The Alpine Gardener - Special Edition - 90 Years of the Alpine Garden Society

The ALPINE THE ALPINE GARDENER

GARDENER Special Edition – 90 years of the Alpine Garden Society

| VOL.88 SPECIAL 90TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET

JANUARY 2019 1

PHOTO: MICHAEL MAUSER

Dionysia haussknechtii

This floriferous cushion was just one highlight of Michael Mauser’s 2016 plant-hunting trip to Iran; full report on page 40 2 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

90th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL (EDITED BY ROBERT ROLFE) COVER IMAGE: PARAQUILEGIA MICROPHYLLA

by HARRY JANS

Contents

Meconopsis paniculata (Echoes of Wild Places p11) PHOTO: LIZ KNOWLES

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ECHOES OF WILD PLACES Liz Knowles takes members on a tour of her alpine-packed garden in Ontario, Canada.

THE BEAUTY SLOPE Zdeněk Zvolánek shares his experiences of making a rock garden in an old quarry near Prague.

GROWING IN TUFA John Richards shares his years of experience of fabricating faux-tufa and successfully growing alpines in it.

FROM TÜBINGEN TO TEHRAN Michael Mauser discovers an exciting plethora of Dionysia in Iran.

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AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD Dieter Zschummel celebrates the notable array of Androsace that he has seen in Tibet.

TIBETAN TREASURES Harry Jans reports on the spectacular plants he found in some scarcely visited regions of Tibet.

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PHOTO: HARRY JANS

Primula zambalensis (Tibetan Treasures p66)

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VARIATION, CLASSIFICATION AND TAXONOMY Christopher Grey-Wilson shares his thoughts on these fascinating topics.

IRIS PAROPAMISENSIS Tony Hall describes a new species of juno Iris and examines its close relatives.

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AN ORCHID BACK FROM THE BRINK Phillip Cribb explains how Cypripedium calceolus was saved from the brink of extinction.

BLUE ARE THE HILLS THAT ARE FAR AWAY John Watson and Anita Flores tell the story of Tecophilaea cyanocrocus.

THE SUBTERRANEAN GARDENER Brian Mathew analyses in detail what goes on underground in the world of bulbs and corms.

FROM THE ARCHIVE An article on growing bulbs from the 1st volume of the Alpine Garden Society Bulletin.

Foreword

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his special issue of The Alpine Gardener celebrates the Society’s remarkable achievement of 90 years at the forefront of growing and studying alpine and small hardy plants from the world’s mountains and wild places. Our founders would undoubtedly be impressed to see how the Society has grown over the past nine decades, from an initial coterie of 145 enthusiasts into the active and vibrant international association of today, with thousands of members worldwide.

The AGS’s track record as a leading authority on alpine and related plants is second to none. At the heart of this are the excellence in cultivation and remarkable range of plants that can be seen at AGS Flower Shows and exhibits country-wide. From the local village hall to the Chelsea Flower Show Floral Marquee, these displays delight our members and serve to introduce a wider public to the interest and value of alpines as garden plants.

From our earliest days, members have shared their expertise and enjoyment of alpines in print. Our publications underpin the Society’s value to gardeners everywhere as an unrivalled source of expert knowledge on alpines, beginning in 1930 with our excellent journal the Bulletin of the Alpine Garden Society, now The Alpine Gardener.

Our specialist publications date back to 1933, ranging widely in subject matter from botanical monographs to practical gardening and guides to finding plants as far afield as the wilds of Patagonia. The Society’s most important contribution to the literature, the AGS Encyclopaedia of Alpines, is available to all as an open-access publication online, and forms a key element of our wider

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“The Society’s track record as a leading authority on alpines is second to none” role as an educational charity with an authoritative voice. Across the range of its publications the contribution the AGS has made to our knowledge of plants in the wild and in cultivation is remarkable.

Studying alpines in their natural habitats has always been an important aspect of our activities. From an initial foray to Snowdonia in 1933 AGS tours now range worldwide, seeking new destinations in search of interesting plants. Many members share their experiences in The Alpine Gardener, accompanied by images of plants in habitat, often of species rarely if ever featured in publications before. Talks, meetings and conferences have likewise featured strongly in our activities from the beginning, providing further opportunities to learn and exchange information at lectures held countrywide by our local groups, at weekend conferences, or at the ten-yearly International Rock Garden Conference, first held in 1936.

The Seed Exchange began in 1953 and has grown from an initial 6,000 packets of seed to a bumper crop of 80,000 last year, a unique source of rare or hardto-obtain plants. The world has rightly moved on from the plant collecting free-for-all that characterised much of the last century, but at a time when the introduction of plants from the wild 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 5

has all but ceased, our Seed Exchange, alongside members’ propagation and exchange of plants, helps to maintain many species in cultivation.

As we celebrate the many achievements of the AGS over its first 90 years, we should also acknowledge that the Society needs to continue to adapt and evolve to survive in a rapidly changing world. In common with many specialist societies we face the challenge of a declining and ageing membership, and should employ all the means available to us to reach the widest possible demographic in search of new members. With the continuing shift from physical to digital communication, our recently redesigned and revitalised website, alongside our

“The enduring strength of the Society lies in the voluntary ethos that underpins everything we do” developing social media presence, will be crucial to our efforts to reach a wider constituency. It helps that the physical and psychological benefits of plants and gardening are now appreciated as never before, and in what is often considered a time-starved world we are well placed to take advantage of the modern trends towards smaller gardens and less time to spend in them!

The Society’s horticultural excellence is well established, but to demonstrate our wider relevance, we need to focus more upon our contribution as a charity, 6 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

with education and conservation at its heart. The AGS may be a relatively small society with limited resources, but over the years we have achieved a great deal.

Our bursaries for travel and research and one-year practical studentships provide opportunities for young people to advance their careers. The Mardale project, in partnership with the RSPB, is proving a great success and demonstrates the contribution to conservation that the AGS can make, not only financially but also through the knowledge and practical skills of our members, our greatest resource.

As I write, many of our cherished activities are on hold as we navigate our way through the current crisis. A year that kicked off with the Ninetieth Anniversary Conference, with a range of other events planned, has regrettably been brought to an unexpected halt. At present we cannot be certain when our customary activities will recommence, or in what form: but all is by no means lost, and a programme of exciting new online events is being arranged. To take advantage of these, sign up for the online AGS newsletter: you can also join in the discussion on the AGS Facebook group, or follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

The enduring strength of the Society lies in the voluntary ethos that has always underpinned everything we do. Many members give freely of their time to support the AGS nationally and locally, from running groups, Flower Shows and the Seed Exchange, to contributing to our publications and website.

We may be facing a temporary hiatus, but the support of our members, the generosity of donors, and the wise stewardship of the Society by our Board and staff over many years sees us with a sound platform as we embark upon our tenth decade.

Christopher Bailes, AGS President

AGS 90TH ANNIVERSARY

How it all began...

The Alpine Gardener is the Alpine Garden Society’s quarterly publication, and has been published since the formation of the Society in 1929. It was originally called the AGS Bulletin.

Over 50 years ago, F H Fisher reminded society members how the Society was formed, with an article in the Bulletin.

Here is an edited version.

“

Of his honours I know he valued the post of President of the Alpine Garden Society above all others, and this was not surprising for it was his own child”.

So wrote a great friend of Sir William Lawrence at the end of the first four exciting years of this new Society. Sir William had two great purposes in life; his work for St Bartholomew’s Hospital and his work for horticulture. His father had been treasurer of the hospital and had the same passionate love of flowers, which Sir William was in his turn also to acquire. At ‘Bart’s’ he rose to be Senior Almoner; his work for horticulture was a labour of love. Few men have had such an unrivalled knowledge of plants, acknowledged with various honours including the Victoria Medal of Honour.

He held the Treasurership of the Royal Horticultural Society, and was also a member of its Council.

At his home, in sight of Boxhill, alpine plants were a great joy among his gardening triumphs and skills as a plantsman and cultivator. He was a regular and very successful exhibitor at the RHS Halls and yet it was remarkable that he possessed no alpine house. His plants were grown in frames and in the open ground.

In June 1929 he wrote to one of the

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ABOVE Sir William Lawrence

weekly gardening papers, suggesting the desirability of a Rock Garden Society. The letter read as follows: “The success of the Rose Society, the Rhododendron Association, the Iris Society, and their delightful shows makes me wonder whether the time has not arrived to organise a Rock Garden Society. Now that all the world gardens, 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 7

the interest taken in small hardy plants is immense, and people bring them back in great numbers after their holidays. I can envisage the show of the Rock Garden Society in the New Hall. The nave would be filled with rock gardens constructed on correct lines by the trade, whilst the aisle could be devoted to amateur exhibits – six pots or pans of Kabschia saxifrages, six pots of Aizoon saxifrages, groups, new plants, etc.

Other activities would comprise a nomenclature classification committee, advice as to collecting grounds, lectures, exchange of plants and seeds. All these matters could be dealt with in bulletins.”

In those days there were several inexpensive ‘gardening weeklies’ among them Gardening Illustrated was the forum for many experienced gardeners, where heated correspondence could be let loose, theories exposed, rudeness exchanged, and contributors give their experiences in cultivating plants. It was inevitable that Sir William’s suggestion should not pass unchallenged. He had thrown his ideas into the right arena, and the lions immediately started to roar. Mark Fenwick asked what advantage was a Rock Garden Society going to be to anyone? He had had a rock garden for a great number of years, but did not think it would have been any better or worse for the existence of a society. He could imagine a show of rock gardens being more interesting than one of say sweet peas, as the society shows of one kind of flower were really very boring, and as for a sweet peas show – the idea was positively nauseating. On the whole he thought we would be better off without any more societies.

A T Johnson, a well-known horticultural writer at the time, objected to the suggestion that member’s gardens should be thrown open for visits from other members, and this point gave rise to further correspondence. One can 8 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

appreciate Johnson’s point if one had visited his garden, which was more of a workshop and plant store for his profession than the garden, which his books led the reader to expect. Both these critics, to their credit, joined the society after it was formed later in the year and the correspondence terminated on a note which appears to have been a new angle on rock gardens as visualised at the time. “Anyone can have a rock garden. From the 3-inch pot to the Grand Canyon is only a matter of size, and I wonder no one has thought of the Society before.”

No time was wasted in calling a preliminary meeting in October 1929 at the Royal Horticultural Hall, at which Sir William took the chair and outlined the objects of the proposed Society. These were to give advice on the making of rock gardens and growing of alpines: to arrange for discussions on growing difficult plants: to exchange plants among members: to arrange for lectures on alpines, and to publish an annual bulletin. One of those present, Capt. B H Symons-Jeune, emphasised the need for two distinct sections of any new society; those who grow alpines for the love of the plants, and those who appreciate rocks for their beauty in a grass setting.

A provisional committee was elected and a date in November arranged for the inaugural meeting of a Rock Garden Society.

In between these dates excellent propaganda was launched by Gardening Illustrated, which published a number devoted to alpines with an article by Sir William on the proposed Rock Garden Society. This has often been quoted, and has featured as a hand-out to advertise the Society, but no apology is made for reproducing it once again: “St Bernard, so he tells us was lost in the Alps; for many a day and many a night he struggled through glaciers, crevasses,

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PHOTO: HARRY JANS

snow-fields, and he called out to God to help him; and no help came; so he was about to renounce his God, when round the corner, where the snow had melted, he found a blue gentian and knew that God existed. St Bernard is surely the patron saint of the rock garden. When in the fourth week of December, Crocus hyemalis pushes up its flowers into a cold world I feel a special thrill, for does it not grow in the Campo di Pastori at Bethlehem? Nowadays the memory of a wonderful holiday on Mont Cenis, in the Tyrol, or at Gavarnie is kept verdant by some saxifrage or Ranunculus brought home in the moist recess of a spongebag! I remember meeting a honeymoon couple in Skye. They brought back droseras and pinguiculas, which they grew for several years with great success in a window-box at Bickenhall Mansions opposite Baker Street Station. So you see an alpine plant is just potted romance. Most alpines have charming natures; the gardener is their friend, and their glistening eyes seem to say: “Do keep us alive!” The wise gardener knows their little ways; he knows the free-flowering form of Potentilla nitida; how to feed an ailing astragalus with nodules from Lucerne; he recognises the Kruschen feeling in the plant that hates lime. He knows that Celmisia and Clematis must be sown with the pappus erect; that while some seeds only germinate on the surface, others require to be frozen and to thaw out in the soil.

In a Rock Garden Society all this garden lore will become common knowledge.

Everyone can grow alpines, and nothing in the vegetable kingdom gives more exquisite pleasure. We all want to have the best varieties, and to have our cushions full of pins: to grow Primula allionii upside down and Jankaea heldreichii vertically; to know which is the root and which is the growth side of a Cyclamen tuber – many is the tuber I have planted on its head – to distinguish

ABOVE Gentiana olivieri

between sun and shade-lovers, and to avoid ninety-nine out of every hundred composites. So we want you all to join the Society, whether your garden is limited to a sink or wanders ‘through caverns measureless to man’.”

THE FIRST SOCIETY MEETING On December 10 1929 the first General Meeting of the Society was held, when the proposals formulated by the provisional Committee in November were adopted. The Society was to consist of a President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, an Editor and a General Committee consisting of not less than twelve Members of the Society. The broad outline of its objects was to hold Shows and issue Bulletins in which the problem of the cultivation of alpines and the construction of rock gardens and their planting would be dealt with. The 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 9

“An alpine plant is just potted romance” Sir William Lawrence Society would give information to Members desirous of going abroad to see plants in their native habitats. An Annual Dinner would be held in connection with the General Meeting and the subscription would be half a guinea annually. The object of the Society would be the encouragement of the cultivation of alpine plants.

The almost fanatical pleas at the preliminary meeting for a branch of the Society dedicated to rocks as against plants had shaken the Chairman. A landscape gardener, who had already written articles on the placing and construction of rock formations in grass settings, and was known to have a book on the subject (entitled Natural Rock Gardening) approaching publication, and who even stood up at the meeting to proclaim that the rock gardens at Chelsea Show should not exceed thirty tons of stone, might well be a professional with an axe to grind! He could seriously damage the Society at its inception; hence the carefully worded description of the Society’s objects framed by Sir William – “the encouragement of the cultivation of alpine plants”.

He argued that the new Society had little to do with rocks it was alpine plants that were important and so, to defeat Symons-Jeune, he suggested that it be called The Alpine Garden Society. The name has bedevilled the Society ever since. It was hoped that eventually the term ‘rock garden’ would fall into disuse 10 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

and be superseded by ‘alpine garden’ in gardening language, although it was pointed out at the time that many of the plants grown in the rock garden are not alpines – nor in fact are many of those that appear on the Society’s show benches. It would have been better to have retained the original intention of calling the Society ‘rock garden/. Alpine garden has not become universal in usage; gardeners with a newly-acquired interest in rock garden plants are often diffident about joining a Society that might be too highbrow, but in any case whose name might be considered ambiguous. Efforts have been made through the years to overcome the disability of a name and build a representative membership. Meanwhile the Society was now successfully launched, full of confidence and with a membership of 145, and £50 in the bank!

The Society was formed on December 10 1929

ECHOES OF WILD PLACES

George and Liz Knowles have written extensively about their visits to mountainous regions both north and south of the equator. Back home, in Ontario they have managed to establish a large collection of alpine plants.

PHOTOS: GEORGE AND LIZ KNOWLES

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GARDENS

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his southern Ontario garden, latitude 44 N, is situated close to the Niagara Escarpment, a steep limestone incline that runs 700km in Ontario from Niagara Falls to the tip of the Bruce Peninsula.

The escarpment has the oldest forest ecosystem in eastern North America.

The climate is continental and the temperature can range anywhere from -33C to +33C. The Nottawasaga river forms the southern boundary of our five-hectare property, its gravel bed providing spawning grounds for trout in spring and salmon in the autumn. In May the ephemeral wildflowers start to emerge nearby on the wooded hillsides of beech and maple. Claytonia caroliniana, Erythronium americanum, Asarum canadense and Sanguinaria canadensis appear first, followed by Hepatica americana and H. acutiloba, Dicentra cucullaria, D. canadensis and Arisaema triphyllum. Trillium erectum and T. grandiflorum are followed by Tiarella cordifolia, Aquilegia canadensis and Uvularia grandiflora. There is a large patch of Clintonia borealis and morels appear in the wood duff.

Just under a hectare in size, the garden has evolved over 44 years.

Large perennial beds were created first, followed by a sand bed and two 6 x 6m ornamental pools, rock and woodland gardens, along with a grass garden. Recently two 1 x 2m troughs, crevice and tufa beds have been added.

As the garden sits in a bowl surrounded by woodland, white-tailed deer are a constant menace and are kept out by an electric fence. Apart from naturallyoccurring clay deposits by the ponds, the rest of the garden sits on sand and gravel. A diagonal slope runs north-east to south-west, providing an ideal site for the 6 x 20m rock garden. Ironically the rocks here are almost all granite erratics left by retreating glaciers; limestone boulders are scattered on the

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nearby escarpment. One year we traded limestone rocks for wine with neighbours and with the help of a local stonemason brought in several trailer loads.

Once we started travelling to distant mountains 25 years ago, I became intrigued to discover which alpines would grow in our zone 4 garden. Most hardy bulbous plants do well unless foraged by chipmunks or red squirrels – Crocus and Tulipa species are especially tasty. Once I discovered over a hundred crocus bulbs in the workshop vacuum cleaner in the garage, stored there by an enterprising chipmunk. Spring generally starts early in April as the snow retreats. Several Galanthus species now form drifts at the edge of the woods, while Eranthis hyemalis, species Crocus, Muscari, Scilla and Anemone blanda are abundant in the perennial beds. Thousands of Iris ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ fill one section of the grass garden, all originating from 25 bulbs purchased many years ago.

They are split and moved every couple of years and with judicious placement manage to bloom for over a month. Iris ‘Harmony’ and I. ‘Purple Gem’ occupy other sections. Iris danfordiae is considerably more challenging. Tulipa sprengeri is the last of the species tulips to bloom, rodents having not yet discovered its deep-lying bulbs. It sets copious amounts of seed.

Lysichiton camtschatcensis appears every year by the ponds but has never set viable seed, unlike its counterparts in Japan which grow vigorously in upland bogs. Helleborus thibetanus on the other hand does seed around and seems immune to the fickle spring weather. One year its pink blooms emerged unscathed through a thick crust of ice. We were fortunate to find it in Sichuan, far from its hitherto recognised range. H. niger is surrounded by red and purple

ABOVE Iris 'Katharine Hodgkin'

Corydalis hybrids on the east bank.

Many years ago, the C. solida selections ‘George Baker’ and ‘Beth Evans’ were planted close to C. paczoskii and have hybridized through benign neglect.

There are large clumps of Helleborus x hybridus throughout the garden, their progeny also spreading through the woods. Corydalis malkensis, yellow C. nobilis, C. ‘Wildside Blue’ and C. elata come progressively later in the season.

Fragrant white Abeliophyllum distichum blooms early in April, two months ahead of the much less often seen A. mosanensis, also from Korea, which produces masses of fragrant, pink tubular flowers on loose, arching stems.

There are several Prunus incisa ‘Kojono-mai’ hereabouts. Not only does this white flowering cherry add colour to WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

the spring garden; its leaves add mahogany tints in the autumn.

Some of the Porophyllum saxifrages do best on tufa, others in sand and grit, and surprisingly some even tolerate full sun. Newly received saxifrages are generally propagated straightaway and the rooted cuttings trialled in different areas. Silver saxifrages seed around prodigiously in screenings (the sand/ gravel mix that we purchase by the truckload for driveway repairs), as do pulsatillas.

In a very different habitat, Hepatica nobilis is spreading through our west wood, on and around a mossy limestone rock where it competes for space with Sanicula (Hacquetia) epipactis. Blue Anemone blanda emerges under an ancient Malus x 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 13

ABOVE Helleborus niger

scheideckeri ‘Red Jade’. Erythronium americanum and E. dens-canis are the first of the trout lilies to bloom, followed

by E. japonicum. Sadly, though the last reappears each year, it never bulks up or sets seed, unlike the vigorous clones E. ‘Pagoda’ and E. californicum ‘White Beauty’.

A highlight of a recent trip to Japan was a drift of Glaucidium palmatum growing in woodland on Mt Iwate; it seeds around here among several species of Trillium. Emerging stalks of Fritillaria imperialis take me back to 14 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

Iran, where thousands of crown imperials grew in claggy mud at Chelgerd. What a contrast with the free-draining loam here! As the chequered and white forms of Fritillaria meleagris come in to bloom I look for lily beetles, which first appeared here in 2007. It’s also not unusual to see them in the wild, on martagon lilies in Switzerland or on fritillarias as far afield as Central Asia.

Many daphnes flower with us in May and June though some are short-lived.

White and pink forms of Daphne

A SOUTHERN ONTARIO GARDEN

mezereum seed about profusely. A compact and very floriferous Daphne cneorum flourished for many years, in its prime sprawling 2m down a bank.

Sadly, half of it died during a cold spell one April, caught out after the plant had broken dormancy. Magnolia ‘Elizabeth’ and Quercus robur suffered the same fate. Several of the smaller daphnes are happy in raised troughs, notably D. velenovskyi ‘Balkan Rose’, D. x hendersonii ‘Kath Dryden’ and D. x susannae ‘Tichborne’. D. x susannae ‘Lawrence Crocker’ and D. x napolitana ’Bramdean’ bloom intermittently WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

throughout the summer. All benefit from irrigation in summer and the protective cover of spruce boughs in winter. D. jasminea performed reliably for a number of years in a limestone crevice, but rather surprisingly D. ‘Eternal Fragrance’ has proved more of a challenge. I’m hoping a replacement will do better in a more sheltered location, shielded from the late winter sun.

Draba polytricha, D. rigida and D. bryoides inhabit raised beds but white D. magellanica and D. nivalis proved too vigorous for a small space. Draba mollissima is unsuited to our outdoor conditions and lives year-round in the greenhouse, together with a farinose form of Dionysia tapetodes and D. ‘Annielle’. These provide much-needed colour in February, together with pots of seed-grown Narcissus, Cyclamen coum and several very early-flowering hellebores.

A gardening mentor once told me: ‘You have to kill a lot of plants in order to become a good gardener’. I can certainly attest to that, the genus Androsace a case in point. Androsace tapete, A. helvetica and A. bisulca var. aurata have all been consigned to the compost pile, but there are successes too. A. bulleyana spends the winter indoors, A. globifera, A. muscoidea and A. robusta var. breviscapa (Ed. The validity of this combination is not certain) perhaps unexpectedly do well on tufa. A. jacquemontii and A. sarmentosa subsp. primuloides spread gently in the rock garden.

