Trip to neighbouring Mnt Ossa

[papapoly]

Above 1600 m Crocus veluchensis, occurs, together with Scilla bifolia.  They favor fertile soil in meadows and river banks in N, NE and NW facing slopes (images #1324 and #1351 at 1800 m, #1353 at 1700 m, 4th image at 1800 m, #1350 and #1364 at 1700m).  Image  #1368 is an unidentified Crocus sp.  However I don't think that it is Crocus chrysanthus because Cr chrysanthus is quite larger than the sp shown in the picture (1650 m).  At lower elevations (1300-1500 m) I have seen many years ago erly in March, Crocus chysanthus growing in masses side by side with Crocus veluchensis but apparently they do not hybridize.  I have lots of pictures but I no digital form.  Unfortunately, I have thrown the negatives away.  Crocus cvijicii is also reported (Brian's monograph of 1981) to grow here in a pale yellow form.  Another yellow Crocus grows in large numbers at the ridge (through thick tufts of grass) at 1850 m but it already had withered away.

George Papapolymerou

[papapoly]

Next, I will show you a nice Colchicum species. 
Corydalis sp (bulbosa?) and Colchicum sp also occur in great numbers.  This Colchicum sp occurs both in North and South-Southeast facing slopes and in some pots it occurs in large numbers.  It occurs in great numbers all the way to the top. Images #1339 and #1340 show this species at 1700m. I just went around the flower and shaded it with m body.  Isn’t the 2nd picture of higher quality?  Another image of this sp is the 3rd one also around 700 m.  Near the top I saw several times, apparently the same species, having narrower petals (image #1299 at 1975 m just 2-3 m from the top looking South but, shaded by large boulders.  Image # 1296 shows the view from the top of the mountain.  Mount Olympus’s view is breathtaking.  I am planning to go here in early June.  An association of three species is shown in the last two images (same picture but from a different angle, one shaded and the other in direct sunlight) taken at 1750 m. Judging from the light hairiness along the leaves seen when these images are magnified, I always saw two leaves only, could this species be Colchicum hungaricum?  Another Colchicum sp, this one flowering in the Fall, also grows here, I have seen flower it in lower altitudes, up to 1650m, the spring flowering species preferring the higher altitudes. 

More on Corydalis sp, Gagea sp and Saxifraga sp tommorow

George Papapolymerou

[ronm]

I'm really enjoying reading ( and viewing ) your account George. Very much looking forward to tomorrows installment.

[ian mcenery]

George thank you so much for sharing your trip it is so nice to see the plants in nature

[papapoly]

Hellow everyone,

Thank you for your nice comments.  Next I am showing you some more species.

Corydalis sp grows under rocks and trees and through Astr. angustifolius bushes. (Images #1372 and #1360 at 1700 m).  Can someone help me out?  Is this Corydalis bulbosa or is it a different species?  I find it everywhere I the surrounding mnts and it would be nice to know what species it is.  I would appreciate it.  I would also appreciate any species and/or genus identification.  A yellow buttercup (Ranunculus sp?) occurred everywhere (image #1309), in some places in large numbers.  A yellow sp (images #1276 at 1800 m and #1305 at 1950 m) occurred both in rock fissures and through tufts of grass.  I don’t know in what genus it belongs to.

Next, I am intrigued by this Galanthus sp I found at 1800 m, growing out in the open all by itself in direct sunlight.  I saw another plant only in leaves, 5 m away facing NE.  I had no time to search around in more sheltered spots.  Images #1274 and #1275, show this Galanthus sp from two different angles.  Is this Galanthus nivalis or is it another species?  Can anyone help?  I am intrigued because I never saw Galanthus grow in full sun.  I always have seen it grow under the heavy shade of trees at much lower elevations in the Pindus mnts.  However, I believe, that the latter was Galanthus elwesii, the former being a different species.   

