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Author Topic: Trip to neighbouring Mnt Ossa  (Read 3147 times)

papapoly

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Trip to neighbouring Mnt Ossa
« on: May 02, 2012, 07:57:11 PM »
Hellow,
This is the first time I am posting something so, I hope I am doing it right.  I live in Central Greece and I take several trips into neighbouring mnts.  I just got a small digital camera and I decided to share what I see and capture with my camera.  I started out in the morning on May 1st.  I did not get pictures below the 1000 m line and I am attaching (a few at a time, If I can) pictures as I am ascnding.  At around 1000 m grew this Onosma sp (#1401) and by he road side this unidentified yellow species (# 1397).  At 1400 m grew this Doronicum sp #1388, also by the roadside) while Muscari (#1386) mixed with a yellow sp resembling an allysum (#1378) grew in rocky terrain.  This yellow sp grew everywhere up to about 1600 m (see also # 1243 at 1500 m).

Oops, I just found out that each file (JPEG) is about 3 MB so, I cannot Post. 

Melvyn Jope

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Re: Trip to neighbouring Mnt Ossa
« Reply #1 on: May 02, 2012, 08:08:47 PM »
Hello papapoly, welcome to the forum, I hope you soon figure out how to resize and post your photos, we would very much like to see them.

Maggi Young

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Re: Trip to neighbouring Mnt Ossa
« Reply #2 on: May 02, 2012, 08:17:14 PM »
Hello Papapoly, welcome to the forum. I will send you a pdf that may be helpful about resizing pictures for the forum.

 a size of under 500kb and  slightly less than 800 pixels  wide by 600 pixels high for landscape formay is best.
Margaret Young in Aberdeen, North East Scotland Zone 7 -ish!

Editor: International Rock Gardener e-magazine

Neil

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Re: Trip to neighbouring Mnt Ossa
« Reply #3 on: May 02, 2012, 08:18:52 PM »
Use this online file resizing site http://www.efpage.de/eTinypic.html
Interested in Hardy Orchids then join The Hardy Orchid Society
Wanted Hardy Orchid Seed please pm me if you have some that you can spare
Sussex, England, UK Zone 9a

papapoly

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Re: Trip to neighbouring Mnt Ossa
« Reply #4 on: May 02, 2012, 09:21:20 PM »
Thank you all.  I just downloaded Tinypic, tried it on one picture and got from 3.3 MB to 167 KB.  What a difference!  The quality is OK for its size.  I am sorry for this but, I will continue on the weekend when I have more free time.  I will write about my trip and supplement it with at least 35-40 pictures.   

Again,
Thank you for helping me out

George Papapolymerou

papapoly

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Re: Trip to neighbouring Mnt Ossa
« Reply #5 on: May 02, 2012, 09:24:04 PM »
I just thought though, I shoud at least send this one picture (1800 m)

George

Maggi Young

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Re: Trip to neighbouring Mnt Ossa
« Reply #6 on: May 02, 2012, 09:37:00 PM »
Lovely George, we will look forward to seeing more when you have time
Margaret Young in Aberdeen, North East Scotland Zone 7 -ish!

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fleurbleue

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Re: Trip to neighbouring Mnt Ossa
« Reply #7 on: May 03, 2012, 08:57:55 AM »
Nice you share pictures of your flora with us, Papapoly :D Welcome !
Nicole, Sud Est France,  altitude 110 m    Zone 8

Tony Willis

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Re: Trip to neighbouring Mnt Ossa
« Reply #8 on: May 03, 2012, 08:53:08 PM »
George welcome,I look forward to your pictures.It is a wonderful mountain with lovely flowers which I have been on many times.
Chorley, Lancashire zone 8b

papapoly

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Re: Trip to neighbouring Mnt Ossa
« Reply #9 on: May 03, 2012, 10:24:06 PM »
I have been many times to mount Ossa (1978 m).  I drive up to the refuge of the Greek Climbing Club at 1602 m and then I follow various paths up to the top and back to the refuge again.  The lower slopes are botanically also very interesting but they cannot be studied in one day.  There is also a path which begins at about 850 m which leads up to the refuge in about 2-21/2 hours. 
I started in the morning of May 1st and begun botanizing along the road from about 1000 m up to 1600 m stopping at 3-4 points along the way. 
At around 1000 m grew this Onosma sp (#1401) and by the road side this unidentified yellow species (# 1397, Tussilago sp?).  At 1400 m grew this Doronicum sp #1388.  It grows all the way up to the top in N facing cliffs and at high elevations the leaves were just beginning to form.  It appears to be versatile since it grows under trees and inside bushes.  Several associations were noted but my pictures turned out to be of poor quality when I was shooting from a distance and under direct sunlight.  Images # 1378 and #1386) show a yellow species resembling an Allysum (also growing much higher) and Muscari sp. 
Other plants seen at this elevation were Ornihogalum sp (image # 1375) and the ever present, growing everywhere, like a weed, in rocks and in meadows through astragalus angustifolius bushes, a Viola sp, most likely Viola greaca (#1379).  This Viola sp, along with Crocus veluchensis, a spring flowering Colchicum sp and Corydalis sp (to be covered in a following Posting) were by far the dominating species forming extensive association above 1600 m.  Also, at this elevation (about 1400 m) other plants flowering were the unidentified species # 1390 and two Euphorbia species #1391 and#1394.  I certainly would appreciate it if anyone can identify the genus and if possible the species name of any plant image.   