Two Spanish sandworts, Arenaria tetraquetra subsp. granatensis and A. alfacarensis, thrive in sharp sand along with a North American taxon that came here as “ex Wallowa Mountains”.

Gentiana acaulis benefits from frequent division and one year there were over 100 blooms on a single plant. If only G. verna was as easy to please!

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GARDENS

ABOVE Glaucidium palmatum

Autumn-flowering G. paradoxa, G. septemfida and G. asclepiadea are reliably perennial, but a couple of G. sino-ornata sorts have failed, even though planted in peat and wellwatered. In similar conditions, Haberlea rhodopensis and Ramonda myconi flower profusely in June. Arisaema thunbergii subsp. urashima is the first of the genus to bloom here and one of the most reliable. A. fargesii, A. consanguineum and A. candidissimum appear later, in summer. A. elephas was an impressive sight in Yunnan but failed to thrive here. Unlike A. flavum – I should have been warned after seeing a 16 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

field full of this diminutive aroid in India that it would be a thug in the garden. Unlike Jeffersonia dubia, whose pale mauve flowers complement the white of Sanguinaria canadensis f. multiplex ‘Plena’, the double Bloodroot. Our native counterpart, Jeffersonia diphylla, is one of the most ephemeral of spring wildflowers, seeding around in the company of Trillium erectum. But another native, T. grandiflorum, has been much slower to get established and a double form, purchased years ago, is still the same size as the day it arrived.

A SOUTHERN ONTARIO GARDEN

ABOVE Ramonda myconi

Magnolia stellata starts flowering in late April (a month or more later than in English gardens), followed in rapid succession by M. x loebneri ‘Merrill’ and M. x loebneri ‘Leonard Messel’, M. ‘Elizabeth’, M. x soulangeana ‘Alexandrina’ and M. kobus. The latter took 13 years to bloom from seed but is now a 6 x 6m tree. We saw its counterparts in Honshu last June, where a natural allée lined a precipitous trail on Mt Asakusa. The south-eastern US native M. tripetala blooms in midJune, its 25cm wide, creamy-white and (rather malodorous) flowers opening sporadically, followed in October by WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

attractive 10cm, cone-shaped pink fruits. Cercis canadensis is planted in a protected spot: we admired its European counterpart C. siliquastrum and saw C. griffithii in Tajikistan. The Cornelian cherry, Cornus mas, produces abundant yellow flowers in May and fleshy red berries by midsummer. On an AGS trip to Turkey some years ago, leader Adil Güner provided a lunchtime treat of yogurt topped with dollops of Cornelian cherry jam.

Seedlings of Cornus alternifolia, our native dogwood, pop-up all-over garden. I wish I could say the same 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 17

GARDENS

ABOVE Jeffersonia dubia BELOW Callianthemum

anemonoides

for C. kousa, which has succumbed to our harsh winters several times. Nothing though could improve upon a grove of the latter as seen growing wild in

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Honshu. Primulas can be a challenge in this predominantly sunny garden. After seeing Primula rosea growing in running water in Himachal Pradesh, I moved seedlings to wet seeps above the ponds and they haven’t looked back, despite facing stiff competition from P. japonica, P. bulleyana and P. luteola. Among others in the genus, P. auricula, P. farinosa, P. heucherifolia and P. polyneura are established in different parts of the rock garden. Primula kisoana was a brief resident, its fellow Japanese endemic P. jesoana once encountered in the wild beside a glacier.

Dicentra peregrina, seen on Mt Iwate, is another Japanese native that I would like to grow, but the closest I have come is D. ‘Burning Hearts’, a cross between that species and D. eximia.

Although I don’t have other Japanese endemics Callianthemum miyabeanum or C. insigne var. hondoense, seedgrown C. anemonoides has proved easier – and nicer – than C. coriandrifolium. Also from eastern Asia, I was inspired to grow Polygonatum hookeri after seeing it in Nepal and China. Incarvillea mairei is widespread in

A SOUTHERN ONTARIO GARDEN

ABOVE Edraianthus graminifolius and a Phlox subulata cultivar

Yunnan and there are now several species of Incarvillea in the garden, though they are not necessarily long lived. Fresh seed germinates well. I. delavayi put on a magnificent display before it died, loose and rangy in the garden, I. compacta in contrast lives up to its epithet on Yunnan’s Baima Shan.

Likewise, seed-grown Campanula choruhensis will probably never look as exquisite as those representatives seen on a cliff face in north-eastern Turkey.

Happily, Campanula chamissonis, C. WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

raineri and C. cochlearifolia stay compact if planted in screenings.

Edraianthus species are relatively easy from seed but often die after their first flowering. Once I foolishly moved an established Edraianthus pumilio but when I saw its taproot, wasn’t surprised that it died.

Anemone nemorosa ‘Vestal’ and several Phlox subulata cultivars are slowly being enveloped by a huge mat of Eriogonum umbellatum. Among pleasant surprises, a seedling of 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 19

GARDENS

ABOVE Meconopsis paniculata RIGHT Astragalus angustifolius

Physoplexis comosa appeared from a crack in one of the limestone rocks, a couple of years after its parent’s demise. It flowered some years later, shortly before we left on a trip to the Dolomites where to my great surprise, we did not see it in bloom. Other happenstances: garden visitors often remark on the unusual pink biennial Sedum pilosum and are generally stumped concerning the identity of Rosularia sedoides.

Winter brings different challenges every year, especially when temperatures plunge and there is no snow cover. South African delospermas do not take well to these conditions, Delosperma nubigena the sole survivor among five different cultivars one year.

Staying in the southern hemisphere, I 20 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

once grew Tecophilaea cyanocrocus in the rock garden after a local nurseryman asked me to trial some bulbs. He was convinced they would be hardy and they were for a couple of years until the ground froze hard, whereupon they perished.

Other setbacks: large clumps of Astragalus angustifolius and Acantholimon armenum were decimated by rabbits and mice one winter. After seeing thousands of Iris bucharica in Tajikistan’s Karatag valley, I decided to divide a large clump in the garden, little thinking it would take several years for the plants to recover. Several other juno irises do well in an area that does not get any extra water, including I. magnifica, I. x ‘Warlsind’, I. x ‘Sindpers’ and I. graeberiana. Iris milesii (Section Lophiris) grows on steep slopes in north-western India and I am amazed that a white form, grown from AGS seed, has come through several harsh winters, blooming freely in June. On the same trip Sinopodophyllum hexandrum grew in full sun at 3,000m on the way to the Rupin La, but in Ontario does best in filtered shade.

Many peonies have been grown from seed too, including Paeonia rockii, P. ostii, P. wittmanniana and P. obovata var. alba. Twenty five years ago, P. mlokosewitschii was rare in Canada, my first attempt to grow it ending in failure when our dog dug up the plant, looking for the bone meal underneath. I had much better luck growing it from seed, its progeny having now colonized the east bank, forming an attractive combination in mid-May with pale blue Camassia leichtlinii.

Panicles of fragrant white-flowered Cladrastris kentukea attract both bees

A SOUTHERN ONTARIO GARDEN and butterflies: there have been as many as 30 eastern swallowtails on the tree at one time. Chionanthus virginicus, the white fringe tree, is another southern US native that does well here.

June is also orchid time. Cypripedium parviflorum grows wild in the woods though we have to keep our distance as the clumps are surrounded by poison ivy. C. reginae also grows in several locations close by, as well as in the rock garden.

Having seen various Meconopsis in India, Nepal, Bhutan and China I would like to grow more species but it is becoming increasingly difficult due to climate change. M. betonicifolia and M. ‘Lingholm’ are reasonably perennial, while monocarpic M. paniculata produced a magnificent spike of yellow blooms one year. Cliff-dwelling Lilium regale does well in fertile loam here. L. nepalense can be found intermittently beside the trail leading to Thorung La in Nepal but it has proved tricky in the garden. The hybrid ‘Kushi Maya’ (= L. nepalense x orientalis) does much better, spreading slowly by means of its stolons. L. lankongense and L. taliense

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also spread gently around.

Ontario native Lobelia cardinalis grows vigorously in wet areas and is a magnet for hummingbirds. Around the same time, monarch butterflies congregate in large numbers on Liatris ligulistylis and Vernonia noveboracensis.

Late in September, Colchicum autumnale illuminates several beds, followed by C. speciosum. Cyclamen purpurascens does much better in this climate than C. hederifolium, some years starting to bloom in July and carrying on until the first hard frost.

Zephyranthes candida, the rain lily, is aptly named as it flowers in a pot positioned under a down spout. When frost is forecast, the container is moved into the greenhouse along with two Nerine bowdenii cultivars, these continuing to bloom indoors well into November. As we continue to travel to wild places, I am inspired to grow ever more plants seen in their native habitats, from Narcissus cantabricus on a wooded hillside in Morocco to Paris japonica flourishing beside a glacier in the Japan. Temptation comes from many sources.

90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 21

The beauty slope Zdeněk Zvolánek has constructed scores of rock gardens, some on a monumental scale. His abiding focus, however, has been on his own, near Prague, which has the spectacular setting of an old quarry.

T

PHOTOS: ZDENEK ZVOLANEK

he best story tellers are selective liars; they serve you the juicy pickings of their experiences and the result is half a fairy tale. I do not have this talent to craft a version of the whole truth, so my story will be dry as a steppe and as bare of artifice as Jasminum nudiflorum, opening its first flowers as I write this in January.

18 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

Some background: I was born in 1941 in Prague and I caught tuberculosis from my grandfather at the age of three.

A clever doctor recommended my mother to expose me to the healing effects of the pine forest, away from the polluted atmosphere of our town. So, this clever, multi-skilled woman (the 1939 double kayak world champion) bought a small old cottage in the hamlet

THE BEAUTY SLOPE of Karlík in the warm, dry area of the country that is the Czech Karst. Monks grew wine on the southern slopes here and our slope (formerly a monk´s property, facing south) has the old local name the Beauty Slope. The larger part of the ridge is covered with introduced Pinus nigra forest overlying very steep, clayey slate steppe. It is also, incidentally, a state nature reserve that is home to a rare green lizard and a beetle with big mandibles; for the past seven years this wider area too has been referred to as the Beauty Slope.

Our part of the slope has a natural cliff comprising the volcanic rock dolerite (diabase). The cliff is actually the face of a medieval quarry 220m above sea level. The dolerite protrudes through alkaline slate, making it impossible to grow acid-loving plants anywhere on the underlying ridge. The local water is so lime-charged that I killed many fine plants before realising this, when we were first connected to the municipal water supply in 1997.

The massive rock is an extravagant, somewhat romantic feature, which inspired me to create a rock garden in 1968. I joined the brand-new Prague Rock Gardeners Club in 1971 and tried to grow different small plants and alpines in a place with no artificial source of water, some 30km from our flat in Prague. This weekend rock gardening brought stresses both to the plants and the young gardener. Viola cornuta survived only a year. At first I was a naïve killer, attempting to grow small ornamental plants in steppe conditions without proper irrigation.

When you consider the original flora of this slope – Stipa pennata, Festuca ovina, Potentilla arenaria, Sedum acre, Cornus mas and Thymus serpyllum you must consider this association of dry-loving plants a steppe. It is the warmest place in Bohemia (Czechia) with summer temperatures reaching WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

38C+ and an annual rainfall of about 40cm.

The temptation to grow Kabschia saxifrages (so popular in our club) prompted me to build one east-facing corner using local tufa, in theory kept moist with rain water collected from our roof. But it occupied too much of the time of a young man with a love of beer, wine, playing music and dancing.

I soon discovered a liking for visiting alpines in the Balkans, especially Romania and Bulgaria. This provided me with the best education for placing stones in a natural, geologically authentic manner and also achieving a balanced harmony between plants and rocks. This love has endured for 50 years and is far from exhausted. I have visited only two continents (Europe and North America), plus Turkey, where I travelled eleven times, always very happily. As a semi-professional seed collector, money from selling seed covered my travel expenses. Of course, many unsold seeds ended in the volcanic soil of the Beauty Slope. My travels left delicate plants without water or supervision, and numerous of them didn’t survive. Around this time, for ten years I ran a tiny nursery for tiny plants in Prague called ZETetZET (my business partner’s name was Zeman), where I gained a better knowledge of new and suitable plants plus the skills to propagate them.

Exchanging seed with keen rock gardeners and bringing back plants from British growers was very important when it came to enriching my own and many other Czech rock gardens. Among the best of my imports were small Phlox hybrids such as P. douglasii 'J. A. Hibberson' and 'Iceberg' which I exchanged for Balkan seeds with the great nurseryman Jack Drake, based at Inshriach, near Aviemore. This was 40 years ago, when I had them all planted on the Beauty Slope, where 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 19

GARDENS they produced viable seed. But after serial neglect, they went to their American heaven. Later I discovered that subgenus Microphlox members such as Phlox kelseyi survive here only in sheltered places, where they are shaded during our many tropical days and given rain water. The problem is that many of the attractive plants from American steppe climate occur above 1,500m, where they are regularly refreshed by very cool nights and regular moisture (both underground and from above). Whereas we regularly experience very warm summer nights on the Beauty Slope and no dew, which means that even steppe plants are often dehydrated and deprived of any night-time respite.

To bring some drama to this generally happy story I must mention my neglect of this rock garden. My wife bought a property 90km from Prague in 1980 and I had to go there most weekends. I built a small brick house there and started growing vegetables and fruits, including potatoes from Thompson & Morgan, French climbing beans and asparagus. It was fine for an ovo-lactovegetarian and young student of Jnana Yoga (the path of self-realisation) but only the basic skeleton of the rock garden survived over those seven or so years. I must mention those shrubs and others that have endured and are now mature, delighting me every season and forming the backbone of the plantings.

The German climber Rosa ´Dortmund´ (single-flowered, red) covers a dead crab apple; Kolkwitzia amabilis (which without exaggeration can be seen in bloom a mile away in June; red Chaenomeles x superba 'Vesuvius' and C. speciosa 'Kermesina Semiplena', a great umbrella of Ulmus x hollandica ´Jacqueline Hillier´, a huge prickly polster of Echinospartum horridum (Genista horrida) and of course the grassy masses of Festuca ovina.

20 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

My first wife Jarmila died at the age of just 49 in 1992 and my mother contracted Alzheimer’s disease. I had to give up my civil engineering work and asked Welsh-Canadian rock gardener Joyce Carruthers for help. She liked me and agreed to share with me the Beauty Slope and her lovely garden in Victoria BC, to my great good fortune. She repaired our old cottage in Karlík and when my mother died it was time to reconstruct the old rock garden there and travel with Joyce to Turkey, the Balkans, the Alps and the high steppes of NW USA. This time we were more careful when planting the Beauty Slope, selecting only xeric plants and dryloving saxatile species that were able to survive our absences.

We were also commissioned to construct many small crevice rock gardens in Canada using local flat tufa stones, and in between we lectured abroad and visited important rock gardens in Great Britain. The last projects we worked on and partly planted were a crevice garden in the Botanical Garden of Montreal and a 150-ton crevice garden at Bangsbo Botanical Garden in Frederikshaven at the northern tip of Denmark, close to Gothenburg. Here the latitude is ideal for growing a really wide range of alpines, if they are planted in deep crevices above deep sand beds. Joyce Carruthers was a keen gardener who came into my life and brought strong enlightenment. Tragically, she died in a road accident in 2010, when I was away searching for rare plants in Montenegro. Her ashes are spread among her beloved specimens of Fritillaria eduardii, immediately below the mighty cliff of the Beauty Slope.

Five years later, karmic luck sent me another keen gardener as a partner.

Zdena is from the Moravian mountains (we form a unity I refer to as ZZZ). Now the Beauty Slope again has better care

THE BEAUTY SLOPE

ABOVE Cyclamen mirabile

and my plan is continuously to improve this large area, enabling it to survive long after I have gone and fertilised a promising population of Cyclamen mirabile with my own ash.

A rock garden is surely a kind of theatre where talented actors (the alpines and others) enter and tell their stories. Sometimes it is their nature to flourish briefly and soon depart, following my applause. I never tire of these performances and try to bring some input of my own.

This article is supposed to add something to the general knowledge of WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

members of our cherished Alpine Garden Society. As such, I have written down my experiences with different genera and species in a challenging environment, so hot that on a bright summer day, you cannot place your hand on the surface of the dolerite boulders or the cliff without burning it.

Sometimes it is wise not to water and just shade the plants during these spells of tropical summer heat. While I do not water the Beauty Slope, Zdena has a gentle heart and administers rain water from a small can to her favourites. The results are apparent in their better 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 21

GARDENS blooming and vigour. Also, using friendly bacteria and humates (we dust the roots with a Czech preparation of eight symbiotic fungi with the trade name Symbivit) when planting new seedlings has a visible beneficial effect.

DAPHNE This genus has provided surely the most popular of rock garden plants in the Czech Republic over the past 15 years. New species and hybrids have been introduced in quantity from gardens in other countries and from the mountains. An exciting newcomer is Daphne malyana, a lovely saxatile shrub brought from Montenegro; it also occurs in Bosnia and Serbia, inhabiting ravines and gorges at 550-900m.

Growth is very slow but seed is set in cultivation and is the best means of propagation. That classic dwarf, D. petraea, was planted on the Beauty Slope and two of its buns bloom every spring. They are on their own roots (grafted plants from the UK are often not hardy here in the continent because of the vulnerable cambium, particularly

when D. longilobata is chosen).

Many Daphne hybrids are too large for the smaller rock garden; I use them as substitutes for evergreen rhododendrons which I cannot grow in my alkaline soil. The Swedish cultivar Daphne x susannae 'Tage Lundell' is the smallest and slowest of its type. Daphne x jurasekii (a hybrid between D. circassica and D. glomerata) from the Western Caucasus is quite happy with us, but the flowers are small. Another Russian species, D. juliae, makes a great show for a week or so. D. x hendersonii (petraea x cneorum) is just perfect in size for sheltered crevices. I particularly love Robin White’s masterpiece D. x h.

'Marion White', a virginal white exception to the otherwise always pink clones.

Daphne arbuscula is well adapted to drier gardens and has no competition in the Hot Crevices class. Regrettably the white Queen among its named clones, 'Czech Crystal', suffers nowadays from some kind of fungal disease. Another of my failures has been the loss here of D. cneorum var.

ABOVE Daphne cneorum var. pygmaea 'Czech Song'

22 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

THE BEAUTY SLOPE pygmaea 'Czech Song', which clearly missed the sandy neutral soil and woodland conditions found in southern France near Mt. Cheiron (Provence), where I selected this sweet rose-coloured, matforming small shrub. A tricky eastern relative, the Bulgarian D. velenovskyi, has charming miniature leaves and branches that hug the top and sides of a granite trough situated near the eastern corner of the house.

The terrace thereabouts has both troughs and a raised tufa bed that receive rain water from our water barrels. Here I keep my rare plants, including small daphnes such as the Chinese, bright yellow Daphne modesta and the brand-new D. rosmarinifolia, positioned in front of larger D. gemmata which is capable of blooming for more than three months. These are often placed in the genus Wikstroemia, having five instead of four lobes (‘petals’), yet the existence of hybrids such as D. calcicola x gemmata puts such treatments in doubt.

I have yet to mention what is for me the easiest member of this superb genus.

Armenian Daphne transcaucasica looks like a taller Daphne oleoides (and has indeed been described as a subspecies

by Josef Halda, from the Lake Sevan area, though it is more widespread) but it is better able to cope with hot conditions and reliably produces plenty of orange fruits.

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ABOVE Zdeněk Zvolánek

DIANTHUS The Beauty Slope is naturally decorated with Dianthus carthusionorum which is nice but whose blood red flowers are too small to give a spectacular overall effect. Twenty kilometres from here is an escarpment with thousands of specimens of greysilver D. caesius – now correctly D. gratianopolitanus. They thrive in crevices on west-facing slopes above the River Vltava. The stems are not too tall, the pink flowers are of good size and their scent is divine. We also grow other forms of this species including the Moravian clone 'Babí Lom', but the carpets can reach 50cm in diameter.

For 15 years I have grown the pretty 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 23

GARDENS Aberconwy hybrid 'Eileen Lever' (webbianus x haematocalyx), which is slow in making cushions 30cm in diameter and 6cm high. I lost another British miracle called D. 'Alec Duguid' which is an improved form of D. webbianus (syn. D. erinaceus var. alpinus).

Other Turkish dryland dwellers are the tiny D. arpadianus from Kaz Dağ and the large prickly mounds of D. erinaceus var. erinaceus from Nif Dağ. My favourite is the Macedonian Dianthus haematocalyx subsp. pindicola which I collected at the tree line of Mt. Smolikas in northern Greece. It was destined for xeric gardens and it always looks a true alpine plant, covered with pink flowers every year.

PULSATILLA Of course, I grow our local Pulsatilla pratensis subsp. nigricans (a dullcoloured Cinderella compared with those pasque flowers that have large flowers). A showier species is the Moravian native P. grandis which is happy in our slightly alkaline soil. For some years we also had a beautiful dwarf white selection, an introduction made by Fritz Kummert in Styria, Austria which my brother accidentally killed in our absence. But we still have what is perhaps best treated as P. halleri subsp. subslavica, native to the Muran region of Slovakia and particularly floriferous.

SALVIA Turkey is pretty much Mecca for the ornamental sages, even if many of the perennial species are too tall for smaller rock gardens. I have selected two ideal subshrubs, which here freely yield large, round, black seeds but are also easily struck from soft cuttings. The lower-growing of them is Salvia caespitosa (though it can easily reach 1m or more across in 10 years); the other the 20-40cm tall, white-flowered S. pachystachys, which is also found in NW Iran. They are fully hardy when their branches age and ripen to form dense,

94 JANUARY 2019

THE BEAUTY SLOPE

ABOVE Convolvulus phrygius and Putoria calabrica LEFT Convolvulus boissieri

woody masses that like to sunbathe over rock surfaces.

CONVOLVULUS Some of the most attractive of these are native to Turkish Anatolia, where they decorate the steppe and have a relatively long blooming period. My favourite is Convolvulus phrygius (syn.

C. pulvinatus), which I know from the slopes above Lake Salda (the type specimen is from Eskişehir). It typically occurs on shaley, calcareous slopes at 850-1,415m, flowering in May and June. In season the small silver leaves are obscured by silky white flowers in cymes of 1-5. In our late summer a good WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

seed crop is set.

Another silver-leaved representative, C. boissieri subsp. compactus, is wider ranging in Turkey, from Marmaris intermittently right across to eastern Anatolia and occupies a broader altitudinal band (802,135m). It represents one element of a polymorphic species known also from the Balkans and much, much further west in southernmost Spain. The flowers, again white, are slightly larger but it is easily lost if it has to cope with wet conditions. It occasionally grows under sparse Pinus brutia forest but more typically colonises stony slopes and the fringes of macchie, on both 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 25

GARDENS

PHOTO: CHRIS HANSEN

ABOVE Aethionema subulatum RIGHT Linum suffruticosum

limestone and serpentine substrates.