George Papapolymerou

[papapoly]

This is my last entry for this trip.  I hope that you enjoyed it.  I hope I can answer questions and be able with my limited knowledge in botany to discuss things with you and learn from this.

Gagea sp grew everywhere, but not in such large numbers as I have seen it grow in nearby low-elevation mnts.  Images #1281 at 1850 m and #1333 at 1700 m with Corydalis sp show a Gagea species.  However they seem to be different.  I am not sure.  Saxifraga sp (I hope I got the correct genus name) was beginning to flower above 1900 m.  Images #1291 and #1292 facing NE at 1900 m and #1308 facing N at 1950 m are just beginning to flower the latter still having last year’s flowers.

Last, image #1346 at 1700 m shows, a yellow species of Crocus and Crocus veluchensis growing side by side but not hybridizing.  I did not find any hybrids.

Just as I was preparing to take image #1346 I noticed this beautiful spider (#1345).  Is it the black widow or is it a spider at all?

George Papapolymerou

[Melvyn Jope]

Hello George,

Really enjoyed your photos, they make me want to go straight back to Greece.....
Your Galanthus is probably Galanthus graecus which I photographed growing in full sun on Mt Vermion,  not so far away from Mt Ossa.

[ronm]

Lovely report George. Thank you.
The spider you question is a male Velvet Spider of the genus Erusus. Hard to tell what species from this photograph.
Looking forward to reading about your next trip.

[papapoly]

Thank you Melvyn for identifying Galanthus greacus.  In early June I plan to be revisiting the area.  I will look around to see if I can find any other plants.

Thank you Ronm for identifying the spider.  Although I was really close to it it didn't run to hide.

George

 

[krisderaeymaeker]

Many thanks for your pictures and your rapport George ! I enjoyed it very much and realise that I must visit this mountain sometimes !

[Lesley Cox]

Thanks again George. I love the blue and purple combination of crocus and scilla and love the viola most of all.

Do you think you could make your pictures a little smaller so that the whole picture fits on the screen without having to scroll across to see the right hand side of it? That would be great thanks.

[Maggi Young]

Lesley, as an alternative to scrolling, try clicking on the page (outside the picture) and hold down the control (Ctrl) button and at the same time roll the mouse button towards you.... the page will reduce in size.. makes the writing hard to read but you get a full glimpse of the pic.

To make a pic, or text,  bigger, hold Ctrl and roll the mouse wheel away from you.



George : 800 x 600 is a good size for forum photos in landscape format.

[Lesley Cox]

Heavens Maggi, you're testing my technical abilities there.
Actually, when I do as suggested, the whole page reduces including the picture, or that part of it which was available in the first place, but the whole pic doesn't come into view. No matter, I'll stick with what I have thanks.

[papapoly]

Maggi, Yes I will be using 800x600 resolution from now and on. Almost all of these photos were at 1024x768.

Lesley, thank you.  You certainly seem to like the Viola sp.  I had taken more at lower elevations ( about 800-900 m) but unfortunately I had done something wrong with my camera settings and lost them all.  Some cushions growing on sharp slopes by the roadside were 60-70 cm across.  This species is everywhere.  It's difficult to capture its beauty on film, especially when you see hundreds of cushions growing side by side on a rocky terrain mixed with other species.  I took some shots but they weren't satisfactory for posting.  This Viola grows on the Eastern flanks as well, also very abudantly. The same Viola, apparently, I found it growing on the Eastern slopes of Mount Olympus at 1700 m in early May several years ago.  There too it was forming large mats.  But Lesley, if you really like Violas you should be visiting mount Falakro in NE Greece, near the Bulgarian border. I have never been there but, by some, it is called the mountain of Violas.     

George

[Tony Willis]

George

yes the violas are good on Falackro and there is an easy road up to the top where there is a ski resort. The same ones occur in abundance on Voros where again there is an easy road up to the ski resort. I would say they are the same species as occur on Oros and Olympus