More tommorow ....

George Papapolymerou

Lesley Cox

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Re: Trip to neighbouring Mnt Ossa
« Reply #10 on: May 03, 2012, 10:49:50 PM »
A warm welcome to the Forum George. It's great to have stories and pictures from Greece, from someone who actually lives there, and isn't just on holiday for a few days.

You've obviously taken to posting pictures like a duck to water, now you know how. The Viola is my favourite there, a really lovely species. Thanks for sharing your walk. :)
Lesley Cox - near Dunedin, lower east coast, South Island of New Zealand - Zone 9

Lvandelft

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Re: Trip to neighbouring Mnt Ossa
« Reply #11 on: May 03, 2012, 11:03:33 PM »
Thank you for sharing pictures of the wonderfull Greek Flora, Papapoly!
Just one question:
Are you sure picture nr. 1401 is an Onosma? It may possibly be Symphytum tuberosum??
Luit van Delft, right in the heart of the beautiful flowerbulb district, Noordwijkerhout, Holland.

Sadly Luit died on 14th October 2016 - happily we can still enjoy his posts to the Forum

tonyg

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Re: Trip to neighbouring Mnt Ossa
« Reply #12 on: May 03, 2012, 11:24:17 PM »
Welcome George.  Some nice images, plenty of sunshine too!  Looking forward to the next instalment.

PS I have some seedlings from seed you sent to the Crocus Group.  Thanks!

papapoly

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Re: Trip to neighbouring Mnt Ossa
« Reply #13 on: May 04, 2012, 04:02:41 PM »
Yes, Mr Luit van Delft, I was fooled by the flower shape (image #1401).  But the leaves certainly tell a different story.  I have seen Onosma sp and certainly they have different leaves. In June I may be having pictures of one growing near my house at 400 m o a sharp slope by the roadside leading to the foothills on Mount Olympus.  The plant in image #1401 grows through thick dried ferns (15 cm thick) and the new ones will be growing in early June.  So it gets heavy shading during the summer months.  In this very same location in early June the stems of Lilium chalcedonicum appear.  It flowers in July.  That's how it survives at these relatively low altitudes.
 
Next, I am showing again the aforementioned yellow species resembling an Allysum (#1240 at 1500-1550 m by the roadside).  Is it really an Allysum sp?  It occurs in large numbers even between rocks.  I am using a finer resolution and hopefully by blowing up the image someone may be able to recognize the genus or even the species.  This white species (#1382 & #1383) grew in the shade of bushes as well as in more open terrain between bushes at 1500m.  It is about 40 cm tall.  Also, figure # 1392 shows an association of three flowering plants (1500 m, by the roadside).  The third (center and bottom center of picture) appears to be a Salvia sp.  Finally, from the refuge I took a picture of Mount Olympus to the N-NW (#1255).  As I walked higher up the flowers became more profound.  Image #1263 shows the predominance of the Viola sp in rocky terrain growing (and therefore protected during the summer months) right through Astragalus angustifolius bushes which by far predominate in this type of terrain.  They (Astragalus angustifolius) begin flowering according to elevation from late May but, this season they may be flowering a bit later due to a heavy winter with unusually high snowfalls.  The Viola sp occurs in many shades of lilac (light to deep lilac) and also several white forms occur and in some spots I saw some yellow forms.  Also evident are the leaves of Colchicum sp, just past flowering at this altitude.  Three Ornithogalum sp growing at different altitudes seem to be different species (#1404 at 1000m in the shade of bushes and ferns which will be rising in late May, #1375 at 1400 m which, I am showing again, growing in fertile soil out in the open and # 1357 at 1700 m flowering under or near A. angustifolius bushes).  Primula veris (#1260 at 1700 m) occurred in large numbers either out in the open or under trees and tall bushes.  It is very difficult to get a good contrast with certain yellow and white flowers (especially Ranunculus sp and Ornithogalum sp) since they strongly reflect sunlight unless one uses an umbrella to diffuse the direct sunlight.  I think that one can bypass this difficulty by taking pictures either very early in the morning or very late in the afternoon when sunlight reflection is at a minimum.  Later on I will show you (in my opinion) the improvement in the contrast and clarity I obtained by shadowing plants with my own body.   

George Papapolymerou   

PS I am having a problem sending the images. So I am trying to send them in two installments

papapoly

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Re: Trip to neighbouring Mnt Ossa
« Reply #14 on: May 04, 2012, 04:04:45 PM »
Here is my 2nd installment

George Papapolymerou

 


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