We re-introduced subsp. suendermannii from Ali Botush (Slavjanka) in NE Greece/Bulgaria with silvery leaves and pink flowers sitting on the mats but it needs to bloom more freely in captivity if it is to please me. Whereas a single plant of another Greek representative, subsp. parnassicus, prospers in a crevice exposed to full sun but no seed has so far ripened. This was introduced

by Vladimír Staněk from the Katara Pass in the Pindos Mts. AETHIONEMA Dedegol Dağ in western Anatolia is a 26 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

limestone paradise for many alpine plants, such as Asyneuma compactum, yellow Centaurea drabifolia subsp. dentosa, Onosma cf. isauricum, Ricotia varians, Sedum sempervivoides and an excellent form of lemon-yellow Teucrium montanum. My choice, however, is Aethionema subulatum with phlox-like, silver-grey leaves and lovely sweet pink flowerheads on short stems. From eastern Anatolia I brought back another desirable sub-shrubby representative whose identity has yet to be determined. It is easier to cultivate than the aforementioned species, reaching 7cm high and 15cm across.

THE BEAUTY SLOPE

LINUM The best-looking of all are the bun-forming Linum boissieri from Kaz Dağ and Linum cariense from Dedegol Dağ. I was not able to keep either of them outdoors more than two years. A more promising yellow flax is Linum elegans from Greece’s Falakrón Mts (it is also recorded from much further south, in the Peloponnese, and from Albania east to SW Bulgaria). Sometimes the flowering stems extend to 20cm but with us some seedlings are only half that height and have very decorative, glaucous, smallleaved rosettes. Two outstanding forms of L. suffruticosum I encountered in southern Spain: one absolutely prostrate, the second 15cm tall and with clouds of white flowers. They are both promising but require some care if they are to establish.

CYCLAMEN It was an inspired choice to plant Cyclamen coum on our Beauty WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

Slope. It can stand more sunshine than I thought and its blooming enriches late winter and early spring. It has proven hardy during our milder winters over the past 15 years. Early summer-flowering C. purpurascens is happiest out of hot spots, while September/October C. mirabile has also prospered, perhaps surprisingly without special winter protection.

ERIOGONUM My oldest small shrubs are those of Eriogonum thymifolium that I collected from dry basalt flats near Yakima in Washington State.

Another basalt-dweller, seed sent back from the Wallowa Mts and Eastern Cascades, is the 30cm tall E. sphaerocephalum with small, sometimes linear, deep green through to silvery-grey, creambacked leaves and spherical heads of yellowish-green to bright yellow flowers. I lost a pretty carpet of E. caespitosum from Idaho and it is not easy to source again, although at 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 27

GARDENS one time Ron Ratko (Northwest Native Seed) annually listed this, describing it as ‘one of the best, and not too difficult’.

E. gracilipes from western Nevada’s White Mts is unhappy with our soil and care, while E. umbellatum has many subspecies and these need trialling and selecting to suit your conditions.

OTHER GENERA I had a feeling that the genus Edraianthus would be well-suited to our steppe garden but after losing gems such as E. niveus and E. serpyllifolius, I have settled solely on E. graminifolius.

Italian Globularia incanescens (which I collected from the marble cliffs above the famous quarries at Carrara, Tuscany) grows well in an eastern crevice. Two of the Oncocyclus, Iris sari and Iris paradoxa, are also transient highlights, their time in flower as short as that of our native I. pumila.

A great show is presented by NE Turkish Campanula choruhensis in northern exposures and its relative C. betulifolia is well-established in sunnier positions. Another sun-loving Turk, Pterocephalus pinardii, is also established in south-facing crevices, producing more seeds than in their native windy steppe. Pelargonium endlicherianum is slowly finding its place: it too offers seed that enables its propagation. I love the summer-long display of red-orange flowers that are the result of planting Californian Zauschneria septentrionalis and Z. californica var. latifolia 'Dublin' (which sets ripe seed here) and hate to refer them to Epilobium because Zauschner was a Czech professor! Some flowers wilt or burn if exposed to our direct sun: Asperula daphneola lost the southern part of its cushion but when moved to a north-facing crevice has been happier.

As for the many species of Acantholimon I have kept only A. venustum and A. trojanum. The rest are too big at 28 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

maturity.

Our slope is home to an abundance of old Sempervivum cultivars, alongside forms of Jovibarba heuffelii.

Sempervivum arachnoideum decorates tiny cracks and chinks in our rock cliff, where the local saxatile fern Asplenium septentrionale can be found.

Our subtle, very hardy friend, the saxatile Asplenium ceterach (Ceterach officinarum) is also at home in shady sites. And Sternbergia lutea provides a marvellous autumn gold rush.

Penstemon davidsonii var. menziesii is our only representative of the American evergreen shrubby species, in a bone hardy form from Mt. Merry Widow on Vancouver Island.

Woodland plants are as a rule unhappy with our sunny, parched exposure but blue Anemone blanda peeps from northern crevices, before shrivelling away and resting during the summer.

I have tried to describe all the plants that enjoy our conditions rather than bore you with a long procession of those many that have failed to survive. I still mourn the loss of my small collection of European gentians – I was proud of my carpets of Gentiana angustifolia, G. dinarica and one modest pad of G. occidentalis from Spain – and plan to keep these cool-loving plants in large pots on our terrace. Our jardinières, filled with tufa, offer a refuge when the summer weather turns extreme.

This is where I nurture promising gems including Eritrichium howardii, Sphaeralcea caespitosa, Oenothera lavandulifolia and Acantholimon tianschanicum.

My account of this densely-planted dry slope ends here. The old song of an old gardener continues with newly-planted trees surrounding the rock garden: almonds, apricots, plumcots and plums like the heat and crop very well. With them I prepare myself for slow-ripening on this exciting, rented slope.

ARTIFICIAL TUFA

GROWING ALPINES IN

ARTIFICIAL TUFA A highly skilled field botanist, John Richards is a leading authority on Primula (and Taraxacum, earning him the title ‘Dandelion Richards’). Here he focusses on invention and enterprise in his Northumberland garden.

T

minerals and permeable to air and water. Unsurprisingly, many alpine plants, particularly those which grow on the sides of calcareous cliffs and boulders, find that native tufa forms an agreeable growth medium.

Clearly, subfossil tufa is unlikely to present as an abundant natural resource, and in the few localities where it can be found it is often protected or otherwise conserved – and by and large, presently unavailable to rock gardeners. For most of us, tufa has

PHOTOS: JOHN RICHARDS

ufa is a natural substance formed when mosses and algae grow in spring water rich in soluble bicarbonates. As the plants photosynthesise, the bicarbonate is oxidised and precipitates out as insoluble carbonate, so that dead moss and alga (humus) is permeated by crystals of limestone (calcium carbonate) and other salts.

Consequently, the subfossil tufa which results is formed of an open matrix of humus, embedded in base-rich

ABOVE Artificial tufa with Dionysia aretioides, Omphalodes luciliae, Primula allionii

and Saxifraga vayredana

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90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 29

GROWING ALPINES

ABOVE A finished artificial tufa bed

become very difficult to acquire, at least in the UK. In central Europe, fanatical rock gardeners drive hundreds of kilometres, towing hired trailers, and cross frontiers in search of the few remaining ‘lodes’ of accessible tufa. For generations of gardeners to come, the acquisition of ‘wild’ tufa will quite likely have become an impossible dream.

Perhaps in recognition of this, attempts to synthesise an artificial analogue of tufa date back many decades, certainly to the 1930s, when an article in volume IV of the Bulletin of the Alpine Garden Society reported attempts to manufacture ‘Hypertupha’ (sic) from a mixture of milled peat, sand and cement. This concoction attracted a following, certainly with respect to the coating of glazed sinks and other such receptacles, bonded using ‘Araldite’ or similar epoxy resins.

My own experiments with hypertufa 30 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

(two-parts peat, one-part coarse sand, one-part cement) go back almost half a century. Most sinks that I attempted to coat with hypertufa shed their burden long since and have been left in past gardens. One survivor in the present garden arrived as a large, white-glazed Belfast sink, complete with a short drain pipe, courtesy of my son. He then kindly manoeuvred it to its present position, against an alpine house, in what passes here for full sun; a rarity in this garden. Older and wiser by then, I first wrapped the trough in chicken galvanised wire netting before applying the hypertufa, stuffing the semi-liquid mix through the netting holes by hand (use of tough rubber gloves is essential for both operations). Fifteen years on, the hypertufa remains in place.

Through no fault of its own this sink was neglected until recently, and hosted only four plants, a large Dianthus deltoides ‘Alba’ (grown from seed labelled something much more choice),

ARTIFICIAL TUFA which then sowed all over the surrounding gravel, Helianthemum apenninum grown from wild-collected French seed, Saxifraga hostii (ubiquitous in this garden), and Teucrium pyrenaicum which became overgrown and rather straggly.

As I was writing this, the last three have been found new homes and the trough emptied, since when it has been totally replanted using artificial tufa ‘lumps’ inside.

In my early days, I also experimented with troughs made entirely of hypertufa. Almost half a century on and two gardens later, two survive. I am not a practical person, as my family would attest all too readily, and the earlier effort assumed a rather hilarious aspect, now ameliorated by the solemn dignity of old age. For a mould, I used two grocery cardboard boxes of different sizes, jamming the mix between the sides and bases of the two boxes (leaving a wood plug for drainage). Naturally enough the cardboard sides started to bow alarmingly under the weight of the wet mix. This was realised too late, so that the trough has exactly the unappealing contours of a saggy cardboard box.

However, over the years the outside of the trough has acquired a patina of small mosses, lichens and algae, into WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

ABOVE Saxifraga vayredana

which seedling (and mostly hybrid) silver saxifrages, and occasional androsaces have become established.

Indeed, the trough contents have hosted self-sustaining populations of both Androsace brigantiaca and A. laggeri over several decades.

The second version is rather smaller, and as wooden planks supported by bricks were used as moulds, it has rigorously straight sides. Despite the above, hypertufa is not on the whole a successful growing medium, and its main use is to make or coat receptacles with a substance which when mature can resemble a genuine trough, carved from native stone. In recent years it has staged something of a revival as a coating for expanded polystyrene fish boxes. However, it does not in any sense replace or supplant natural tufa as a growing medium.

90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 31

GROWING ALPINES EXPERIMENTING WITH TUFA Consequently, for some years I have experimented rather haphazardly while attempting to make a substance which has many of the physical and chemical properties of natural tufa. In doing so, I followed many of the principles set out

by Dave Philbey in his article in Alpine Gardening 69: 454-459, which itself was inspired by two articles in the American Rock Garden Society’s Handbook on Troughs. The breakthrough there was to use perlite (or vermiculite) instead of sand, and sphagnum moss in place of peat. This product Philbey terms ‘Pseudotufa’. As my recipe is not the same, I do not intend to use this term.

Unlike the American recipes, Philbey does not use sphagnum as the vegetable component, replacing it with

aquatic Ceratophyllum (hornwort), lawn mowings, or shredded leaves, and it is unclear which he found the most satisfactory. I also avoided sphagnum, considering that its extreme levels of proton donation and cation absorption would be unsuitable for my purposes.

Instead I used lawn moss (Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus) of which I have an abundant supply in my partshaded, poorly-drained lawn. This is readily obtained by using a flexibly tined rake, preferably during the winter months. Aggregations of the moist moss are chopped into short lengths using a pair of garden shears and stored damp in a polythene sack until needed, preferably in a few days or less.

Come the day, the moss is compressed by hand and mixed at roughly three

ABOVE Arnebia echioides and Saxifraga pedemontana RIGHT The mixture, newly incorporated and unset

32 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

ARTIFICIAL TUFA parts by volume moss to two parts perlite and two parts cement, usually on a cardboard or plasterboard base.

Mixing is done at first with an old shovel I keep for the purpose, but latterly the compound is mixed and compressed by hand (rubber gloves again!) Depending on how wet the moss was originally, I may add a little additional water at this point until I feel the level of moisture is right. How much is made depends on requirements, but I generally end up with a heap about a metre across and 50cm high. When I judge that the heap is thoroughly mixed, I use the shovel to chop the heap into ‘rocks’ of required sizes and shapes, although they will all end up with a flat bottom to some extent. My wife likens the results to the end products of an elephant’s digestive system.

The artificial tufa ‘rocks’ are then stored somewhere cool and dry for at least two weeks until they have thoroughly set. It is important to note that at this stage, although dry, they are somewhat ‘crumbly’, and it is all too easy to break pieces off by hand. The ‘rocks’ should then be stored outside in all weathers to harden off. This process takes at least a year, preferably longer, for the rocks to harden sufficiently so that they can be used in the same way as ‘real’ tufa. Many the ‘lump’ that I have impatiently tried to use too soon, only for it to collapse into small pieces. All is not lost as I have successfully used these pieces as components of composts for plants such as daphnes which enjoy tufa lumps around the root.

Once the ‘rocks’ are fully cured, the challenge is to transform the flatbottomed, elephant leavings into more useful and aesthetically satisfying shapes. One way forward has been to use an old saw to cut a ‘rock’ in half (quite easy), and then to place the two halves almost together, filling the gap with compost and small ‘tufa’ pieces, WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

thus creating a crevice. This has proved successful, creating a permanent home for luminaries such as Androsace elegans and Daphne petraea in troughs and fish boxes. (This brings to mind another type of ‘old saw’ from the early days of the AGS Bulletin, where a letter to the Panel of Experts queried where the writer might buy a ‘wood saw’ as specified in an early article on tufa. The editor replied tersely that a saw for wood can be bought at any reputable hardware store! Dear Roy!).

Once cured, the ‘rocks’ lend themselves to the drilling of holes (using a hand-turned 2cm bit) which are often most successful if they go right through the ‘tufa’. Such holes have provided permanent homes for Saxifraga dinnikii outside (six years, very slow but flowers well) and Jancaea heldreichii under glass (18 years, grows little but flowers annually).

A TUFA PROJECT By far the largest project was undertaken eleven years ago. An attempt to make a crevice bed on top of a sand bed on our linear raised terrace failed comprehensively, perhaps because it was constructed of the local shale which plants seem to dislike (I have yet to establish why). Having 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 33

GROWING ALPINES removed the stone, I resolved to replace it with a tufa bank. To do so, I manufactured about 16 artificial tufa rocks, each approximately 50 x 25 x 15cm. These were left to cure over winter against a garage wall, and were probably stored too dry and for too short a time. Of the original 16, 12 survived sufficiently well to be used to construct a battened ‘tufa’ wall on the north-facing ‘scarp’, while chunks of the remainder populated the ‘dip’ slope.

Most of the gaps were top-dressed with smaller pieces of artificial tufa, although as the years have passed, grit from various sources has also been used as top-dressing.

In a sense, the story of this tufa bank is the story of our garden (in Hexham, Northumberland, UK), which has suffered from laissez-faire. Over about three seasons, the bank proved so much to the liking of a Turkish form of Saxifraga pedemontana, and an Irish form of Saxifraga rosacea that they rapidly covered it. While I like mossy saxifrage species very much, and both these colonists are uncommon in cultivation, sensational in flower and pleasing to the eye for the rest of the year, I should have been ruthless and discarded both after the first year.

However, they are still there a decade on, witness to my soft heart. To be fair, they have left room for a few interesting companions. Embedded into the steep ‘scarp’ in two places, Ramonda nathaliae has predictably thrived and flowers well. The European Primula species P. spectabilis and P. marginata have been long-lived. A notable success has been the Olimbos form of Campanula jacquinii which is soundly perennial when embedded in ‘tufa’, and covers itself every August with powderblue tufts. Plants such as this which are not mat-forming and can grow out of the mossy saxifrages have been the most successful. Arnebia echioides, the 34 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

‘Prophet Flower’, has flowered regularly twice a year for a decade and is sufficiently unusual to draw the attention of visitors. It is rooted in a tufa hole. Rhodiola rosea (our native Roseroot), Gentiana acaulis, Dianthus nitidus and the unusual Teucrium aroanium, endemic to the Styx, have also thrived, planted between the ‘rocks’. So have Tulipa urumiensis and T. linifolia Batalinii Group, the long-lived colonies of which have shown a modest increase.

More surprising perhaps are the celmisias. A small collection, including vigorous C. angustifolia, C. spedenii, C. verbascifolia and C. monroi, has thrived on the ‘dip’ slope, when planted between lumps of artificial tufa. Away from the invading ‘mossies’, silver saxifrages such as S. paniculata, S. cochlearis and S. crustata have also done well. However, the most sensational display is provided by Anemone blanda in a range of colours. I don’t think I introduced this into the ‘tufa’ bank intentionally, but anemones seed widely in this garden, clearly finding the habitat much to their liking.

This is laissez-faire in action, and the same can be said of Allium carinatum, whose pretty pink flowers project through the saxifrages in June. I tolerate both these lovely invaders, because neither have foliage which presents any problem.

Not everything likes artificial tufa.

Ozothamnus coralloides, O. intermedius and Leucogynes leontopodium all slowly failed, perhaps through exposure to the available calcium.

Interestingly, in the course of writing this article and replanting the hypertufa-covered sink mentioned earlier, I decided to limit the amount of mossy saxifrage on the ‘tufa’ bank, and in doing so unearthed three of the artificial tufa ‘rocks’ which had been buried for a decade. These had toughened quite considerably, so that

ABOVE Campanula jacquinii

they were very amenable to having holes drilled, allowing drabas, Porophyllum saxifrages and saxatile asperulas to be planted.

In our garden, artificial tufa has been used in the ‘tufa’ bank, and in a range of troughs and fish boxes. I have also planted a miniature garden in a 35cm diameter crock pot, based on one lump of artificial tufa into which nearly all the subjects have been embedded in drilled holes. Although these have been understandably slow growing, I count this project a success. However, I have also used it for setting plants out in the alpine house, one section of which has artificial tufa rocks embedded in the sand plunge. I have experimented with holes drilled horizontally into the side of the tufa, automatically drip-watered from above while the plants were in growth. Omphalodes luciliae, Briggsia aurantiaca, Dionysia aretioides, D. WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

tapetodes, Draba cappadocica, Saxifraga petraea and Primula erratica have tolerated this treatment over a few years. Much more permanent have been Saxifraga vayredana, Primula auricula var. albocincta, P. allionii ‘Crowsley’ and P. a. ‘Hartside No. 3’, and the aforementioned Jancaea heldreichii.

Many subjects thrive between surrounding lumps of artificial tufa, including Primula x kewensis, P. verticillata, Rehmannia angulosa, Iris aphylla and a range of European Primula hybrids.

I am not sure we have reached the end of the artificial tufa story. Doubtless, other recipes can be tried, and others may succeed with ambitious walls and turrets studded with dionysias, eritrichiums and kelseyas. However, my modest efforts give me reason to hope that suitable alternatives may exist in a post-tufa era.

90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 35

PHOTOS: MICHAEL MAUSER

FROM TÜBINGEN TO TEHRAN

AGS members have been at the forefront of studying Dionysia in the wild, notably EK Balls and Paul Giuseppi in the 1930s, Jim Archibald in the 1960s and Christopher Grey-Wilson in the 1970s. Since the mid-1990s, Iran has been re-visited by a further wave of plant explorers, including Michael Mauser 36 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

Mountains at Oshtoran-Kuh

D

ionysias can only be found from south-western through to southern Central Asia, with the exception of one species, D. mira, which is endemic to Oman.

Their main distribution is in Afghanistan and Iran. In the past there have been various trips by plant enthusiasts and botanists to both these countries and there are detailed collection records and notes.

Afghanistan remains in political turmoil but starting in the second half of the 1990s, trips by westerners to Iran were once more feasible, and on the basis of

WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

this detailed information and the changes in the political situation in the region, we decided to go there.

In 2014, as the idea of an excursion to Iran developed, we consulted several people with connections in Iran.

Andreas Gröger, a botanist at the University of Munich, put us in contact with Shahin Zarre, an Iranian botanist working as a professor at Tehran University. Shahin was fascinated by the idea of a trip through the Zagros Mountains. And so our first journey to Iran took place in May 2015. We found many Iranian plants, for example Fritillaria persica, wild tulips and six species of Dionysia. We also took the chance to visit Persepolis and Esfahan.

The people we met in Iran were always very helpful and interested in us.

Spontaneous invitations to drink tea, for example, were very common.

Especially in the cities, many Iranians speak English or even German. But most conversation was made through our Iranian guide Shahin Zarre, who also organised our trip very thoroughly.

Additionally, he is an excellent botanist who knows a lot about the local flora.

Through him we also obtained a permit to collect plant material.

In November 2015 we gave a report of this tour at a meeting of German alpine gardeners. Among those in attendance was Dieter Zschummel, also a speaker and an experienced traveller in Iran. He proposed that we should jointly visit Iran in 2016 in order to show us the Dionysia locations he knew. We were very interested; he and his wife Rosi had already been to Iran seven times.

Among the dionysias they found were some undescribed species, one of them named after Dieter – Dionysia zschummelii. Because of the small travelling budget of the botanical garden we needed further funds. This was solved through the support of the Alpine Garden Society and the 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 37

Scottish Rock Garden Club. I wish to thank these organisations very much for making the project possible.

On 13th April 2016 we set out. Brigitte Fiebig and the author both work at the Botanical Garden in Tübingen; we took a flight from Stuttgart to Istanbul.

There we met the rest of our group: Rosi and Dieter Zschummel and Elisabeth Best from Germany, and Jiri Papousek from the Czech Republic.

From Tehran we drove on very good roads to Kermanshah. There we had our first stop in the Zagros mountains.

Heavy rain had fallen, with some roads closed because of landslides (we heard from locals of floods in the days beforehand). But the weather forecast promised better conditions, allowing us to start our hunt for Dionysia tacamahaca the next day in the area around Kerend, a bit further to the west. With our 4WD jeeps we drove as close to the mountains as possible.

Road conditions steadily worsened.

Continuing on foot and hiking through low Quercus brantii scrub we found Fritillaria persica and Anemone biflora in flower. After a 90-minute walk we reached the first dionysias at around 1,800m. This location in the Bimar Mountains was slightly to the west of the place where Dieter discovered Dionysia tacamahaca in 2009.

Numerous plants were in flower. The cushions grew under overhangs or on vertical cliffs, but we also saw some in virtually horizontal places. And after all the rain, these plants were very, very wet! In our alpine house we protect our plants from such conditions, but at this time of the year it seems to be no problem for them, in nature. Climate reports and diagrams attest that there is hardly any rain for three or four months during the summer, but a lot of rain and snow during the winter period.

It would be instructive to visit Dionysia localities several times a year, in order 38 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

to learn more about the conditions throughout. Noticeably, there was much moss around the dionysias.

While the group took pictures, Shahin gathered plant material for the herbarium of Tehran University.

