldn’t work at all after returning in home.
So after visiting Labranda and seeing how deep frozen soil in so mild district as this one was, we turn back to main road and drive to direction of Yatagan. Using good map of Ibrahim we easy find selected road and drive in by narrow but good asphalt road to selected village. There some problems started. So many splits and you can’t judge which one turns further or only to some more isolated house. Paving was the same - small stone chips. Seeing nice and small sparsely pine forested slope we turn a little back and check this one, but nothing more than C. fleischeri there was in bloom. But at least some crocus we saw.
After some talk with local people Ibrahim got information that there is some road to hilltop - we simply must drive in direction to Kavak (Poplar) village and before that must take left road. Again it was some shock for my nerves, but in any case road was far better than yesterday to C. fauseri location. We stopped in a pair of spots but without any crocus - nor spring, nor autumn were there. I collected only a pair of Gagea sp. for my German friends making DNA research on them. Further by road forest around just recently was cut off and road was closed by tractor taking off timber. After some waiting it opened for our car narrow space for just passing between gorge and car wheels.
   For my horror Ibrahim drives up and up. Almost to snowline where road became too moody and slippery for melting snow water. Bright sun defrosted road surface and finally Ibrahim agree to turn around car. This spot you can see at first picture of this report. The place is covered by dense shrubs of dwarf oaks with spiny leaves and other shrubs but some passes guide us through to some slightly stone covered meadow - and there it is - nice white blooming biflorus crocus. As in Labranda - all around is ploughed up by wild boars, so we found crocus only at stones, but at least soil here is much less stony comparing with C. fauseri location. Checking of flowers shows that this is only the same subsp. caricus seen before at Labranda, although altitude is much higher - 980 m. No reason to walk up as very soon starts total covering by snow. So we decide to turn back, hoping that still we will have time (daylight) for another peak near Čina city.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

Few more pictures for last entry
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

I just returned from greenhouse where real crocus-fewer started. It seems that some species (adananesis, kerndorfiorum and some others) suffered from hard late frosts this winter. Flowers open at soil level and it is not good feature. Hope corms will alive.
But now I will return to our trip. Quite easy we found road into mountains from Čina city. It is good quality asphalt and soon we are at last village border where we must to turn in direction to yaila by dirty roads. And there our problems start. There are such labyrinth of junctions, turns, dead ends etc that decide which one is correct isn’t easy. Unfortunately we haven’t “Ariadne threat” guiding us by correct way. Even Ibrahim’s laptop on which Google Earth shows each smallest path didn’t help much due some mistake in data entering, which marks our present position. At several spots Ibrahim fills gaps on road with stones for we could drive further. Then we maid incorrect turn what guided our car to stream passable only by tractor. On the roadside I saw few spots where crocuses could grow, but we wanted to reach higher altitudes, so not stopped there.
 Our road ended at nice stream below cascade of small waterfalls. As we stepped out Ibrahim spotted firs crocuses - beautiful C. chrysanthus population with quite great percentage of specimens with dark brown speckled back of petals. It is the first spot during our trip where soil is not frozen so we can collect few corms without great problems. But only slightly higher where is more shaded - soil again is frozen stone hard. There are blooming snowdrops, Scilla bifolia, Gagea sp. The last comes out from splits of rocks, so I can’t reach some bulb for my German friends.
It becomes darker and we must to turn back. Finally we found our mistake and now laptop shows where we did wrong turn, but it is too late to correct. Yaila must be left for another year.
On way back Ibrahim stops at nice spot “to wash hands in stream”. I well understand that it is only reason to check the neighbour meadow - just that one which I noted when we came here. And follows his - Janis - biflorus is here. Unfortunately it again is “only” subsp. caricus. But in last sun we make some pictures as soil here is frozen hard, too.
Now we must turn to direction of Antalya. So we still will stay without biflorus yataganensis. Another subsp. which could grow in explored district is subsp. ionopharynx. For great surprise for myself, today I found that I have good stock of it in my collection under name of subsp. nubigena. I got this one several years ago under such name from Gothenburg BG.
It quickly becomes dark, but road is good and soon we are near coast at Kalkan city from which tomorrow we will go again inside Turkey to North. Surprisingly easy I spotted Kelebek Hotel located just on roadside but turned away that car noise don’t miss night sleep. I accidentally spotted this very comfortable family run hotel with fantastic meals few years ago and since that I always try to sleep there. Pictures again in two entries.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

I add here two pictures of subsp. ionopharynx from my collection. Note dark purple spot deep in throat just at base of filaments. Dissecting flower you will see that purple zone something enters on inside of tube.
Janis

[Janis Ruksans]

I know there are some car-mad people in the world - I live with one - but why are we looking at a car picture 54 times and the crocus pics in the 20 and 30s?