Besides the dionysias he sourced other plants to get a better overview of the flora of Iran. The pressed plants were later identified by botanists at the university. Presently around 8,000 plant species are described in Flora Iranica, 1,800 of them endemic to Iran.

Many regions of the country are

ABOVE Recently described Dionysia robusta in Ilam Province, in the spray zone of a waterfall

botanically little explored, so more surely await discovery. (Origin: website of the Central Herbarium of Tehran University TUH flora-iran.com).

Only a few kilometres from the location of Dionysia tacamahaca, Dieter led us to a valley where D. odora occurs.

We found the plants very easily but none were in full bloom, with only a few flowers open. We only stopped briefly to take some photos before driving to the next hotel in Ilam. After our evening WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET

meal we attended to the cuttings until late into the night. This was our regular, nightly job, occasionally long after midnight.

Having carried out a lot of preliminary work before the trip, we knew of many Dionysia locations. One was that of the newly-described Dionysia robusta in Ilam Province. This we sought the next day with the help of GPS information from a publication on the internet: (Dionysia robusta Younesi, sp. nov.

90TH ANNIVERSARY JANUARY SPECIAL 2019 98 39

TRAVEL

ABOVE Dionysia gaubae

Holotype: Iran, Ilam Province, SW of Abdanan, Dinar-Kouh protected region, Pizeleh, 32°56'09.6''N, 47°18'35.4''E, 1720 m, 11 May 2015, Younesi 14494 (IAUH; isotypes: B, TARI).

We drove up the Dinar-Kuh to around 1,720m. Close to the co-ordinates mentioned in the article, our party went off in different directions. But after an hour I hadn’t found any dionysias and returned. Meanwhile it started to rain, turning to hail. Shahin and Brigitte had also returned to the parking place, with the others still out in the unpleasant weather. While waiting in the car another jeep passed along the road – military police! Shahin had to do a lot of explaining and show his permit, our 99 JANUARY 40 90TH ANNIVERSARY 2019 SPECIAL

Dionysia books and some photos taken previously. They decided that there was nothing special about us, but sent us back down the road because of a radar station and a restricted area at the summit. However, one of the policemen directed us to a lower altitude, where he believed he had seen the plants we sought. Picking up our wet comrades on the way, we searched further in a valley at about 1,110m.

In the meantime, the rain stopped and we decided to make haste. It was already 4.30pm and while the others walked at their own pace, Shahin and I hurriedly followed the valley uphill. We had to cross a little river often, and because there were no dionysias on the cliffs beside this we also checked more

IRAN distant cliffs with binoculars. On one wall at the end of a side valley I saw yellow dots and decided to explore further. The others were far behind, so we couldn’t inform them of our position.

Along a steep gravelly hillside, we reached the end of the valley, where water cascaded down the rock in two places. Beside (and even in) these waterfalls were numerous dionysias. In order to work more comfortably, we wore raincoats.

Very happy to have found a Dionysia in the Dinar-Kuh region, we made our way back. Which Dionysia species is involved was determined from the collected herbarium material and living plants: D. robusta, since shared as cuttings with others, including Gothenburg Botanical Garden, where it has successfully been established.

Hiking in Iran is very different from hiking in the European Alps. Often there are no paths and it is best to follow goat or sheep tracks. The one we used to go back to the cars was possibly made by bears, which are common in some parts of Iran. Fortunately, we didn’t encounter any. Returning to the hotel at 11pm, it was long past midnight before we finished processing the cuttings. There was never enough sleep during the whole of the trip! Little is known about the distribution of dionysias in Ilam Province, its proximity to Iraq a possible reason. Our most westerly location was about 90km from the Iraqi border, although a search there was unsuccessful. As Iran has numerous mountains, very likely further unknown species of Dionysia are hidden away.

We next planned to drive about 320km to Aligoudarz in the neighbouring province of Lorestan. Our destination was a site in the OshtoranKuh that Dieter had visited some years ago, discovering the eponymous Dionysia zschummelii. At the same WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

location can be found D. lurorum and D. crista-galli. After a three-hour-drive on very good motorways we reached Khorramabad. From there we crossed the mountains, stopping at a town called Sepid-Dashd for lunch. In such remote places, foreigners are uncommon and after a few minutes some locals gathered around, asking what country we were from and, most importantly, what were our thoughts on Iran. A group of schoolgirls tried out the English they had learned at school. For lunch we had a barbecue with tomatoes and onions. Persian cuisine is excellent; besides grilled lamb or chicken, stews served with rice or flatbread are daily fare.

After this delicious meal we took the road up to the pass, regularly checking the cliffsides for yellow or pink splashes of colour. Good binoculars are very useful and dionysias are not that difficult to find if they are in bloom.

Right beside the road, numerous Fritillaria imperialis were in full flower.

Quite common in Iran, you don’t see it in such abundance in European gardens! To find so many was very impressive and we took many photos.

Close by, Jiri Papousek noticed a steep wall peppered with yellow dots representing a respectable colony of what Dieter identified as Dionysia gaubae. It is always a pity leaving such places, but with many more kilometres of driving ahead, we returned to the jeeps. On such a sunny day it was scarcely believable that shortly before there had been torrential rainfall. In some places, however, water was streaming down the road.

Cars with 4WD are essential; ordinary ones can’t cope with the conditions. But even the best car is only as good as its driver. With Kuhi, our driver from Tehran University, and Shahin, we didn’t need to worry. They drove with great skill. We headed for Aligoudarz, 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 41

TRAVEL

ABOVE A steep wall peppered with Dionysia gaubae

on the way passing Dionysia localities but deciding not to have a closer look at them until the next day. The highest point, at approx. 2,950m, was reached at 6.30pm amid breath-taking scenery.

There was still much snow beside the road, for with the mountains here soaring to 4,000m and more, snow and ice melt late and provide a natural 42 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

water reserve.

There was still a 50km drive to the hotel, the winding road slowing our progress. After dinner and the briefing for the next day, we retired to bed – but dealt with the cuttings until 2.30am.

That evening it had rained but overnight the dripping noise was replaced by silence – and snow. At

IRAN breakfast the mood was glum in consequence, but nevertheless Shahin decided to stick to the plan. Being a local man, he knew that snow at this time of the year is always short-lived. Driving back over the mountains we passed a snow plough but its assistance was not necessary. A week earlier, in Germany, it had felt odd packing gloves and winter caps along with sandals and sun-block, but we were now very glad to have done so.

Anyone used to hiking in the mountains will know that the weather can be extremely unpredictable.

Close to a parking spot beside a trout fish farm, Dionysia lurorum and D. crista-galli were awakening from their hibernation, with only a few metres away, in sunnier places, some flowering cushions of the latter. The Zschummels had been here in 2001.

Dieter remembered traversing the left side of the cliff to reach the locus classicus of D. zschummelii. On the way up there, a scattering of small tulips, colchicums and Corydalis opened their flowers in the sun. The first cushions were just awakening from their winter rest, some rosettes with violet buds. In sunny aspects we found very nice specimens in flower. Seeing both human and herbal versions of a ‘Zschummel’ simultaneously was one of the tour highlights.

It would be worth exploring the area WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

more closely to learn more about the distribution of this fine species.

Presently it is only recorded from this locality in the Ghadee-Kuh. Various other species, of course, are at present known only from single locations (D. afghanica, D. viscidula, D. mozaffarianii etc.). Fortunately, some Iranian botanists are working on the genus: witness the recently-described D. assadii and D. robusta. We didn’t find anything obviously new, but the names given to the plants we found were provisional and in need of confirmation.

(Since this article was written, at least four, perhaps five new Iranian species have been identified but at the time of writing not formally described, including D. google-earthii, D. ciliata, D. nodosa and D. ilamensis.)

Later that afternoon we went to a place where Dionysia haussknechtii grows, following a quick reconnaissance the previously day. Arriving at around 3pm left us plenty of time to walk along the large, north-west-facing limestone cliff. At first sight this looked like many others nearby. But it was covered with countless cushions in full flower, perhaps thousands of these constituting the largest Dionysia population seen during the entire tour!

Here also was the blue/white Viola pachyrrhiza, a wonderful cushionforming plant, rare in cultivation.

Much impressed, we returned to Aligoudarz, me asleep in the back of the jeep, though travelling in such regions is so fascinating that it is hard not to stare out of the window continuously. One stop the following day yielded a field of glorious blue Muscari neglectum. And we saw more dionysias as well, too numerous for all to be mentioned here.

Another outstanding visit was to the area around the city of Semirom, where three dionysias occur. Firstly, we sought Dionysia iranshahrii, a densely-hairy species with purple90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 43

TRAVEL rose flowers that grows on Kuh-ePashmaku at c. 2,650-3,000m. A rough dirt track allowed us to drive quite high to a spot where a steep rock face jutted out, only 100m further up. Here was our target plant, flowering beautifully, some cushions so densely embellished that the leaves were obscured.

The next stop was on the opposite side of Kuh-e-Pashmaku, directly behind the city. This is the type locality of Dionysia mozaffarianii (named after Valiollah Mozaffarian and often wrongly spelt: only one ‘z’ but with two ‘f’s’). The site isn’t that steep and is easily reached via a good road. Just 50m away we found the first plants. On the south-facing limestone cliff the plants are fully exposed to the sun: most flowers were fading. A fortnight or so earlier would have seen them in their prime. The discovery was made in 1998 by the Swedish-Iranian expedition (given the acronym SLIZE). If you check the GPS co-ordinates we took for D. mozaffarianii (31°25.398’ N 51°33.948’ E at an altitude of 2,589m), on Google, you can see how close this site is to the city. I hope urbanisation doesn’t ruin this location. The mountain extends northwest and possibly the species also occurs on other, more remote cliffs.

Just a kilometre from Semirom, a waterfall is a popular tourist attraction.

Close by is a location for Dionysia bryoides, the third violet-coloured species. Driving back down the gorge we saw it but made only a brief inspection, having already scheduled a stop two days later at Hanna Lake, where it also occurs. Driving to Hanna was easy on a good road: we reached the dam, close to the city, on the morning of April 25th at 10am. The area surrounding the lake is hilly but with almost no steep walls – except for the sides of a small valley – nor high cliffs.

On the northern side we soon found D. bryoides in plenty, varying from violet 44 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

to rose. The flowers of the south-facing plants had withered but in north-east facing crannies they were at their best.

Nearby was the impressive, darkflowered Oncocyclus Iris iberica subsp. lycotis.

In order to keep to schedule we agreed a return by 5pm. However, Dieter injured his foot, having almost reached the road and hobbled the rest of the way but when taken to the hospital in Abadeh, the doctors diagnosed a broken leg. While remaining on the tour, he could no longer hike. A little shaken by this incident, we continued to the nearby hotel.

Our last objective was to find Dionysia esfandiarii and the newly-described (2014) Dionysia assadii. Both occur in the Kuh-e Khataban. An article about Dionysia assadii by A. Borjian, E. Deylami and A. F. Dousti gave the GPS information of their find, so we planned to go there. From Abadeh we followed route 65 to Bavanat. After several stops on the way, we crossed the Kuh-e Khataban via a pass to reach the GPS co-ordinates. No dionysias beside the road but numerous cushions of Acantholimon and Astragalus species.

Another beautiful plant, Eremurus persicus, abounded in the rugged landscape.

Continuing along the road, we left the mountains further and further behind.

Between the small villages of Khourkosh and Honza, at c. 2,200m, we reached the coordinates – just a field and certainly not a mountain with a 3,145m summit, as in the description.

Dieter noted the same problem with incorrect GPS information when searching for Dionysia esfandiarii some years ago. Knowing that Kuh-e Khataban was the correct mountain and that the dionysias grew at high altitude, we decided to get closer to the main mountain ridge and search

IRAN

ABOVE Dionysia iranshahrii at Kuh-e-Pashmaku

without GPS. But we found only D. revoluta, already seen in many other places during the tour.

One suggestion was to return to the pass and look around. But the route back was not obvious. Shahin asked some local people, who were very helpful and also interested in what we were doing, so far from the main road.

He explained what we were looking for by showing a line drawing of Dionysia esfandiarii in the 1989 monograph by Christopher Grey-Wilson. One man said that he knew a place where this plant grew, not far away. And helpful as Iranian people so often are, he wanted to lead us there. Shahin translated and we discussed options. While local advice earlier on had been wayward, this man gave a precise description of cushion plants growing on vertical WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

cliffs, in north-east-facing crevices and only on higher ground. After a brief discussion we gave it a try, following his car to an isolated mountain. It was 7pm when we arrived and went up in different directions with great haste. After passing an area of thorny cushions, I reached the first steep cliffs where there were dense cushions just as the man had said – D. esfandiarii. All of them were old and partly dead. I went a bit higher and met Shahin who had also found another small population. The light was fading, so we took some plant material and pictures and returned to the first population.

There, Brigitte and Jiri were also taking photos and showed us some plants that looked different from the others we had found – rather like a hybrid with Dionysia revoluta. They 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 45

TRAVEL

ABOVE

ABOVE Dionysia tacamahaca

grew next to each other. After the GPS positions were recorded (2,831m at the higher location, 2,754m at the other) we went back down to the cars where we 46 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

arrived in the dark, long after 8pm. Our journey was nearly over, having reached the most southerly point of our tour.

After a stop in Esfahan we returned to

IRAN Tehran on April 28th, spending a night at the university hostel before our flight back to Germany the following day.

DIONYSIAS IN THE BOTANICAL GARDENS OF TÜBINGEN There is a long-standing tradition of cultivating alpine plants in the Botanical Gardens of Tübingen. In 1969, when the garden was moved to the vicinity of the new university buildings, a large alpine district was constructed and afterwards continuously expanded.

Today, it occupies an area of around 3,000m². It is divided in two main parts: one of these ecological and showing alpine plants from the Alps in their natural communities, the other one pan-geographical, with alpines from all over the world.

In 2004 an alpine house was built to facilitate the cultivation of moisturesensitive plants. Since then we have specialised in growing alpines that need specific watering requirements and which are uncommon in botanical gardens. I have worked at Tübingen as a gardener since 2003, where my responsibilities are the geographical department, the alpine house and parts of the alpine propagation. We have acquired many alpine house plants, among them dionysias. In 2011 a greenhouse devoted to propagation was added and we have used this to multiply our stocks of dionysias and share them with others.

Because few botanical gardens cultivate dionysias, we started gathering different species in different clones to conserve stocks and allow direct comparisons. Visits were made to different botanical gardens such as Gothenburg, Kew, Würzburg, München and Marburg, along with exchanges involving ‘amateur’ (but highly skilled) growers including Michael Kammerlander, Paul Ranson, Eric Jarrett, Nigel Fuller, Hans Kaupert, WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

Lars Hansen, Kirsten Anderson, Dieter Zschummel, as well as the nursery of Gerd Stopp. The upshot is a collection of 43 species, representing over 250 different accessions, including some cultivars and hybrids. Contact with people who deal with the same subject is a prime source of information concerning cultivation and propagation, and also yielded much information regarding the construction of the show and propagation house.

Growing plants in pots for the show house is a great challenge. Visiting the natural habitat of the plants helps you to learn more about them. Experiencing the natural environment in the mountains, one comes to understand the requirements of the plants and select the best positions in the show house. And it is important, as well as educational, to bring more genetic material into cultivation. For these reasons I had always wished to go to Iran.

PROCEDURES AND TOOLS If you propagate dionysias from cultivated seed, often you end up with hybrids. In the wild they often grow separated by mountains or even different countries. With just a handful of exceptions, hybridisation doesn’t occur. To avoid this occurring in cultivation, vegetative propagation is recommended (i.e. cuttings). We now often have different individuals or clones but with the Afghan species, there is sometimes only one clone extant, for example the desirable Dionysia afghanica from a 1971 collection made by C. Grey-Wilson and T. F. Hewer. I salute the skilled people that have propagated this species and others (like D. microphylla and D. viscidula) so that even now, almost 50 years later, they are still in cultivation.

In order to keep a check of plants in cultivation, individuals are typically 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 47

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ABOVE Snow-covered peaks of the Zagros mountains in late April

given a clonal number, combining the collection number and an acronym of who raised the plant with a seedling number. There are, for example, four representatives of Dionysia esfandiarii from the 1998 SLIZE expedition: GBG2, GBG3 and GBG4 from Gothenburg Botanical Garden and MK10 from Michael Kammerlander in Germany.

Different Dionysia esfandiarii seedlings exist elsewhere - a closer look at other collections is needed. For example, at Gothenburg accessions with mid-green to greyish foliage are now grown from our collections, and theirs from 2018.

When dealing with plants that set seed readily, or if you have plants that don’t hybridize, it isn’t in theory helpful to reference seedling numbers. But since the main distribution area of the genus is difficult to access, it is useful to practise this system. Marking single plants that have a special colour or flower very freely is also useful.

Most dionysias are chasmophytic, growing in crevices. It is nigh 48 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

impossible to extract a plant – you would destroy it, or get one with few roots that would soon die. Seed collection is required. But travelling in April, we found the previous year’s seeds had mostly been shed and chose to take cuttings. I certainly did not want to injure the plants and, by working in this careful way, the donor plants will continue to prosper for many years.

Overall, we took nearly 2,500 cuttings from 16 species. Perhaps we can bring some new clones into cultivation, as with Dionysia tacamahaca, rediscovered in 2009 and introduced

by Dieter Zschummel, but only as a solitary clone. At the time of writing, this is also the case with Dionysia zschummelii, D. bryoides, D. gaubae, D. termeana, D. iranica, D. robusta, D. zagrica, D. iransharii, D. revoluta, D. mozaffarianii, D. lurorum, D. haussknechtii, D. cf. crista-galli, D. caespitosa and a natural hybrid (possibly D. esfandiarii x D. revoluta).

To excise suitable material, I used

IRAN sharp scissors with small arms to infiltrate the compact cushions. The length of the shoots ranged from 2-5cm.

Cutting them as long as possible is advisable, though this is dictated by the specimen you select. Some are quite compact and only very short stems are obtainable. I sometimes used tweezers to push the single rosettes apart. It was best to take them from the easier to tackle perimeter; here the shoots were typically longer and more vigorous.

Also, taking out pieces from the middle of a cushion destroys its appearance. All cuttings were photographed and stored in small containers with numbers. With a GPS device the coordinates were recorded and the altitude measured.

Every location was numbered, so that the plants could be found again.

As already mentioned, good documentation is crucial. To name our expedition, I took the initial letters of the nationalities of our group members. The 2016 Iran Zagros tour is now called CIA (C = Czech Republic, I = Iranian Republic, A = from the Persian word Allmani, similar to Allemagne / Germany). The numbers after the acronym are the consecutive ones from our GPS device with the recorded coordinates. For example, Dionysia tacamahaca CIA 28 has the coordinates 34°10.234’ N and 46°10.653’ E. With this system it is possible to refer back to the site location. You can also look at the locations on the internet. The recorder for the coordinates was a GARMIN Oregon 600t, which also included an altimeter. I used the website gpso.de, where you can also alter the way of displaying the coordinates, and also change the map display to a topographical or satellite view. This is best navigated on a larger scale, the topographic option allowing an excellent view of the terrain with elevation lines and mountain ranges.

The satellite view allows a look at the WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

selected location from a bird’s eye view.

It is possible to zoom into the maps and to see details like striking rocks or trees, small dirt roads or something like the trout-breeding station in the OshtoranKuh, the location of Dionysia zschummelii. I not only recorded the collection points, but also included the waypoints at street junctions, villages or parking lots at access roads, so that others can return to the plants in the same way we did.

CONCLUSION Looking back, the 2016 tour was very successful and added much information. Travelling with people who have already been to the locations of the plants you seek makes finding them easy. Also, if travelling during the main Dionysia flowering season, they are much more easily espied. The locations we visited were often very similar. The plants grew on north or north-east facing, steep rock walls and vertical cliffs, squeezing their roots into limestone crevices.

However, some habitats were very different from those expected, e.g. near Semirom where Dionysia mozaffarianii grows. The plants populate southfacing rocks, some in direct sun and in more or less horizontal crannies. The Dinar-Kuh-site, too, was different in that the dionysias grow next to a waterfall, some even right where the water falls down.

We found 16 Dionysia species during our trip, which we have endeavoured to propagate and distribute to others. I thoroughly enjoyed travelling in Iran and recommend others to follow. Aside from the fantastic landscape, with huge salt lakes, high mountains and fertile valleys and a lot of ancient sites, the people we met were very helpful and always interested, and not at all shy in speaking to us. Iran is a fascinating country: I hope to travel there again.

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PHOTOS: DIETER ZSCHUMMEL

At the top of the world

Dieter Zschummel and his wife Rosi live in Wallendorf, once in East Germany, forging hugely influential links with Western gardeners, dating back to the 1970s. They have made many landmark plant introductions and have inspired a younger generation of gardeners. Here, the focus is on Androsace.

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TIBET

F

or many years the autonomous region of Tibet (Xinjiang) was rarely accessible to Western tourists, and on those occasions when visits were granted, difficulties often arose. However, we (my wife Rosi and I) were fortunate enough to obtain visas in 2004 and 2005 and then again in 2007 and 2009, arranged by a travel agency we used frequently. All these trips took place from mid-June to early July and lasted about three weeks.

On our first trip, the visa was only valid for an area along the main highway (the G318) that connects Chengdu, in Sichuan, and Lhasa (up to

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the village of Wangda).

For many years we have been especially interested in androsaces.

Fortunately, on three of our trips, Jozef Lemmens (whose website Androsace World: A picture gallery of the genus Androsace has numerous images of the genus: go to www.alpines.be) was one of our companions.

In 2004, we found Androsace mariae for the first time near our campground behind Wangda. Later, we very often saw this widespread and variable species in eastern Tibet and also in Sichuan. The plants differed considerably in leaf shape, hairiness, flower colour and length of flowering stem. For example, plants at Nian La, near the border between Tibet and Sichuan, were only c. 3cm high. Yet plants a little further east in Sichuan (near Derge) carried their flowers on stems about 15cm high and were growing in an alpine lawn. Plants in cultivation (SSSE 239) from northern Sichuan and adjacent areas of Gansu have white flowers, whereas those at Zhedou Pass near Kangding can be blue-violet. The most beautiful form we saw in Tibet grew east of Markam. In a book we found in a shop in Kunming, this form was called A. mariae var. tibetica.

Other androsaces that we have seen in eastern Tibet are A. stenophylla and A. forrestiana, as well as A. dissecta and A. elatior from Section Pseudoprimula.

The five high passes along the national road G318 (Dongda La, Gama La, Serkhyem La, Mi La, and Galung La) possess an extraordinarily high number of attractive alpines. We have already written about the flora on the first of these (see NARGS Rock Garden Quarterly, Summer and Fall 2013: ‘Dongda La: A Treasure House of Alpines’).

In 2009 we discovered a small plant of pink Androsace mollis on the 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 51

ABOVE Androsace mariae var. tibetica

Galung La. It is much more plentiful on the west side below Serkhyem La, where we had found it two years earlier, but mistaken it for A. delavayi. The plants grew under small rhododendrons and rarely formed the dense cushions typical of A. delavayi. Very characteristic of A. mollis are the purple-red runners at the tips of which new rosettes are formed. In Flora of China the habit of A. mollis is correctly described. On the other hand, the description in The Genus Androsace (G. Smith & D. Lowe, 1997) seems to me incorrect. (Ed. Volume 15 of Flora of China didn’t come out until 1996, and at 52 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

a time when widespread e-mail and internet usage were in their early years, the authors of the monograph were unable to take full advantage of the account.)

East of the village of Rawu, following the G318, you come to the Ngajuk La (4,460m). Unlike the other passes mentioned, it is not especially noticeable as the highest point along this stretch of the road. But from there, hikes along the valleys lying to the north are possible. In 2007 we intended to search for the little-known Androsace zayulensis, re-discovered by Vojtěch Holubec but described by HandelMazzetti almost 70 years earlier.

Vojtěch had described the route to us

TIBET but regrettably we ended up in another valley.

From the Ngajuk La, where we came upon cushions of A. tapete just past their flowering period, we headed in the direction of the rugged mountains away to the north. At first, we crossed an area intermittently overgrown with low rhododendrons. In between these were numerous cushions of pink Androsace delavayi. The vegetation thinned and altered as we reached expanses of coarse gravel, home to some large, astonishingly firm cushions of Thylacospermum caespitosum. Now and then, in places where the gravel did not cover the ground completely, or occurred only thinly, Draba cf. oreades and Primula chionantha ssp. sinoplantaginea. Sometimes the pretty, blue Lagotis ramalana, at 5-8cm in height probably the smallest species in the genus, was also present.

When we finally reached the first rocks it was unfortunately already late, and there was only a little time to examine the exciting flora. Besides Androsace yargongensis we found a solitary small Solms-laubachia (either S. retropilosa or an undescribed species).

But most exciting were some cushions of Saxifraga ludlowii, showing only a few of their purple flowers. Another unidentified Porophyllum Saxifraga found nearby was white-flowered. As is so often the case in the mountains , we had to turn back due to lack of time without having explored more than a small part of the terrain.

Rosi and I made a second attempt in 2009 to find Androsace zayulensis.

Although we were more confident this time, again we did not end up in the right valley. Yet the tour was still very rewarding. Our trail took us first along a stream, close to which 2.5m tall, white or pink-flowered Rhododendron aberconwayi (often given as restricted to Yunnan) and much larger R. WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

traillianum were in full bloom. Later, R. nivale joined them. There was much to see along the way: Leontopodium himalayanum and L. pusillum, Rhodiola crenulata, P. chionantha ssp. sinoplantaginea and a close relative, small gentians belonging to Section Chondrophyllae, and even a few flowering plants of Paraquilegia, unusually growing near and under the rhododendrons. Finally, having passed a small lake, we reached a rather flat area in the wide valley whose vegetation made us enthusiastic. Three species of Androsace were in full bloom; delavayi, yargongensis and the much hoped-for zayulensis!

Androsace delavayi colonised small, shallow depressions, clearly preferring damper areas. A. zayulensis, on the other hand, was found mainly in stony, elevated positions – yet we had expected to find it growing only on limestone cliffs. This, and affinities to the somewhat similar A. wardii, made us doubt our tentative identification.

We also wondered about the correct identification of the material introduced

by Vojtěch Holubec because the description in The Genus Androsace suggests an even dwarfer plant, the petals not rounded but rectangularobovate.

Androsace yargongensis was easy to pick out, the flowers not pure white but more or less pink, as described in Flora of China. Tibet is not included in the recognised area of distribution for this species, possibly because it has often been mistaken for A. zambalensis. In Yunnan, Sichuan and the areas we visited in Tibet we believe that we have never encountered A. zambalensis, only A. yargongensis.

At the end of the valley, in steep terrain, there were further interesting plants, such as Paraquilegia microphylla, Lloydia yunnanensis, Gentiana cf. emergens, Diplarche 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 53

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ABOVE Androsace zayulensis RIGHT Androsace yargongensis

multiflora (incidentally, this is now treated as Rhododendron chamberlainii), the latter not yet in bloom.

In 2007 and 2009 we stayed for a few days in Tibet’s fourth largest city, Tsetang (Zedang), about 180km southeast of Lhasa and more or less the same altitude as Lhasa (3,563m). We had been there in 2007 from Lhasa: in 2009 we chose the more southerly route, along the river Tsangpo. We stayed once in Mainling, then later in the city of Gyatsa. Some administrative problems with the authorities delayed us and in Gyatsa the only hotel was fully booked by ‘officials’, causing us to spend an unpleasant night in another, windowless accommodation.

The route south of the Tsangpo had less to offer botanically than the G318 alternative. We saw Morina coulteriana, Ceratostigma minus, Arisaema flavum and, in a few rare, humid places along 54 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

the road, Primula tibetica and P. florindae. Otherwise, everywhere was dry. In sand at the side of the road towards the river we occasionally saw an Astragalus, while on the other side of the road, growing on earthen walls, were non-flowering Corallodiscus and Selaginella.

Attempting to drive up to the Potrang La (approx. 5,000m), we were forced to stop for several hours because the vehicles in front of us got stuck in the mud. We spent the time botanizing cross-country and uphill. As well as Androsace brahmaputrae and the more familiar A. strigillosa, we were pleased to find Anemone rupicola and a new plant, the stately Incarvillea longiracemosa. This differs from the similar I. lutea mainly in the shape of its leaves, and has never endured in gardens, despite repeated attempts to introduce both.

The delay meant that when we finally

TIBET reached the pass, it was too late to stay there for long. After a short look at Primula calderiana, Androsace wardii and Saxifraga cf. engleriana, all in flower, it was necessary to leave.

Nor was there time to stop in Chusum, as planned. We had wanted to visit this old village, as we did in 2007. Then, to get there, we had found it necessary to climb a steep footbridge over a high rock face from the newer part of the village where our inn was located. Here, a long gravel road was ‘paved’ with cushions of an Androsace past flowering. In vain, we tried to find out from the villagers the colour of these in bloom, before finding on the outskirts a plant that retained a few white corollas.

At the time we suspected it might be A. bisulca var. bisulca. Since then, we have concluded that instead, this was our first sighting of A. cuttingii, given in Flora of China as restricted to dry,

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sandy slopes at 4,000-4,500m in Xizang, producing short scapes with 3-10 flowers in umbels.

From Chusum we visited three high passes: the Potrang La, the Yarto Drak La, and another to the east of the Yarto Drak La. All yielded a variety of attractive alpine plants.

At the first we found Saxifraga engleriana, umbellulata, punctulatoides and brevicaulis, all belonging to the Subsection Rosulares in the very extensive Section Ciliatae. We also saw, for the first time, purplish-pink Saxifraga bergenioides and the frequent Micranthes (Saxifraga) melanocentra, its flower with a reddish-brown centre and orange markings.

The genus Corydalis was represented by two blue flowering species: C. hepaticifolia and C. jigmei (in effect a smaller version of C. cashmeriana); in our opinion these are among the

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TRAVEL most attractive of the many contenders.

Two other species were yellow-flowered: the 10-30cm tall C. wuzhengyiana and C. polygalina (or possibly C. quinquefoliolata).

Primulaceae in evidence were Androsace lehmannii (white-flowered) and A. brahmaputrae as well as Primula sikkimensis and P. chionantha ssp. sinoplantaginea. We also found Leontopodium souliei and the beautiful L. monocephalum. Bistorta affinis showed its red flower candles and Meconopsis horridula its contrasting, clear blue flowers. There were also several plants we could not identify with any certainty: Arenaria cf. monantha, Geranium cf. refractum, a Saussurea (like a slimmer S. obvallata) and several Pedicularis – a genus in which China

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abounds (over 350 species but others likely to be added to the list, such as P. multicaulis in August 2019).

The Yarto Drak La (4,970m), south of Chusum, is home to most of the plants seen at Potrang La but also has many new ones. Asteraceae is exceptionally diverse. Cremanthodium decaisnei has large yellow flowers, hung like lampshades under brown calyces.

Soroseris species are not immediately recognizable as members of this family due to their growth habit, and there the number of accepted species differs from one authority to another. Our plant had stemless yellow flowers nestling upon narrow, pinnatisect leaves. Judging from H. Toshido’s Himalayan Plants Illustrated, it is probably S. hirsuta. Another

TIBET

ABOVE Incarvillea longiracemosa LEFT Androsace cuttingii

representative, Hippolytia (Tanacetum) gossypina, produces huddled inflorescences of small yellow flowers atop greyish cushions. We often found this in association with other plants, especially Gentiana urnula and species of Androsace and Arenaria.

One plant with broad wrinkled leaves, also nestled to the ground, whose yellow flowers sat upright, atop and at the centre of its leaf rosette, was Oreosolen wattii (Scrophulariaceae). We also found Gentiana urnula, not yet in flower. As with Chionocharis hookeri, it is not rare at these altitudes and even out of bloom, this gentian impresses by its dense cushion of almost square, WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

geometric leaf rosettes. However, the much less concise, blue or white Gentiana waltonii, whose flowers are carried in cymes and in the axils, can bloom through to August but was already showing its first flowers.

Androsace lehmannii (white-flowered) was joined by four other species – a possible record: A. brahmaputrae, A. tapete, A. yargongensis and A. wardii.

However, A. wardii here was white to pale pink, only the buds showing the rich pink typical of Yunnanese plants.

A surprise – a Primula from Section Minutissimae, Primula waddellii. The few flowers left reminded us very much of European Primula minima.

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ABOVE Leontopodium haastioides RIGHT Solms-laubachia baiogoinensis

At Yarto Drak La we again saw Chionocharis hookeri. Once classified as an Eritrichium, a clear difference is that the seed of monotypic Chionocharis has a tuft of hairs. Difficult to harvest because they are embedded in the cushion, if you press on this, the grain is forced upwards but vanishes in the slightest breeze. Unfortunately, this beauty is almost impossible in cultivation. Seedlings and rooted cuttings have not remained alive for more than two years in our garden, showing not the slightest sign of increase.

On the return to Chusum, in deeper (and therefore drier) locations, we made brief stops for two plants. One was Onosma hookeri, probably var. longiflorum, the flowers bluish purple and congregated in densely-packed inflorescences. The other, Pulicaria insignis, has yellow flowers, typical of the Asteraceae, positioned 10-15cm high 58 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

above the softly-hairy leaves.

In the final few days, we visited another high pass and its surrounds, east of the Yarto Drak. Here were several new, attractive plants. As well as two unidentified, cushion-forming, yellow-flowered saxifrages, we found the taller Saxifraga tangutica, with several yellow flowers on 10cm high stems. Here too was S. lychnitis. Like its close relative, S. bergenioides, it prefers damp places. S. punctulatoides was also present, and S. umbellulata var. pectinata (syn. S. pasumensis) grew on mossy rocks.

The short bristly leaves of Microula tibetica (Boraginaceae) nestled in the stony ground, with central clusters of typical sky-blue, forget-me-not flowers with orange eyes that shone. In the vicinity, Lamiaceae was represented by Dracocephalum heterophyllum, Marmoritis complanatum and Eriophyton wallichii. The white-

TIBET flowered Dracocephalum is widespread in Tibet; the other two are mainly of interest in their habit; the flowers are relatively small and partly hidden under the leaves.

A highlight of this pass was Leontopodium haastioides, which is at present in cultivation. The plants formed dense, silvery cushions of rosettes fashioned from imbricate leaves, the flowers almost disappearing within these. In 2007, we paid special attention to the genus Leontopodium because Bernhard Dickore had asked us to do so; he also identified for us the species found. We found eight taxa on the trip: pusillum, jacotianum, himalayanum, souliei, dedekensii, stracheyi, monocephalum and haastioides.

Paraquilegia microphylla, with large violet-blue flowers, was present here, for once not on limestone. In fine gravel we discovered white Solms-laubachia baiogoinensis. Like S. prolifera from Dongda La, this was placed in the genus Desideria only a few years ago. But, due to new researches, it has been reassigned.

Among the numerous Pedicularis we

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could identify only a few, notably P. rhinanthoides, P. elwesii and P. bella, the last of these among the most beautiful of the dwarf species. To our surprise, among Campanulaceae, we found no plants of Cyananthus or Codonopsis in southern Tibet. But we saw two Campanula species, a genus relatively poorly represented in China: C. aristata and C. pallida. The first of these is a graceful plant. The long calyx, as long or longer than the corolla, made the blue flowers appear narrow. We found them several times at altitudes of more than 4,500m, at most 15cm tall. C. pallida grew in rocky terrain at about 3,700m but has disappointingly small flowers. The most beautiful Chinese bellflowers for the alpine enthusiast are C. crenulata and especially C. calcicola, both from SW Sichuan and NW Yunnan.

In 2009 my wife and I had the opportunity to travel from Tsetang to another 5,025m high pass. On a stony plateau we found Corydalis hendersonii and C. tibeto-oppositifolia, both with yellow flowers, next to plants typical of these altitudes, already mentioned.

Primula littledalei and a member of the Boraginaceae with light blue or white flowers, (probably Eritrichium laxum), sought shelter among the rocks.

Occasionally Primula tibetica was also seen.

Three small Rhodiola species could be identified: R. bupleuroides with bluish leaves and red flowers, and the dwarf R. smithii and R. prainii.

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TRAVEL Thylacospermum caespitosum formed sizeable cushions and the relatively large, bright white flowers of Arenaria festucoides stood out. In contrast, large cushions of A. cf. ischnophylla produced small white stars with narrow petals, and Lagotis integrifolia showed its dark purple-blue candles.

At least four species of the genera Astragalus and Oxytropis were present.

Among them was Astragalus yunnanensis with yellow flowers while the other plants had blue to purple flowers. One was most likely Oxytropis microphylla. Other plants found here included Anaphalis xylorhiza, Meconopsis horridula, Pedicularis oederi, Saxifraga consanguinea, S. brevicaulis, Androsace tapete (yet again past flowering) and A. lehmannii at its best.

After crossing the plateau, we reached gravelly terrain at the foot of the mountains. A heavy rain shower forced us to retreat: we had only a brief glimpse of the vegetation there.

Delphinium chrysotrichum was soon to bloom; in carpets of Leontopodium monocephalum was the beautiful Veronica lanuginosa with felted leaves and light blue flowers.

Tsetang, the capital of Shannan Prefecture, is considered the birthplace of the Tibetan people and their culture.

As well as monasteries, there are other historical sites. One of them, the oldest castle in Tibet (Yumbulagang / Yumbulakhang), was visible from various vantage points to the southeast. When we left Tsetang, heading south, we also saw the Tibetan royal tombs from a distance. Both sites date from the early seventh century.

In 2009, our destination was the Lugu La (approx. 5,000m), about 80km south of Tsetang. Halted by police in Pelri, a few kilometres from Tsetang, because a delegation of VIPs was visiting these tombs, we used the time to take a gravel 60 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

road west, after a few kilometres arriving in a village (Gya Rok?). A sheep market was in progress. Just behind, some dry-looking mountains proved well worth investigating. On steep, stony slopes, Corallodiscus kingianus and Selaginella cf. pulvinata grew and, with them, many pads of Androsace cuttingii. These still had some flowers, both pink and white. We had seen this species in a similar location on the way to the passes south-east of Tsetang.

There, the flowers had finished but the withered petals were very conspicuous because they were orange. A. cuttingii forms a taproot like A. tapete, an obvious adaptation to seasonally dry conditions.

After the road to Lugu Pass was re-opened, we made good progress. In gravel we saw a tall Delphinium, and then Dicranostigma lactucoides, Arisaema flavum ssp. tibeticum and Ligularia rumicifolium. At the highest point of the road (and also the highest viewpoint far and wide) higher mountains could be seen in the far distance.

Plant growth was sparse, the substrate sandy and stony. All plants were dwarfed with the exception of Ligularia ghatsukupa, around 35cm tall and as such standing out considerably.

Large leaves enclose the lower part of the cylindrical inflorescence, in its upper stages covered with large flowers of brown tubular and yellow ray florets all around. At first, we thought this was possibly a Cremanthodium.

We admired Thylacospermum caespitosum, Meconopsis horridula, Arenaria polytrichoides, Rhodiola cf. bupleuroides, Oreosolen wattii, Saussurea andryaloides, Anaphalis xylorhiza, Leontopodium pusillum and – for the first time – the dwarf Incarvillea younghusbandii. Androsace tapete was abundant (and no longer blooming): on the other hand, a second

TIBET

ABOVE Ligularia ghatsukupa

species that we could not identify, close to A. muscoidea, was in full flower. If it is that, it would be a new record for the Chinese flora, and a most unlikely one, for the accepted distribution is from the northwestern Himalaya and the Hindu Kush.

Lugu La was the last pass explored before flying the next day from Lhasa to WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

Zhongdian, enjoying excellent views en route. The land below revealed the expected glaciers and snowy landscapes, but also rivers and green valleys with no sign of human settlement. Tibet will certainly provide further hitherto unknown botanical treasures for many years to come.

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Tibetan Treasures

Harry Jans first travelled to China in 1994, as a member of the celebrated ACE venture. He has returned on numerous occasions, sending back dazzling photographs of scenery and plants. This account details a marathon high altitude trip from Yunnan to Tibet, in regions that very few westerners have visited.

PHOTOS: HARRY JANS

I

n Tibet, a fascinating area to search for plants, in the last ten years has been nigh impossible to explore in some of its regions. In 2019 foreigners were allowed to travel

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to there again and in June-July of that year I organised and led a tour to areas previously visited in 2008 and 2009.

Organising a botanical tour to Tibet is no easy task. You need a good local

TIBET agent to handle all the necessary permits and also enough positive energy to propel yourself! I started making an itinerary for the tour in September 2017. The plan was to start in Lijiang, in the province of Yunnan, driving by bus all the way to Lhasa, a distance of some 2,100km. From Lhasa we would fly back to Chengdu, where tour members would take international flights home.

By the summer of 2018 Tibet had re-opened and reservations were made.

But on September 11th, I received alarming news from my Chinese agent: much of the area we were scheduled to visit had been closed again. I planned an alternate route, but it meant we would miss a good part of the area we hoped to explore. While not ideal, this still allowed enough opportunities to see many exciting plants and wonderful scenery. Luck was on our side, and I received a message that things had changed: we were able to follow the

original itinerary.

On June 23rd we all arrived in Lijiang (2,400m), now a very busy town and not the lovely village known from 1994 when I first visited. There are many Chinese tourists these days: the old atmosphere has vanished. This year was extremely dry and we only found a few plants along the Yulong Xue Shan.

We stayed two nights in Lijiang, mainly to acclimatise. Our next stop was Zhongdian, now called Shangrila (3,300m). Here we saw our first memorable plants on the Zhongdian Plateau. In an open field just before this destination, we found many Iris barbatula, a little-known species with much variation in colour. Beside it was the very attractive black pea, Thermopsis barbata. It germinates easily but I have never seen good plants in cultivation. After our arrival at Zhongdian we visited the wonderful Songzalin Monastery, sometimes called ‘The Small Potala’. The next day we

ABOVE LEFT The east side of Bai Ma Shan ABOVE Yulong Xue Shan

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TRAVEL

ABOVE Adonis davidii BELOW Rheum alexandrae

visited Tianshi Lake and encountered quite a lot of rain. Really awkward conditions for photography, but very good for the flora.

We used jeeps to go to Tianshi Lake (3,870m) as the road was muddy, steep and narrow. This site is famous for one particular plant, Lilium souliei. It always

grows in or very close to dwarf rhododendrons so the yaks cannot eat the whole plant. This lily, dark brownblack and up to 30cm tall, has been in cultivation, but I believe it no longer persists. Tianshi Lake is the only location I have seen it during all of my many tours through China.

TIBET

ABOVE Salvia wardii

Another plant growing there in very damp areas (and in large quantities) is Rheum alexandrae. This always grows in very wet spots and is much easier in cultivation than another dramatic rhubarb, R. nobile. Tianchi Lake is also the home of Rhododendron wardii and masses of Primula sikkimensis and P. secundiflora. At lower altitudes we found Iris bulleyana, including a white form, Nomocharis aperta, Salvia flava and a large colony of Adonis davidii, with its fern-like leaves and flowers with pale blue reverses.

It was then time to move on to Bai Ma Shan (4,400m), one of my favourite mountains in western China. Just before the top pass we stopped briefly WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

to see the famous Yangtze River bend near Benzilan. We were based in Dechen (3,450m) for two nights, which gave us one and a half days to botanise in the area. The Bai Ma Shan is easily accessible by bus and there are lots of good plants growing reasonably close to the road. On the east side of this is the best location to see Paraquilegia microphylla growing in the limestone cliffs in various shades from pink to deep blue. Other highlights in this location are Corydalis melanochlora, which grows in the unstable screes, as do pink C. calcicola, C. hemidicentra and Saussurea medusa with its natural woollen blanket.

When you reach the pass from the 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 65

TRAVEL south and walk for fifteen minutes toward the west side, you enter an area with many small pink-flowering Rhododendron calostrotum ssp. keleticum, white R. primuliflorum and yellow Thermopsis smithiana intermixed. A little higher up we found another exciting bulbous plant, Lilium

ABOVE Primula cawdoriana

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euxanthum, which grows here between Cassiope pectinata and Bergenia purpurascens. Other plants include Primula nanobella, Androsace delavayi in its pink form, Koenigia forrestii and many Caltha scaposa. Just a few hundred metres further along the road we found good stands of the balloonshaped Lilium lophophorum, Meconopsis rudis, Pleurospermum foetens and pale blue Primula zambalensis.

Throughout we had remained in Yunnan province. It was time to move on and get our feet onto Tibetan ground. On June 29th we drove from Dechen to Markham (3,870m), a wonderful drive along the Mekong River with spectacular scenery, but not many good plants.

This area was very dry, even on the Hung La (‘La’ means pass) at 4,300m.

The next day we drove to Zuogong (3,800m) and crossed the Dungda La (5,100m) where we had just two hours to botanise: fortunately, the next day we came back and in excellent weather had a full day there.

TIBET

ABOVE Lilium euxanthum

The Dungda La is a pass with scree conditions on both sides, full of botanical treasures. Walking at over 5,000m is not easy, as only 50% of oxygen is available compared with at sea level, but many good plants grew very close to the road, such as wonderful forms of yellow Meconopsis pseudointegrifolia, Saussurea aster (with deep blue flowers above woolly leaves) and Saxifraga punctulata. There was also a very attractive little Corydalis with marbled leaves that I had never seen before, C. bulbifera. Its leaves form a kind of rosette and it has almost stemless, whitish flowers with a touch of WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

blue. We walked a bit higher and found more fantastic plants including Gentiana urnula, with wonderful leaves and urn-shaped flowers newly in bloom.