Lesley,
I think that I understood - why. Simply people want to see which kind of car is so brave to bring us by so horrible roads. Of course - without Ibrahim - it wouldn't be possible at all.
Janis

[ronm]

Really interesting reading as always Janis.
And superb pictures, giving a real feel of the journey. I love hearing every detail.
Does the fact that you've just discovered the ssp. ionopharynx in your collection of ssp. nubigena, mean that some people who got ssp. nubigena from you might have got ssp. ionopharynx ?

[Janis Ruksans]

Does the fact that you've just discovered the ssp. ionopharynx in your collection of ssp. nubigena, mean that some people who got ssp. nubigena from you might have got ssp. ionopharynx ?

It is difficult question. I don't think that I used this stock fur business, although it is quite large and may be, if I was short in corms, I took some from this one, too. But everyone can very easy to check this - if it is true nubigena - throat will be without those minor purple spots in flower centre. If you will find this small purple coloured zone in very bottom of flower - you are winner and got quite recently described new subsp. ionopharynx. Spots you can better see in second picture (whiter flower, although typical color is more blue as in first picture).
Janis

[ronm]

Thats very clear, thank you Janis.

[I.S.]

  Janis,
  You do not miss any detail! that is perfect.
  The last two photos that you attached as subsp. ionopharynx. For me they are typicaly nubigena!
   On subsp. ionopharynx, the black spot in throath is not visible from outside. Just when you slice the flowers then ıt can be seen a dark violet spot in throath. The color of flowers from dark blue to pale blue or almost white but never striped!
   ibrahim
     

[Janis Ruksans]

  Janis,
  You do not miss any detail! that is perfect.
  The last two photos that you attached as subsp. ionopharynx. For me they are typicaly nubigena!
   On subsp. ionopharynx, the black spot in throath is not visible from outside. Just when you slice the flowers then ıt can be seen a dark violet spot in throath. The color of flowers from dark blue to pale blue or almost white but never striped!
   ibrahim
     

Yes, Ibrahim. They are prominent when you slice the flower, but you can see them from top view, too. They are very minor and to be certain that it isn't mistake I just sliced flowers to confirm identification. I have stock of ionopharynx from Erich, quite close to this one. I will post today typical nubigana pictures on March topic.
Janis

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Fascinating stuff !!!
Thank you Janis and Ibrahim !!

[Janis Ruksans]

All our hotels were moderate prized - 30,- Euro for room with two beds inclusive breakfast. Good, clean, comfortable. Only two faults - water not so hot as we would like due absolute out of season’s time - In Kelebek Hotel we were single guests. Another fault breakfast starts only at 8 o’clock (in Kelebek - 7-30). We would prefer earlier.
It is third day of our trip. At first we go to another coastline city - Kaš from where we turn up in mountains to Tuzla Tepe from where Erich Pasche mentions some Crocus close to nubigena. We want to find it. Rocks on roadsides are too steep to walk up and our first stop is behind first village at some clearings in forest at 994 m altitude. Oh yes, there are plenty of crocuses but unfortunately only autumn bloomers - Crocus cancellatus and some of pallasii group - may be mathewii or asumaniae, collected by me few years ago something NW from this spot. There I’m collecting a pair other Gagea sp. for my German friends, blooming at bush-side of very sunny meadow. Everywhere are blooming beautiful Romulea tempskyana.
Something further road goes down but we turn to right to good asphalt road going to Asar dag - highest peak over Kaš. Few stops on road to yaila give us nothing - only same autumn blooming crocuses are growing there. We stop at middle of yaila, further road guides to military camp and radio-location station, not the best place to visit with photo camera in hands. So we go up to ridge up to its top where steep rocks start down up to sea. There are plenty of crocuses, but again the same autumn bloomers. And everywhere are spring colchicums - many times giving impression of crocus when seen from distance. Returning back to yaila we start search below large sparse conifers growing on border where yaila turns to rocks. And there it is - first spring bloomer with annulate tunics. On spot we decide that it could be biflorus - white with dotted back of petals. Although similar by flower to danfordiae, it seems too large for this name. Now I more tend to think that it was only whitish danfordiae. Will see later when few collected plants will start blooming here.
Janis