Nearby were spiny blue Meconopsis racemosa, blue Dracocephalum bullatum, the very dwarf yellow Cremanthodium humile, yellow Dasiphora dryadanthoides (syn.

Potentilla fruticosa var. pumila), yellow Saxifraga finitima, yellow-red S. atuntsiensis, pink Corydalis calcicola and electric-blue C. verna.

Around 5,300m, between larger rock crevices, we found Androsace yargongensis, already seen on the Bai 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 67

TRAVEL

ABOVE Saxifraga coarctata RIGHT Delphinium kamaonense

Ma Shan but not in such huge numbers.

Very compact cushions of Arenaria densissima were in full flower, with a yellow Rhodiola species growing nearby. At the Dungda La you can also find the Himalayan Eritrichium, Chionocharis hookeri. We found many cushions but unfortunately only a few flowers, for this had been a late spring.

On tours such as this, there is always a chance you will find unknown plants.

This was the case with the very striking Corydalis conspersa, growing in a few wetter areas on the high screes here.

We had several stops on the way back to our hotel to see one of the best salvias, Salvia wardii, at 4,450m. Up to 50cm 68 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

tall, sometimes less, it has large blue flowers and as far as I know is not in cultivation. Let us hope that a little seed will come our way in the future. Other plants found at slightly lower elevations were Stellera chamaejasme and Clematis tangutica ssp. obtusiuscula.

The next day we drove through many different habitats, gorges and valleys with awe-inspiring views – but not much botanising, unfortunately. Crossing the amazing Gama La pass (4,300m), with 72 hairpin turns, we stopped to see the muddy Salween River and just before the next pass saw some wonderful Delphinium kamaonense. It grew near a stream where we also found yellow

TIBET Pedicularis longiflora var. tubiformis, Primula florindae and many Dactylorhiza hatagirea. We arrived in Rawu (3,920m) by late afternoon.

The next two days were crucial for us, as this area was very close to Medog County, with a huge mountain peak, Namchabarwa (7,882m), predominant.

It is a very political sensitive area, and though we had permission to drive through the area, we were not officially allowed to leave the road, though my plan had been to botanise on two different passes. I had visited one of them before in 2008 and 2009, the Galung La, but the other was new to me: the only thing I knew about it was that the road ascended to almost 5,000m. This was our first target. Just outside a small village we transferred from our bus into jeeps and continued on our way. After about twenty minutes we were stopped by a policeman and I was afraid we would have to turn back. Our guide and local driver got out and talked to the policeman, showing him our permits. He told them we were not allowed to go there and thought all the foreigners would get altitude sickness. I don’t know what happened, but suddenly he told us to just go, but be careful. Whatever his previous hesitations, we were on our way again to this new pass, Guza La, which turned out to be magnificent, with a perfect tarmac road and WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

many new plants in full flower.

We stopped for the first time at around 4,480m because the whole slope was covered in white-pink cushions: Androsace adenocephala, hundreds of them! Other plants at this stop were A. yargongensis, Meconopsis racemosa, the rare Corydalis hendersonii, Sibbaldia purpurea and Saxifraga decora in both dirty white and pale pink. The weather was good and we drove higher, stopping at

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TRAVEL

PHOTO: CHRIS HANSEN

ABOVE Androsace adenocephala

4,980m. While driving there we saw many plants in full flower, but the idea was to botanise first at the top and then gradually move down. At the top we found good stands of a nivalid primula, which is probably Primula russeola.

Very near we also found P. dryadifolia ssp. congestifolia. Among these was a cushion with white stemless flowers, some plants around 20cm in diameter.

This was Saxifraga coarctata, a plant I’d never seen before. Such are the joys of trips like this; there is always something new to find.

In the screes we found various species of Saussurea and Rhodiola; also, the very compact Ranunculus glareosus.

After a while we moved down the road and in this new habitat with more soil 70 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

and less scree conditions were fine stands of blue Meconopsis lancifolia.

Dwarf pink Allium atrosanguineum was growing with Cassiope pectinata and again we found Arenaria polytrichoides.

Much lower down were other exciting plants: Lilium nanum, Paraquilegia microphylla, the little orchid Galearis spathulata and a few Meconopsis sulphurea ssp. sulphurea. As far as I know, we were the first Western people to botanise the Guza La. What a treat to be there, and what a stroke of good fortune!

The next day was equally nervewracking. The Galung La was our goal, a pass with many good plants, but again an area more or less forbidden to foreigners. We again transferred to

TIBET jeeps with our local head driver, who managed to get us as high up this pass as possible. In 2009 we had been able to drive all the way to the top, but a tunnel has since been built and the old pass road is no longer maintained, so we had to walk up the old road. It rained almost the entire day. In late spring there was still a lot of snow, but we found all the plants we wanted to see, except purple Caltha sinogracilis ssp. rubriflora, which was still covered by a thick layer of snow. Among

ABOVE Meconopsis racemosa TOP OF PAGE Primula dryadifolia ssp. congestifolia

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90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 71

other fine plants, we encountered pink Primula agleniniana, deep maroon P. tsariensis and P. dryadifolia ssp. congestifolia. But just one Meconopsis speciosa ssp. speciosa. Other rare plants found were the brown Lilium saccatum, Omphalogramma tibeticum with very large, deep purple flowers, pink Diapensia himalaica and Arisaema wilsonii. In 2009 we saw just one plant in full flower of blue Neopicrorhiza 72 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

scrophulariiflora: this time there were many. Rhododendrons were also present, including Rhododendron mekongense, R. campylogynum, R. calostrotum (pictured, above), R. pumilum and R. cephalanthum ssp. cephalanthum. In the afternoon we spent some time lower down and found many Primula sikkimensis and orange P. chungensis near a stream. Another very good day that yielded a

spectacular alpine flora. We moved on towards the Serkhyem La, but before reaching this found some real gems along the road. Highlights were pale yellow Primula alpicola var. luna and P. cawdoriana, which grew on a rocky wet slope. In 2009 we found this plant at the same location, with just a few plants in flower. This time, a bonanza!

Before reaching our hotel, we investigated a few other promising WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

locations where we saw Meconopsis baileyi, including a very large plant in full flower. In the same area grew our first Tibetan Cypripedium, C. tibeticum var. amesianum, with small, deep maroon-coloured flowers. When you are with a group, there are always tour members who will find different, better plants. This was true on this occasion, when someone discovered a large clump of C. guttatum. This dwarf 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 73

TRAVEL

ABOVE Cypripedium guttatum ABOVE RIGHT Jokhang temple BELOW RIGHT Cassiope selaginoides

species forms underground runners, the floral colours red and white.

Luck was on our side here as we were able to see and photograph a Pica (Ochotona himalayana), a small Himalayan mammal the size of a rat, but tail-less. We finally reached our hotel in the city of Bayi (or Nyingri). For the next two days we explored the Serkhyem La, parking our bus at the top of the pass (4,555m). Easy enough to photograph the Himalayan rhubarb, Rheum nobile, here: it took no more than an hour to reach the first plants. While taking pictures, our guides suddenly instructed us to come down. They had received a phone call from some military chief that we had entered a ‘secret area’.

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Lower down we found four Meconopsis: pale blue M. prainiana, yellow M. sulphurea ssp. sulphurea, many beautiful Meconopsis speciosa ssp. cawdoriana and blue-pink M. impedita. Other plants in the same area included deep blue-purple Primula macrophylla var. niguida, deep pink Lilium cf. nanum, Cassiope selaginoides, yellow Lloydia flavonutans, attractive pink Allium kingdonii (with very large flowers), Androsace adenocephala, A. mollis (very close to A. delavayi), deep blue Corydalis bomiensis, red-flowered Persicaria griffithii and a dwarf white Rhododendron, perhaps R. laudandum var. temoense. This was more a less our last area to see high alpines. Now we needed to proceed to our final

destination, Lhasa. Before moving on, we paid a visit to what may be the oldest trees in Tibet. Very close to our hotel was a small forest of Cupressus gigantea.

These trees are estimated to be 2,500 years old.

During the tour we had mixed weather, but on the whole were very lucky, except for the last days, on the last mountain pass, Mi La (5,000m), when we had snow and could make just a very brief search for plants.

Then we drove to Lhasa, visiting the Potala Palace, the Jokhang Temple and the Sera Monastery, with its debating monks.

Lhasa has changed since my first visit in 2005. Everywhere there are now are Chinese soldiers and check points, like at the airport, but it is still a unique place. From Lhasa we flew to Chengdu,

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from where most of us flew home. It was not an easy tour to organise and at one point it seemed the trip might have to be cancelled, but everything worked out in the end. I would like to thank my tour participants for making this very successful tour unforgettable.

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TAXONOMY

Musings on classification Musings from former editor of this journal, Christopher Grey-Wilson, a RBG Kew-trained botanist of renown, who has described new species of plants from Africa and Afghanistan to China.

PHOTOS: CHRISTOPHER GREY-WILSON UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED

V

ariation is one of the most fascinating and complex subjects in the natural world.

To the botanist and taxonomist, understanding it is key to sensible and meaningful classification.

To the horticulturist and gardener, the variation inherent in species and hybrids is what enriches our gardens, providing endless possibilities in the way of new forms and novelties, while allowing different variants to intermingle in cultivation, intentionally or not. Variety, they say, is the spice of life.

But what is variation? The biological definition is that it includes ‘Any difference between cells, individual organisms, or groups of organisms of any species caused either by genetic differences (genotypic variation) or by the effect of environmental factors on the expression of the genetic potentials (phenotypic variation)’. This from Encyclopaedia Britannica.

That appears quite complex and indeed the biology of variation within

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species is complicated by many factors, such as genetics as well as environment and geography. However, we see variation daily.

Take 100 individuals: we are all human, all the same species. We share the same basic features yet, except in the case of identical twins, each one of us is subtly, occasionally markedly different.

That is the very essence of variation.

Examples are numerous in the wild, accentuated when plants are brought into cultivation. I was astonished by the degree of variation in flower size, shaped and colour in populations of Viola calcarata in the French Alps (Petit de Mont Cenis and Mt Cenis itself) as

VARIATION

variation, and taxonomy

ABOVE Leaf variants in Cyclamen graecum; Greece, Peloponnese, Gythio

the image on p91 shows. Variation can be far simpler – an albino bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) amid the predominantly blue ones in an English WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

woodland, or white bells amongst the chequered purple ones in a meadow of Fritillaria meleagris.

Colour is perhaps the most obvious 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 81

TAXONOMY

ABOVE Cyclamen graecum

manifestation of variation in plants. Yet other characters can be equally pronounced: height, hairiness and leaf characteristics such as colouration or variegation. Plant breeders and gardeners are quick to pounce on these.

Cyclamen leaves exhibit a great deal of variation in wild populations, often between adjacent populations or even, as in the case of C. graecum, plants growing side by side.

Gardeners, of course, revel in the infinite possibilities’ variation offers.

Think of the humble snowdrop, today the centre of a frenzied interest with endless minor variations recognised, primarily regarding the green/ sometimes yellow flower markings.

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There are well over 3,000 named cultivars and the keenest galanthophiles are prepared to spend a great deal of money on a single bulb; £10-£30 might seem a great deal for a single bulb, yet some are sold for hundreds of pounds, even well in excess of £1,000. This mania is the plant equivalent of stampcollecting. Surprisingly, the vast number of cultivars have as their basis just three species and their hybrids; the common snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, G. elwesii and G. plicatus.

THE NATURE OF VARIATION To the taxonomist understanding variation is key to understanding species and the relationships between

VARIATION species. The question is just how much variation can be tolerated and how do subspecies and varieties fit in? The definition of subspecies and varieties I have followed over many years is fairly simple. Studying differences over the entire range of a particular species is necessary.

Subspecies: a group of individuals that fit within the general compass of the species as defined, but differ consistently in several characters (leaf shape, hairiness or flower colour for example), in geographical location or habitat. By their very definition subspecies must be capable of interbreeding, should their distributions have some overlap, or if they are brought together artificially. If this were not so, the whole species concept would fail.

Variety: individuals differing from the normal circumscription of a species in one or two minor characters (leaf/ flower colour etc.) but are found in the same geographical location.

It is true to say that every population within a ‘species’ show some degree of variation but does that make them subspecies? If that were so then there would be a whole series of subspecies and any pretence of a sensible taxonomic classification would be lost.

However, at times the differences between two populations are so marked that they cannot be treated as one. Here it is the genetic difference that is most important.

The vexed question of variation has long haunted botanists and taxonomists. Variation within and between populations is a fascinating subject. The pattern of variation over the known distribution of a particular species is the hub of any revision or monograph. While some species are narrow endemics (those known from a very limited area, perhaps an island or a single mountain), others are far more WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

widespread. This is a typical pattern seen in many genera that I have been fortunate enough to have studied, notably Dionysia, Clematis, Colchicum, Cyclamen and Meconopsis. What is essential is that species can be clearly distinguished from one another on easily discernible characters, or often a combination of characters. If not, their separation or apparent distinctiveness has to be queried. Taxonomists are classed as ‘splitters’ or ‘lumpers’; sometimes it seems that ‘never the twain shall meet’. Whichever path is chosen, the end point must surely be a clear, unambiguous account as far as current data allows. If not, questionable science results. There are examples aplenty but one will suffice here: Crocus speciosus in the broad sense has a wide distribution, from northern Greece and Macedonia eastwards through European and Asiatic Turkey to the Caucasus and northern Iran. This fragmented distribution involves local variants that differ often in rather minor characters such as the number of style branches and whether or not they exceed the stamens. While several of these variants could be recognised at subspecific level, creating a rash of new species to explain the fragmentary distribution may not be the answer. In the latest monograph of the genus Crocus this is exactly what has happened with 14 separate species presented: C. archibaldiorum, C. armeniensis, C. bolensis, C. brachyfilus, C. hellenicus, C. ibrahimii, C. ilgazensis, C. polyanthus, C. puringii, C. sakariensis, C. striatulus, C. xantholaimos and C. zubovii. The test would be to put representatives of all these side by side without name or location and see if they could be confidently named. It seems unlikely.

SPECIES CONCEPT This leads on to the question: ‘What is 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 83

TAXONOMY a species?’. The standard dictionary definition is ‘a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding’.

The species, a man-imposed concept, is the prime natural taxonomic unit, ranked below that of genus. There is little doubt that those crocuses listed above will interbreed given half a chance, making them inherently difficult to maintain in cultivation, yet does this prove that they are not true species? The dictionary definition is too simplistic, as any botanist or biologist will tell you. Species that evolve side by side need some sort of incompatibility system to prevent them interbreeding.

BELOW Crocus goulimyi

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In plants this might be a disparity in chromosome number, the pollen of one species may not be viable on the stigma of the other, or species may have different pollinators or blooming periods.

Species can interbreed if they come together (as in cultivation) but are kept apart in nature by distance, altitude or habitat. In the wild this usually happens in areas disturbed by man or by natural forces. However, as in the case of the crocuses, a wide distribution can become fragmented, leading to minor variations in different populations.

Widespread species often show this and one has to accept that they are very

VARIATION variable, as with Crocus speciosus.

Proposing a whole series of closelyrelated species does not help our overall understanding and muddles the relationship between them and other better defined, related species.

Take Meconopsis horridula, one of the most delightful small blue poppies, a denizen of high-altitude habitats, rocky meadows, screes and moraines.

It is remarkably variable and spans a wide zone from the western Himalaya eastwards to Bhutan and Himachal Pradesh, much of central and southern Tibet (Xizang) and north-western China. One could separate a whole series of ‘species’ based on both regional and local variations but botanists have, over the years, resisted because, apart from a few entities, it doesn’t make taxonomic sense and will only cloud the classification of the genus unnecessarily.

Many other examples can be cited.

Perhaps one of the most startling in recent years has been the treatment of the orchid genus Ophrys which is distributed in Europe, North Africa and western Asia, but particularly in the Mediterranean region. The genus, along with other genera of terrestrial orchids, has been the subject of numerous accounts over the years, all with varying adherence from one to another. Two contrasting accounts reveal an entirely different taxonomical approach. Pierre Delforge’s account (2006) recognises 247 species of Ophrys in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, an approach reflecting an extremely narrow view of species, where numerous local variants are raised this to species status. In contrast is the much broader concept (2019) presented by Rolf Kühn, Henrik Ǽ Pedersen and Phillip Cribb, in which just 23 species are recognised, with the bulk of taxa treated as subspecies and WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

varieties. The authors state: ‘Morphological variation in the genus is highly complex… The situation is further complicated by frequent hybridisation and because the hybrids are often fully fertile. It seems that, in the most extreme cases, recurrent hybridisation and back-crossing to the parental taxa have created not only confusing local hybrid swarms but even partly-stabilised species-like hybrid complexes, which sometimes extend into geographic regions where both parent species are missing’.

This has long confounded nontaxonomists venturing to the Mediterranean region in search of orchids. On Crete, some Ophrys populations are remarkably polymorphic, encompassing handfuls of Delforge species, with some not even then identifiable with any certainty.

GENERIC DIFFERENCES Now to the vexed question of generic boundaries. Taxonomically, species with similar morphological traits are grouped together into genera. The definition of a genus must encompass all the individuals as defined by its circumscription. This stands to reason: any individuals that do not conform need to be excluded and placed in another genus or, alternatively, the generic boundary needs to be expanded. Traditional taxonomy is based on morphology. In more recent times pollen (palynology) and genetics (chromosome numbers and DNA sequencing) have played an increasing role in plant classification.

Sensible classifications arise when all the disciplines are considered together, rather than in isolation.

Examples of interest to alpine gardeners, in which a multidisciplinary approach has resulted in a reasoned and sensible classification, include De Yuan Hong’s A 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 85

TAXONOMY Monograph of Codonopsis and Allied Genera. Here, careful anatomical studies along with details of pollen, seeds and chromosomes, linked to a cladistic analysis, resulted in the recognition of six genera, Codonopsis, Cylocodon, Echinocodon, Himalacodon, Pankycodon and Pseudocodon, all formerly included in Codonopsis.

Importantly, the revision hinges on clear, readily observable morphological differences that are easy to comprehend.

Likewise, Magnus Lidén’s revision of the multi-sectional genus Corydalis sees a sensible correlation of all the disciplines employed, with various elements hived off into several allied genera, Capnoides, Ceratocapnos and Pseudofumaria in particular.

THE BASIS OF CLASSIFICATION Two prime branches are involved in plant classification; taxonomy and systematics. The former is concerned with the classification and naming of organisms (animals, plants etc), the latter with the evolutionary relationships of organisms. Are the two compatible? In many ways the answer is yes, but in certain respects there is a conflict. Genetical studies show the closeness or otherwise of taxa, whether at generic or species level. Depending on the results, taxa can be merged or separated, often to the frustration of the taxonomist whose clear, often unambiguous classification is disarrayed. There are countless examples in recent years and many more realignments are threatened. Examples of interest to alpine gardeners include the moves to submerge genera like Cortusa, Dodecatheon and Dionysia into Primula, Meconopsis into Papaver and Pulsatilla into Anemone. However, all this does is to make already large genera even more unwieldy. It can only 86 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

be achieved by expanding the circumscription of the genus to admit the incomers. Taxonomists have known for many years that these sets of genera are closely related but have kept them distinct on good, wellestablished morphological criteria.

The three most important words to any taxonomist are ‘Morphology, morphology, morphology’, or so my then boss at the RBG Kew once told me.

Take Meconopsis. The genus has evolved in the monsoon-rich regions of Asia, the Himalaya and the mountains of western and south-western China in particular. Papaver, on the other hand, shuns these, instead inhabiting lowland and mountainous regions of Europe and Asia with a few species in North America where, by contrast, summers are dry or relatively so.

Genetics often confirm what the taxonomist has previously concluded but morphology is often set aside, even overlooked, in the eager quest for a new classification. What is clear is that the progenitors of say Cortusa, Dionysia and Primula were the same.

Yet in more recent times evolution has taken them in different directions not revealed by genetic profiling. It is often said that if a genus is embedded in the genetic profile of another then the two must be the same: this overlooks other factors such as anatomy and overall morphology.

There are some crazy mergings of genera. While taxonomists generally accept the inclusion of the Bulbocodium and Merendera within Colchicum (a European/ Mediterranean/western Asian genus), there is great reluctance to accept the inclusion of the many species (more than 70) of Androcymbium (a primarily African genus). Without going into intimate detail, there are ten or more morphological differences between

VARIATION

ABOVE A pale form of Crocus goulimyi

the two. However, despite this there has been general acceptance by the RHS of the inclusion and South African botanists have made all the necessary combinations transferring Androcymbium into Colchicum.

If all this seems slightly negative, I must emphasise that there has been some outstanding multi-disciplinary research, centred upon institutes worldwide, that has given us a greatly enhanced understanding of the plant world, particularly the relationship and dynamics of the many plant families and the placement of genera.

This is cleverly summed up in Plants of the World, published by the RBG Kew WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

in 2017. Taking just one family, Leguminosae (the pea family), the realignment of genera has been both meaningful and profound and brings together knowledge gained over many years of careful research at different institutes around the world.

In recent years traditional taxonomy has been suppressed by systematics to such an extent that major revisions of genera and species have sometimes been based almost wholly on genetic considerations. It is as if taxonomy has been hijacked by systematics, whereas the two sister disciplines should be working in harmony, side by side.

The time-consuming nature and the 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 87

TAXONOMY expense of genetical studies means that few samples are being studied and paper after paper is published, based on rather scant sampling overall.

In contrast, pure taxonomic studies generally involve all the available material present in herbaria around the world, this sometimes amounting to many hundreds of samples for an individual species.

FAMILY CORRECTNESS ABOVE, TOP RIGHT AND BOTTOM RIGHT A good example Various expressions of Ophrys rheinholdii of pedantic adherence to rules can be seen in the Latin names of families. These botanists have got hold of them and are in general based on a particular insisted that they conform, so we now genus (which you can refer to as the have Brassicaceae, Asteraceae, type genus, and that in turn is based Lamiaceae, Fabaceae and Apiaceae. on a single species). The overall This is political correctness gone mad correct ending for families is –aceae, in the botanical world. Of course, like hence Gentianaceae and Primulaceae the merging and splitting of genera, but a number of the largest, most there is no law that says you should important families have never conform to these changes. conformed (Cruciferae, Compositae, Fortunately, many do not. Where Labiatae, Leguminosae and good and thorough scientific Umbelliferae). There is no genus upon research indicates change then it is which these family names are based. only wise to follow: otherwise leave All are collective terms. In common well alone. parlance we refer to crucifers, composites, labiates, legumes and IS IT AN APPLE? umbels, which are known worldwide.

Extremes in taxonomy will never win Regrettably, fundamentalist out, especially when they fog sensible 88 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

VARIATION classification. Take the case of the simple pear, genus Pyrus. Not so simple if some researches are to be followed. Recently all the species of Malus (apples), Sorbus (rowans and mountain ashes), Cotoneaster, Chaenomeles (Japanese quinces), as well as Aroania, Photinia and Stranvaesia have been lumped (amalgamated if you will) into Pyrus; well over 1.000 species, turning previously comprehensible genera into one huge, baffling conglomerate. This is the nonsense we confront. Surely any so-called science that blurs boundaries is by its very nature bad science. It is certainly poor taxonomy.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS Who decides which names are acceptable and which have to be amalgamated or rejected? Various botanical and horticultural panels exist, worldwide. The Royal Horticultural Society has the Nomenclatural and Taxonomy Advisory Group (NATAG), charged with evaluating current research (mostly published papers) and their scientific worth. The panel has to decide whether the evidence

TAXONOMY presented warrants any formal recognition, this with regard to horticulturally important genera and species in particular. Of course, not everyone agrees with many of the changes proposed in recent years and you do not have to follow. However, where a well-disciplined approach and scientific data dictate, it is probably wise to follow, if it makes taxonomic sense and morphology as well as genetics are considered in harness.

FINAL THOUGHTS What I have tried to convey in this article is twofold. Firstly, that understanding natural variability is fundamental in plant classification.

Secondly, that good taxonomy aims to produce a clear, unambiguous classification of the plant world, as comprehensible to the layman as to the scientist, with any changes based on strong scientific grounds. Where boundaries become blurred or merging of genera becomes so profound that definition is compromised, taxonomy fails and will be ridiculed. As a parting shot, consider the green frog orchid, Coeloglossum viride. Never in a thousand years would one include it with the marsh orchids in the genus Dactylorhiza. Close (or so genetical studies instruct), but morphologically very different. Today we are instructed to accept the scientific name Dactylorhiza viridis for this charming little plant. I’m afraid I will keep to Coeloglossum!

A clear understanding of the nature of variation in the plant world, along with a reasoned and unambiguous account of families and genera is surely what everyone wants. This is as true in the world of alpines as it is for any other specialist group of plants.

The fundamental question facing biologists today is ‘Should we be classifying the natural world via DNA?’.

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The answer is not a simple one, especially where plants are concerned.

The systematist, zealous in his or her rigid beliefs, will not countenance any other option. The taxonomist, equally zealous at times, will argue the opposite, yet taxonomy thrives best when classifications are thorough, clear and unambiguous and species’ delineation readily defined. Organisms are scientifically named and grouped at different taxonomic levels, based primarily on overall morphology. We do not have to accept that Rosmarinus is now Salvia, that the frog orchid, Coeloglossum, is now a Dactylorhiza or that Dionysia equates to Primula, especially when overall morphology dictates otherwise. Undoubtedly cytogenetics have revealed an impressive amount of data, informing us about the relationship between plant families and genera. Reorganisations, splittings and mergings have been rife but, from a morphological point of view, boundaries have often become blurred.

As a friend said to me recently: ‘If it looks like a zebra [several species, I know] then it is a zebra, not a horse’.

The day we feed a portion of plant into a machine to find out what it is will be a very sad one. Use your eyes and morphology will lead you in the right direction.

REFERENCES Christenhusz, M.J.M, Fay, M.F. & Chase, M.W. (2017). Plants of the World (An illustrated encyclopaedia of vascular plants). Kew Publishing.

Delforge, P. (2006 ed.). Orchids of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. A&C Black, London.

Kühn, R., Pedersen, H. Ǽ and Cribb, P. (2019). Field Guide to the Orchids of Europe and the Mediterranean. Kew Publishing.

VARIATION

ABOVE Variations in flower size, shape and colour in Viola calcarata in the French Alps

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BOTANY

Iris paropamisensis In charge of the Alpine Unit at RBG Kew for almost 30 years, Tony Hall is an authority on a remarkable range of hardy plants, the genus Iris to the fore, with the ‘junos’ his long-standing focus

T

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winged species. It was cultivated at Gothenburg Botanic Garden in the early 1970s and has the lowest recorded chromosome count (2n=14) for any juno iris (Gustafsson & Wendelbo, 1975: p218 & Fig. 5). The flowers of Iris xanthochlora have the margins to the haft of falls upturned and gutter-like, as in I. kopetdagensis, and they are also creamy-yellow, greenish-yellow to bright yellow, often with greenish veins, although the midrib below can have maroon dots either side. Iris xanthochlora is never more than 15cm tall in flower, with 3-5 leaves, whilst sometimes I. kopetdagensis may reach 35cm in height and has 6-9 leaves.

PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER GREY-WILSON

he four greenish-yellow juno species of the Physocaulon group of section Physocaulon – Iris drepanophylla, I. kopetdagensis, I. xanthochlora and I. paropamisensis – are difficult to distinguish from each other by herbarium material alone. Whilst preparing an article for the British Iris Society on junos from Afghanistan, I carefully scrutinized material that has been misidentified in Flora Iranica and a number of herbaria as Iris kopetdagensis (Vved.) Mathew & Wendelbo. Previously, I had tentatively re-labelled those particular specimens Iris aff. xanthochlora Wendelbo.

However, I have since concluded that they represent an undescribed species, more closely related to I. xanthochlora than to I. kopetdagensis. This species nova has now been described as Iris paropamisensis (Hall, 2019: p55).

Iris xanthochlora itself is restricted to the provinces of Baghlan and Badakhshan in NE Afghanistan, especially to the north of Salang Pass.

When Wendelbo described Iris xanthochlora (Wendelbo, 1969: p206), he compared it with I. linifolia and allied junos but stated that his new species ‘differs in having the claw of the outer perigon segments wider in the upper part and broader than the lamina.’

Although the upper portion of the haft of falls does have a noticeable widening, I. xanthochlora is not considered a

ABOVE Iris xanthochlora (Grey-Wilson &

Hewer 857)

JUNO IRIS

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PHOTO: MARIJN VAN DEN BRINK

However, the pollen of Iris xanthochlora is football-like and quite different to the hamburgerlike pollen of I. kopetdagensis. It should also be noted that although Iris kopetdagensis may have up to 10 flowers per stem, I. xanthochlora usually has up to three, but occasionally five.

Wendelbo & Mathew (1975: 62) noted that specimens of Iris kopetdagensis they determined from C. Afghanistan were on the whole smaller than the plants from NE Iran and Turkmenistan but had been collected generally at much higher elevations.

This high-altitude material has been wrongly assigned in the herbaria of RBG Kew, RBG Edinburgh, Gothenburg BG and elsewhere (e.g. I. Hedge & P. Wendelbo 8754, 8768, 8819 & 8714: E, GB; T.F. Hewer 1211: K; S.-W. Breckle A-1854: GOET). These collections represent the same undescribed taxon as that found in NW Afghanistan (e.g. P. Furse 7686B: K; I.

ABOVE Iris kopetdagensis

Hedge, P. Wendelbo & L. Ekberg 8089: GB), also mistakenly labelled Iris kopetdagensis. Paul Furse christened his material (Furse 7686B) “Sabzak Green” as it was found on Sabzak Pass in Bādghīs Province, close to 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 93

BOTANY where Hedge, Wendelbo & Ekberg 8089 was also collected. Curiously, Furse’s material was found growing near the earlier-flowering Iris drepanophylla subsp. drepanophylla (Furse 7686). Both of these Furse collections from Sabzak Pass were grown and flowered at Wisley in the late 1960s to early 1970s and by Dr Elliott in Kent. All of the misidentified specimens quoted above are listed in Flora Iranica (Wendelbo & Mathew, 1975: p62) under Iris kopetdagensis, but are closer to I. xanthochlora than they are to I. kopetdagensis. In Iris paropamisensis, the upturned margins to haft of falls are more or less parallelsided, usually narrower than the blade to falls and only barely expanded (in fact, very similar to that of I. kopetdagensis, so one can understand why confusion occurs between the two species), whilst I. xanthochlora has a clearly expanded haft which is broader than the blade.

In Iris paropamisensis, herbarium material shows distinctly greyishgreen dried flowers (as in dried specimens of I. xanthochlora), and the pollen sampled in both of these species is clypeate-reticulate (football-like, with the exine divided into a number of reticulated polygonal plates) and not zona-aperturate reticulate (hamburger-like, with the exine divided horizontally into two equal reticulated halves) as found in I. kopetdagensis. Unfortunately, no material of Iris paropamisensis has survived in cultivation; if living material were available to study, a chromosome count might indicate how close it is to Iris xanthochlora.

Iris paropamisensis T. Hall & Seisums Description: Plants 10-16.5cm tall at anthesis. Bulb (including physocaulon 94 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

and true side-bulbs) slender, c. 1.5cm diam., 2.5-3 cm long; tunics membranous, forming a neck. Storage roots 10-20, radish-like, cylindrically swollen above for up to 2cm in length, then tapering abruptly to a longer, wirier portion below. Cataphylls 1–2.

Leaves 3–7, well developed at flowering time, suberect to falcate but with the uppermost leaf occasionally erect, leaves lanceolate-attenuate to linearattenuate, 11-19.5cm long, 0.6-2cm broad at the base, bright green to slightly grey-green above, grey-green beneath and glabrous to densely papillose-puberulent, with veins not markedly prominent, margins narrow, whitish to silvery, smooth to scabridulous, rarely slightly hispidciliate; 1–4 upper leaves (i.e. those with axillary flowers) usually pale and slightly inflated at the base; lower internodes occasionally visible at anthesis or soon afterwards and lowest leaf sheathing. Bracts subequal, (4.5) 5–7.5cm long, pale to bright green, sometimes greyish-veined, slightly inflated below, attenuate at the tip.

Tube 3.5–6.5cm long. Flowers 1-4, 3.5–6.5cm diam., green, lime-green or greenish-yellow, blade to falls with a large greenish-yellow to yellow zone covering most of the blade, crest golden-yellow to orange-yellow, raised, undulate, more or less entire or unevenly toothed to deeply dissected.

Falls 3-5.5cm long, haft canaliculate, more or less parallel sided, but 0.40.8cm broad towards the blade from a somewhat narrower base and often with a slight sinus between haft and blade, but haft usually narrower than the blade, rarely equally as broad; blade rounded to obovate, 1-1.6cm long, 0.4–1.35cm broad, slightly reflexed.

Standards more or less patent, much reduced, subulate, 0.4–0.7cm long, 0.15-0.2cm broad at a sometimes bilobed base. Style branches 2.2–5.2cm

JUNO IRIS PHOTO: SIEGMAR-W BRECKLE

ABOVE Iris paropamisensis (Breckle

A1854)

long, 0.4–0.9cm broad, tapering below, style lobes slender, erect, 0.7-2cm long, 0.15-0.4cm broad; stigma emarginate to bilobed. Stamens 1.7–3.1cm long, anthers 0.8–1.6cm long, anthers and pollen yellow, filaments pale grey to yellow-green. Capsule ellipsoid, 3–3.2cm long, 0.7–0.9cm diam.; seeds 0.3 x 0.2cm, brown, rugulose, with a small aril. Pollen grain clypeatereticulate.

Range: Distributed in NW, C & E Afghanistan: Bādghīs, Bamyan, Ghōr, Ghazni & Wardak provinces.

(Furse 7686B,).

Acknowledgements I am grateful to the Herbarium and Library at RBG Kew for allowing me to reproduce various historic images from the slide library, herbarium specimen scans and artwork. Also, my thanks to Professor Siegmar Breckle for permission to reproduce one of his slides. The herbaria quoted in the text are Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K); Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh (E); Göteborg University (GB); Göttingen Botanical Institute (GOET) References Gustafsson, M. & Wendelbo, P. (1975).

Karyotype analysis and taxonomic comments on irises from S.W. and C. Asia. Bot. Not. 128: 208–226.

Hall, T. (2019). Juno Irises from Afghanistan that are currently not in cultivation. Brit. Iris Soc. Year Book: 47-64.

Wendelbo, P. (1969). Two New Species of Iris from Afghanistan. Bot. Not. 122 (2): 204–205.

Wendelbo, P. & Mathew, B. (1975).

Subgenus Scorpiris Spach. In Iridaceae.

Rechinger, K. H., ed., Flora Iranica 112: 43–68. Graz: Akademische Druck-u.

PHOTO: PAUL FURSE

Habitat: Found on bare dry hillsides and slopes, sometimes facing west, occasionally with Artemisia, at 9153,000m.

Flowering period: In nature flowering from late May to mid-June.

Etymology: This species is named for the Paropamisus Range in NW Afghanistan, where Paul Furse – who first appreciated the distinct nature of this material – collected the holotype WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

ABOVE Iris paropamisensis (Furse 7686B)

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PLANTS

An orchid back from the brink

Author of numerous landmark books and articles on Old World Orchidaceae, Phillip Cribb has made a particular study of Cypripedium, having described several species new to science and seen many of the genus in the wild

I

PHOTOS: PHILLIP CRIBB

t is forty-five years since I became obsessed by the Lady’s Slipper orchid (Cypripedium calceolus). On joining the Kew staff in 1974, I was asked to represent the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew on the Nature Conservancy’s (now English Nature) slipper orchid committee. This was founded by Edgar Milne-Redhead, formerly Deputy Keeper of the Kew Herbarium, and a leading figure in the Botanical Society of the British Isles.

The first annual meeting that I attended was in York, where I joined Edgar and another ten representatives of the universities of Leeds and York, the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Trust and the Nature Conservancy (NC). The twelve of us were responsible for advising the NC on the conservation of Cypripedium calceolus, the last plant of which survived ‘somewhere in the North of England’. Prior to joining, one of the committee was responsible each year for removing the flowers to prevent walkers seeing it and digging it up.

Sadly, the plant suffered just such a misfortune a couple of years later when half of it was removed by a ‘person or persons unknown’. However, Dr David Harberd, a well-known Pleione grower and one of the committee members,

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CYPRIPEDIUM CALCEOLUS had been allowed in the early 1970s to self-pollinate the wild plant and attempted to grow it in vitro (having successfully raised other orchids in this way). He also scattered about half of the seed on the wild site, resulting a few years later in a single flowering seedling.

I visited the site with him and others in 1976 when he was planning to pollinate the flowers. The steep slope of limestone rubble with a sparse grass, ash and hazel cover had a tent at the base in which Jeff Wood (of Kew) was keeping guard to prevent anyone

digging it up. Bird’s-eye Primrose (Primula farinosa), Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium caeruleum) and Mountain Pansy (Viola lutea) were scattered over the slope; a wonderful introduction to Britain’s rarest plant. It had, by then, split into a larger clump of about seven flowering shoots and a smaller offset with two flowering shoots.

The next step followed a chance meeting in 1978 with Lady Lisa Sainsbury, a keen orchid grower. This led to her asking me if I had any project that she might consider supporting.

Given her interests, saving the Lady’s

Cypripedium calceolus growing in the Dolomites

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PLANTS eminently qualified scientist to enlist and develop micropropagation methods. Lady Sainsbury’s generosity allowed Kew to employ him on an 18-month contract in 1982 and Kew’s Endangered Orchid Project began that spring.

Everything was now in place for a concerted effort to grow seedlings for reintroduction to selected sites where the orchid had once occurred. Mark succeeded in isolating mycorrhizal fungi from the roots of the Lady’s Slipper and other endangered British orchids. Seed was germinated in vitro, in the presence of the fungal isolates, with considerable success for several species.

Unfortunately, only a few ABOVE Micro-propagation expert Dr Camiel de Jong protocorms were of Anthura Nursery in the Netherlands produced from the seed of Cypripedium calceolus: germination was low and Slipper orchid seemed to me to be ideal. development snail-paced. On the other But first I had to convince the hand, flowering-sized seedlings of Cypripedium committee to back the Anacamptis laxiflora, A. morio and proposal (which was to cross the wild Serapias lingua were successfully plant with pollen from a couple of grown and earmarked for a trial garden specimens known to have been introduction on a grassy bank at taken some years before from the same Wakehurst Place. Both the first and last site, grow them in vitro and, eventually, have survived there for many years reintroduce them). This was agreed since. because selfed-seed proved to be 95% Mark worked with mature, stored sterile. A serendipitous meeting at the seed of the Lady’s Slipper. This had a World Orchid Conference in Durban, dormancy that was difficult to break, South Africa with Dr Mark Clements even using chemicals. In Sweden a from Canberrra, Australia provided an physician, Dr Svante Malmgren, had 98 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

CYPRIPEDIUM CALCEOLUS great success growing Cypripedium calceolus using seed harvested from green pods, the seedlings growing quickly to flowering size in just three or four years. Kew adopted this technique under Rob Mitchell and Margaret Ramsay, who developed Mark’s techniques on his return to Canberra.

The success was immediate and we were able to produce quantities of seedlings. Test seed was harvested under licence from garden plants in Basel, Switzerland and sent by Samuel Sprunger, a Kew student from the 1960s but later associated with the University of Basel and the Swiss Orchid Foundation. The resulting seedlings were vigorous and grew much more quickly than native seedlings, suggesting that the gene pool of our native plant was very narrow (as suspected).

Rob Mitchell’s horticultural skills kicked in and he was able to successfully wean seedlings out of flask and grow them well in a compost he had devised. The first reintroductions, supervised by English Nature, were made using non-flowering-sized seedlings. Voles, slugs and snails soon ate the lot. Later introductions were more successful, flowering-sized and even flowering plants being used instead.

The success of the project grew under Margaret Ramsay and Grace Prendergast in Kew’s micropropagation unit. Quite a large number of seedlings were produced, more than could be reintroduced and more than Kew could grow in its limited space (a dedicated glasshouse and cold frames funded by Lady Sainsbury). I approached Kath Dryden to ask if the Alpine Garden Society could help by selecting skilled members who might take on growing what would, in effect, be a reserve stock of the British plant. Typically, she came up with the goods and seedlings were WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

ABOVE Peter Corkhill of English Nature hand-pollinating a slipper orchid in Yorkshire

distributed. On a visit to Ian Christie in Scotland a few years later, I was delighted to see that he was still growing them.

On retirement from Kew in 2006, I left the Cypripedium Committee, making a last visit to the wild site on a beautiful sunny day in June 2005 with English Nature’s Peter Corkhill, a skilled raiser of slipper orchids himself. The curlews were calling, skylarks were singing their hearts out and we were charmed by the number of strong plants scattered on the slope. At the last count, the Lady’s Slipper could be seen in quantity at Silverdale in Cumbria and also grows at 15 other sites, including the original one.

The eminent naturalist Peter Marren, amongst others, has questioned the cost of saving the Cypripedium calceolus from extinction in Britain. In designing this project my rationale was broader 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 99

PLANTS than simply saving this magnificent orchid. It is a symbolic and spectacular species and I reasoned that bringing it back from the brink of extinction could be used to highlight the rapid decline and even extinction of other native plants. I saw it as the ‘panda of the plant world’, an orchid with a profile that was much more extensive than any other native plant. English Nature supported my argument and the Lady’s Slipper was the first plant it gave an individual Species Survival Plan.

Elsewhere, the Kew project has engendered other similar projects, notably a re-introduction of 3,000 flowering-sized plants to 42 sites in the Swiss Jura by a team lead by Sammy Sprunger and the Swiss Orchid Foundation at the University of Basel.

This project has an aspect that profiles the important contribution of horticulture to conservation. Specialist growers, such as members of the Alpine Garden Society, often have the expertise and time to devote to difficult subjects that others lack.

In the Swiss project, the Dutch nursery Anthura was asked to grow plants for reintroduction from seed collected in Switzerland under licence from the few remaining depleted colonies. Dr Camiel de Jong, their brilliant micropropagation guru, has developed further the methods pioneered by Svante Malmgren, Kew and others, rearing the plants to flowering size in three years. Reintroductions were made in 2018 in the 42 sites and last summer the success rates averaged around 80%. A worthwhile spin-off for the success of propagating slipper orchids has been their increasing availability in horticulture. Mainly thanks to Anthura we can all enjoy slipper orchids in our gardens. Mine burst into flower in the April sunshine of our lockdown spring – a welcome pick-me-up in such taxing times.

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CYPRIPEDIUM CALCEOLUS

A planting of Cypripedium calceolus in the Swiss Jura; selfsown seedlings at the same site (inset)

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PLANTS

Blue are the hills that are far away John Watson made the first significant seed introductions of the Andean flora since Harold Comber as a member of the 1971-1972 BC&W expedition. He now lives in Los Andes, near Santiago, and has made numerous ground-breaking Andean field trips with his Chilean wife Anita Flores PHOTOS: CARLOS FONCH UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED

T

he genus Tecophilaea, endemic to Chile, contains just two species. One is T. cyanocrocus, too well known to need any introduction. The other, T. violiflora is a quite different, small-flowered species found along the Pacific Mediterranean littoral and just inland from there. Its name has caused much confusion, leading those who don't know it in the wild to interpret the specific epithet as meaning 'violet-coloured'. In fact, violet forms are virtually unknown, apparently based on one doubtful record only. It is predominantly an eye-catching blue like its big sister, but cobalt rather than gentian. In the extreme north of its range, albino forms take over. In fact, the species was originally published as violaeflora (a spelling no longer allowed), now obligatorily changed to violiflora to comply with the International Code of Nomenclature (ICN). Both mean with flowers like Viola, which gives us the clue. Its rather irregular corolla shape

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must fancifully have reminded its author of a slender petalled violet's flower. If instead he'd wished to refer to the colour violet it should have been violaceiflora, a clear semantic difference.

Readers may perhaps by now be aware that the legendary Tecophilaea cyanocrocus has been rediscovered during recent years in the wilds of its native country. The first emblematic encounter occurred during October 2001 in the Andes somewhat to the south of Santiago. It consisted of a very sizeable colony composed almost entirely of the variant known in cultivation as 'Leichtlinii' with its extensive pure white centre and outer tepal coloration of rich to pale sky blue.

The only exceptions were one or two albinos (Eyzaguirre & de la Huerta 2002).

In 2014 the Chilean amateur natural history enthusiast Carlos Fonck happened to be exploring the heights above Santiago very early in the

TECOPHILAEA PHOTO: JOHN WATSON

ABOVE An aerial view of a section of the Santiago Andes, containing potential

Tecophilaea cyanocrocus habitat

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PLANTS season with much of the ground still covered by snow, when he was thrilled to encounter a very few plants in flower. These were the classical pure gentian blue form as long known to horticulture. This site is in the general area where the species was first discovered in the mid-19th Century.

We have twice chronicled these events in outline ourselves, accompanied by a detailed analysis of the history of the species since its original discovery, including the longstanding false claim of its extinction in the wild (Watson 2009, 2018). The latter of those two publications was in The Plantsman, September 2018.

However, since then Carlos has informed us of yet a third such population, this time encountered via a planned exploration. It is very substantial indeed, and close to the site where the species was first found again, in 2001, after more than a century. An account of these circumstances and the habitat follow herein.

But first a brief resumé revealing the true background history of T. cyanocrocus for the benefit of those who may not be aware. How come so many in the influential circles of botany and horticulture declared the Chilean blue crocus extinct (e.g. E.B. Anderson in 1973, Hoffmann in 1989. Grau in 1992, Beckett in 1994, Maunder et al. 2002 et al)? Following such pronouncements, of course, it became a conservation cause célèbre, highlighting how supposed commercial greed, massive overcollecting and gardeners' irresponsible acquisitiveness in combination can serve to drive a species into extinction in its native haunts.

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The precise source of the myth can be traced to a 1973 book about Chilean plants already extinct or critically at risk (pictured, above). It was written by a recent foremost Chilean botanist, a dear friend of us both, who had looked for Tecophilaea a few times with a colleague where they supposed it grew.

However, although the deduction of it as no longer extant in the natural state was unquestionably in good faith, his statement fails totally to conform with the current rigorous required standards for a plant to be declared extinct in the wild (Wilson 1992, IUCN 2012). This vague, insubstantial background 'proof' was available in print, together with the following easily accessible relevant facts. It should undeniably have been studied and

TECOPHILAEA analysed carefully, not swallowed hook, line and sinker by influential members of the scientific botanical community, and then subsequently assumed by horticulture.

That the declaration came to be considered valid, as noted above, owed much to an earlier, widely disseminated historical error: that Tecophilaea cyanocrocus had once stained the vast mountainous landscapes of Santiago blue when flowering there by the tens of millions. There can be little doubt that the author of that in 1889, Eduard von Regel, received a letter to the effect from either Friedrich Leybold or Rudolph Amando Philippi and misinterpreted what in fact referred to one limited locality as a description covering the entire extensive central Andes where he supposed it grew.

Significantly, that blue-painted terrain is exactly how Carlos has described the remote, confined population he saw recently. However, although - as we now know - it can be very locally abundant, overall the Chilean blue crocus is undoubtedly extremely rare, a not uncommon phenomenon.

Consequently, the fact that the species had then rapidly spread throughout European horticulture, in particular to Dutch bulb firms, to specialist nurseries, and to British enthusiasts, was interpreted as it having been dug up en masse everywhere it occurred by foreign collectors, who had sent back unimaginable quantities to be sold by the trade.

Let us examine that proposition, pointing out its three glaringly obvious fallacies. In the first place, no plant collectors were active in Chile at the time the species was published and became widespread in cultivation (Coats 1969). Secondly, serious continuous, organised botanical exploration began in the country during the first half of the 19th Century, WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

with extensive results published as a flora in six volumes by Claudio Gay (1845-54), and continued up to its last decade (Reiche 1896-1911). Tecophilaea was actually discovered and described in 1862, well into this period, by Friedrich (aka Federico) Leybold. He had already made his mark for us by finding and publishing Daphne petraea before he left Europe to live in Chile: 'Not a lot of people know that' (a catchphrase falsely attributed to Michael Caine). So while many small and relatively insignificant new Andean species which flower early were being found and detailed, somehow or other, these experienced botanists who had been combing the central mountains for over 30 years failed to spot what has been described by Grey as ‘the most beautiful of all spring flowering bulbs’ staining the mountains all around them like a reflection of the sky. A likely story!

Finally, if it was imported by the countless millions, why is virtually nothing recorded of it in the horticultural literature of the time?

An alternative or contributory, less absurd cause of the alleged extinction exists. As Chile was gradually being populated by Europeans, they brought cattle across with them, and heavy overgrazing by large numbers of these in the mountains where Tecophilaea grows has also been cited on various occasions.

Now for the true picture. The species was introduced possibly twice, more likely just once, by the only two relevant interested parties who knew of its existence in the wild: Leybold, the first discoverer who was also its author, and Rudolph (aka Rodulfo) Philippi, the foremost botanical collector and publisher of new taxa in Chile of all time.

There is scarcely need to underline their responsible attitude to the flora, which both venerated. Clearly, they perceived that this gorgeous but rare 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 111

PLANTS plant should be appreciated in botanical gardens and by private growers, but under no circumstances exploited commercially from the wild. Both were German citizens permanently resident in Chile, and they had a suitable contact, a co-national in the world of botany, the aforementioned Eduard von Regel, director of the Russian Imperial Botanical Garden at St Petersburg. He received a carefully calculated, responsible quantity and was the only gate to its introduction. From there on its rapid spread throughout Europe, and later further afield, was due to skilful and effective propagation, beginning in St Petersburg itself, and on into horticulture via the German (that connection again) nursery of Haage & Schmidt.

As for grazing by cattle, much snow covers the ground and little other fresh vegetation can be seen when Tecophilaea flowers and is in growth. If such big animals were herded up to Andean levels at that time of year, the poor beasts would probably starve to death! Quite apart from that, to see any grazing stock at these elevations above and around the capital is a very rare occurrence indeed. To be fair, that would not be known to anyone who hadn't visited the central Andes of Chile, but explains why it has sometimes appeared in European literature as a significant contributory factor. It is true though that the ubiquitous and hardy introduced rabbit manages to survive up where the 'true blue' exists and is known to have caused significant damage to 'his' population, as Carlos has told us.

John's own dissention from the unfounded extinction assertion dates back to 1971/72, his first 112 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

exploration of Chile. The vast extent of the central Andes where Tecophilaea was found and also might grow, much of it unexplored still to this day, was very apparent. He took that into account, and has frequently pointed it out (Hall 1995). Even after the 2001 encounter with the ‘Leichtlinii’ form, his belief that the gentian blue form would also turn up again one day is recorded (Watson 2009).

TECOPHILAEA

ABOVE A section of the third discovery of Tecophilaea cyanocrocus in 2018

THIRD TIME LUCKIER STILL (Based on letters from Carlos Fonck) The circle that began with John's constant prediction that the 'true blue' Tecophilaea cyanocrocus was not extinct in habitat has now been closed, and as proof we have the lovely images WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

of it taken recently in the Andes of Santiago!

One of the latest visits to its site there

by Carlos was at the beginning of October 2018, when there were about 70 flowers as well as ripening capsules.

Every season new flowers are appearing in the original colony 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 113

PLANTS

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT A pale purple-tipped form of Tecophilaea cyanocrocus;

A wild T. cyanocrocus 'Leichtlinii' at the new third site; A form of T. cyanocrocus with veins along the length of the petals; A gorgeous white form, a bit like blue snow!

where none had been registered previously. Its life cycle is not clear to him though, because there are also several which fail to reappear for some reason. At least there is now a good picture of the periods of growth and flowering.

The best recent news of all comes from the weekend of October 20-21 2018, when Carlos managed to climb up to the location of the first rediscovery, 114 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

to the south of Santiago.

How he got to know of that place and reach it is another remarkable story. It involves some young botanists who, after a lot of effort and detective work, hit upon it following three years of diligent searching at their own not inconsiderable expense! They contacted Carlos through an Instagram account his daughters had set up so his friends and family could follow his

TECOPHILAEA

ABOVE A mixture of different forms (referred to as 'pot pourri' by Carlos) of the varied

third population of T. cyanocrocus

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PLANTS

ABOVE Carlos Fonck

plant hunting activities! Here's a brief description from those botanists of the main details: 'We arrived at the 2,050m uppermost plateau, reaching it via a dried-up snowmelt channel of sand and gravel.

There, on our way up, we encountered our first sky blue Tecophilaea on the gravel lining the edge of the runnel. We kept going along this outflow to its source at the edge of the plateau. All the time there were more and more of the plants, forming colonies. We continued on up to this plateau which crowns these heights. It is like a high archway platform with views through peaks beyond of rocky hills and valleys below 116 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

into the distance. This platform, is large, at least 200-300m long by 50m wide, much of it running with meltwater. Where we were now, much of the ground was bluish. There must have been between 50,000-100,000 individual flowering plants, with many more young ones growing from seed dispersed and transported the previous season by meltwater. In fact, this is indicated beyond doubt, as the borders of the channels are delineated by continuous rows of flowers! By contrast there are no plants in the higher, dry areas beyond. The ground is entirely fragmented and composed of dry, white granite-clay. The main melt

TECOPHILAEA channel passes eastwards across the plateau, descending in a gentle curve until it leaves the ridge and joins a larger stream below heading in a southerly direction. Tecophilaea flowers were observed lining the watercourse below the edge of the plateau, but for no further than 25 metres beyond, at which point there is a sheer drop of 1,000m to a second, lower plateau. Our new habitat is much larger than the original one nearby as described by Eyzaguirre (Eyzaguirre & de la Huerta 2002).

Little groups, separated from each other by about 10cm and covering the ground abundantly, were particularly noticeable. Often they formed small integrated clumps composed of flowers of various distinct colour forms. There were also many plants of Barneoudia major (Ranunculaceae) scattered among them.

We noticed numerous holes and soil hillocks of Spalacopus cyanus*, the 'curcuro', in the vicinity, but apparently it doesn't greatly affect this population of Tecophilaea that they live among. We saw no withered or eaten plants near their burrows, and furthermore, many young plants were present where they occurred.

But anyway, the total area covered by the entire blue crocus population is so extensive, that it can be considered to be nothing less than thriving.’ (*A small, underground-dwelling rodent of central Chile about 10cm long with dense, short, glossy hair, usually black, and a tail about a quarter the length of the body. It looks like a cross between a mole, a shrew and a guinea pig, and has notably long incisors, like a beaver, for shearing up the subterranean plant organs it eats. J.W. & A.F.) As reported by Carlos, the plateau is as full of contrasting yellow dwarf WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

barneoudias as it is of tecophilaeas. The two cohabit perfectly in the substrate of white clay. By contrast there are no barneoudias anywhere within sight of the gentian blue forms above Santiago.

The following details were also provided by him.

The small clusters, which look uniformly sky blue at distance, separate out into a distinctive variety of different colours and markings close to. Even so, the great majority qualify as the classical 'Leichtlinii', that is to say with the inner two thirds of each tepal white, the remaining upper third sky or pale blue, and with short streaks of blackish blue in the throat. The remainder range from white through to sky blue overall, and there is also a very pale purple form as well as one Carlos nicknames 'pyjamas' (due to the tepals being striped for their full length, from throat to tip over a pale bluish-purple ground).

Next, we come to one almost pure white except for blackish blue stripes in the throat and a shade of purple at the tips of the tepals. There are also forms where only one third of the tepal length is white basally, with the upper two thirds coloured purplish blue or pale blue. Another difference is in the stripes or streaks in the throat, when some are longer and more pronounced, leading to the eventual complete stripe of the 'pyjama' form.

In sum he registered nine different colour variants, albeit with some differing very little from one another.

The strongest blues are pale compared with the great majority of 'true blues' at the site above Santiago. Clearly, a marked difference between the two populations.

Note: No more than a handful of Chilean naturalists and botanists know the actual locations of these populations, and are not prepared to reveal their exact whereabouts for an 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 117

PLANTS obvious reason: fear they might be collected for one purpose or another. It isn't possible to speak for the interested gardening inhabitants of the country itself, but it seems utterly improbable anyone from outside of Chile would go to the expense of travelling here simply in the hope of illegally collecting forms which are already plentiful and available in cultivation, as at the 2001 and 2014 sites. On the other hand, several in this latest population are very distinctive indeed, and might prove an irresistible temptation.

Acknowledgements As well as Carlos Fonck, we would also like to express our unqualified gratitude to the group of young botanists who so generously shared this remarkable achievement with him and then, indirectly, us.

Bibliography *Anderson, E.B. (1973) Seven gardens or sixty years of gardening: 70. Michael Joseph, London.

17 2018).

Gay, C. (1845-54) Flora Chilena, 6 vols.

Santiago de Chile and Paris. *Grau, J. (1992) Las monocotiledóneas petaloideas de Chile. In: Grau, J. & Ziska, G. (eds.) Flora silvestre de Chile.

Palmengarten 19, Frankfurt am Main: 101. *Hall, T. (1995) Tecophilaea cyanocrocus Leyb. 'Leichtlinii', A.M. In: Rolfe, R. (ed.)

Plant Awards 1994-1995. Bull. Alp. Gard.

Soc. 63(4): 372-373. *Hoffmann, A.E. (1989) Chilean monocotyledonous geophytes.

Taxonomic considerations and their state of taxonomy. Herbertia 45: 13-29. *IUCN (2012) IUCN red list categories and criteria. Version 3.1, 2 ed. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, U.K. 32 pp.

Available from: http.//www.iucnredlist. org/ (accessed Dec 13 2018).

*Beckett, K.A. (1994) Tecophilaea. In: Beckett, K.A. & Grey-Wilson, C. (eds.)

Alpine Garden Society encyclopaedia of alpines Vol. 2 (L-Z): 1301-1302. AGS Publications, AGS Centre, Avon Bank, Pershore, Worcs, U.K.

*Maunder, M., Cowan, R.S., Stanc, P. & Fay, M.F. (2001) The genetic status and conservation management of two cultivated bulb species extinct in the wild: Tecophilaea cyanocrocus (Chile) and Tulipa sprengeri (Turkey).

Conservation Genetics 2(3): 193-201.

Coats, A.M. (1969) The plant hunters: 352-377. Studio Vista, London.

Reiche, C. (1896-1911) Flora de Chile, 6 vols. Santiago de Chile.

Eyzaguirre, M.T. & de la Huerta, R.G. (2002) Tecophilaea cyanocrocus Leyb.

(Tecophilaceae) rediscubierta en su habitat natural. Gayana Bot. 59(2): 73-77.

*Watson, J.M. (2009) Tecophilaea cyanocrocus: demolishing bad science.

Herbertia 62: 209-240.

Eyzaguirre, M.T. & Fonck, C. (2016) Halazgo de una nueva población de Tecophilaea cyanocrocus Leyb.

(Tecophilaceae) en la Cordillera de Santiago. Chloris Chilensis Año 19(2).

URL: www.chlorischile.cl (accessed Dec 118 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

*Watson, J.M. (2018) The case of the reappearing blue crocus. The Plantsman 17(3): 160-164.

Wilson, E. O. (1992) The diversity of life: 243. Belknap Press, Harvard University.

PHOTOS: BRIAN MATHEW

Bulbs of Lilium pardalinum

The subterranean gardener African safari participants refer to the 'big five': Brian Mathew has achieved the botanical equivalent with his monographs of Crocus, Cyclamen, Daphne, Iris and Lewisia. A botanist of worldwide renown, he concentrates here on what goes on below ground.

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PLANTS

I

In 1909 Reginald Farrer wrote in My Rock Garden (p 285): ‘The shameful truth must now come out. I am utterly afraid of bulbs.

With ordinary plants I have no such qualms, for they have no wish to disappear underground and keep you in the dark. The moment the plant feels poorly you can note its symptoms, and diagnose the disease, and heave up the whole thing with your trowel and give it repeated changes of soil and situation until you have either killed or cured. But how underhand and secretive a thing is a bulb! Your priceless Daffodil, your gracious Lily, blooms in glory; two months later there is nothing left of them above ground, perhaps, and you have not an idea what dreadful things may not be going on under the surface.

In all probability a mouse or a slug is

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having a word with that bulb, and you may say a last goodbye to your Lily and your money and your happiness all at once. Therefore, I maintain that there is something ominous and terrible about bulbs.”

Although I understand Farrer’s thinking, and admire his elegant way of putting it, I could not disagree more about having no idea what is going on under the surface in the world of bulbs: there is great interest down there! The most exciting times in the geophyte gardener’s year are when the post arrives bringing the latest catalogues, and then the subsequent arrival of the bulbs; after that the potting, repotting and replanting times in late summer and early spring. This is when the observant gardener gets to appreciate the finer details of USOs (underground

BULBS

LEFT A selection of Crocus 'tunics' ABOVE The variety of forms of Crocus corms

storage organs), whether bulbs, corms, tubers or rhizomes.

SUBTERRANEAN 'BITS' For the herbarium botanist dealing with dried specimens, there is a wealth of information to be gleaned from the subterranean bits of plants. This is particularly notable among the geophytes of the petaloid monocot families Iridaceae, Amaryllidaceae, Hyacinthaceae (or Asparagaceae), Liliaceae etc. In a large herbarium such as RBG Kew’s, where I spent much of my working life specialising in ‘bulbous plants’, one gets to examine a huge range. In the case of the petaloid monocots the specimens are often dried with their underground parts intact. Prepared well, they will last indefinitely. The outer tunics of corms WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

and bulbs, usually fibrous or papery, have retained their distinctive features through the centuries. Some are so characteristic they can be utilised to identify the species, e.g. the tunics of Crocus fleischeri, but more often indicate a group of related species; they are thus an enormous benefit to the taxonomist.

One might think some of the more arid regions of the Mediterranean, Near and Middle East unexciting places for those interested in plants - but not for the subterranean botanist! Underground storage organs evolved to cope with such an environment, having the ability to sit out a long dry, often hot, period in their life cycle. In fact, their adaptation to these conditions is such that they struggle to survive when cultivated in anything other than their natural 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 125

PLANTS climes. As gardeners we attempt to replicate the conditions, often with considerable success. One only has to visit an AGS Show to realise just how successfully. But there is a considerable difference between cultivating a plant in carefully controlled, artificial conditions and a natural population of the species taking on the vagaries of the climate, relying on a supply of suitable pollinators and thus perpetuating itself by seeding.

It is difficult to pick out any one time of year when there is most excitement for the subterranean gardener. For many it starts with the thrill of anticipation, choosing from the catalogues and opening gift packets from fellow aficionados. One thing that repeatedly strikes me when handling a bulb is that this one compact ‘package’ encompasses the entire plant. Cut a mature daffodil bulb in half in late summer and everything will be found packed in there, even flower buds with visible stamens, just waiting for the right conditions to trigger growth. No wonder someone once described bulbs as ‘the packet soup’ of the plant world: just open the pack and add water.

Autumn-flowering colchicums don’t even need the water! Of course, the skill of the gardener then comes into play to keep them going year after year and replicate the sequence.

When opening packages, particularly those from the Dutch nurserymen, I marvel at the expertise, honed to a fine art over the centuries, in producing top-sized bulbs that are almost guaranteed to give fine results in their first season. Even more remarkable is the quantity produced there, many of them offered by the thousand. The unique conditions for cultivating bulbs in the Netherlands are only part of the story. The Dutch have backed this up with research into all aspects of geophyte botany and horticulture; 126 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

issues such as the all-important storage temperatures required to initiate flower bud formation, humidity control, timing and duration of storage, and propagation techniques. It is astonishing to see a field of some rare bulb in numbers that probably far outweigh those in the wild. This huge industry is such that quite a substantial part of the landscape of Holland disappears underground in summer until reappearing in colourful packets come autumn!

DIGGING FOR HIDDEN GEMS The subterranean gardener is often to be found digging enthusiastically in an apparently bare patch of ground in late summer, searching for some hidden gem. Depending upon the species, this may involve excavation to a considerable depth. When seeds of geophytes germinate, the immediate requirement for the fledgling bulb or corm is to get away from the surface before it dries out and then over the course of a year or two produce a new storage organ progressively deeper than the previous one. Probably each species has its own built-in ‘working depth’. I have long intended to do some experiments but still haven’t got around to doing so. Someone may have worked it out but I am unaware of any detailed studies.

What is obvious to those who grow bulbs in pots is that if you leave them for several years unattended, they either die or pull themselves down and out of the drainage hole into the plunge material beneath, where annoyingly they often seem to thrive better than in the carefully-prepared potting medium.

Conversely, plant them too deep, or if by chance they become accidentally deeply covered for some reason, and they will go into reverse and form a new bulb above the old one, attaining their preferred depth. Tulips and colchicums

BULBS

ABOVE Crinum macowanii in Turkana

are good examples of bulbs that have an impressive ability to pull themselves downwards. Out in the garden, with no restrictions, they will head for the depths and if I am ever asked for a bulb of Tulipa sprengeri, which does very well on our heavy (Claygate) clay, I know that a major excavation will be required. The most extreme example I have come across in the wild was a Crinum in the semi-desert of Turkana in northern Kenya. Here, the average daily high is 35°C, the annual average sunshine 10 hours a day and with an annual average rainfall of just 210mm. A young bulb has to move fast before the drought and scorching sun finish it off. In trying to determine the depth the Crinum bulb would need to get to in order to cope with the conditions I dug a hole that would have impressed an aardvark.

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I also have a lasting memory of Chris Brickell many years ago chasing down a Colchicum balansae corm in Crete to a remarkable depth. Even more extraordinary was the fact that a feature of this species appears to be that, once at the correct depth, the corm turns on its side and the aerial shoot has to do a right-angle bend to make for the surface.

ADMIRING COATS One of the joys of handling dormant bulbs and corms is that it gives you the time to note and admire the diverse nature of their outer coats (usually termed tunics). There is no better example than the corms of the Iridaceae, in particular Crocus. I have 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 127

PLANTS who had been watching shot out, grabbed the corm and popped it into his mouth and munched with relish – hence the synonym C. edulis (= edible).

The related genus Romulea, and especially the many species from South Africa, have exquisite corm tunics, again usefully diagnostic for the botanist. The tunics of R. tortuosa are quite remarkable with flattened teeth, looking more like some exotic bivalve seashell. Perhaps one of the most extraordinary southern African genera is Ferraria, in which the flattened corms build up ABOVE Commelina dianthifolia RIGHT Iris grant-duffii year on year into chains, working themselves down to a great depth. mentioned the unique C. fleischeri with This proliferation of corms is often also its interwoven fibres but there are many seen in Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora, other types. These include thin papery resulting in rampantly weedy colonies ones, some that are hard and eggshellin milder climates. In another case, the like, others leathery and splitting into shape of the corm led botanists rings at the base and those that are Goldblatt & Manning to use it as the fibrous and netted to varying degrees. generic name for Codonorrhiza (= A few produce stolons with new corms bell-shaped root), another South at their tips. Most are orientated African Irid. upright but one or two species rather Iris is generally not quite so interesting bizarrely have their corms situated on underground as most species are edge, ending up frying-pan shaped. The rhizomatous. This does not apply when most striking example in the netted we consider subgenus Scorpiris (the category is that of C. cancellatus and juno irises). Here we have true bulbs particularly the related C. damascenus, with an array of types of storage root in which the fibres are very coarsely attached; in almost all cases these roots reticulated. I am reminded of an are thickened, fleshy and brittle but amusing incident that occurred while nonetheless very different, depending leading a group of AGS members in upon the species. On the other hand, eastern Turkey. While I was showing the group known as Hermodactyloides them the tunics of the latter species, the (I. reticulata and its relatives) is not so scrawny hand of an elderly shepherd diverse but nevertheless fascinating to 128 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

BULBS handle as their tunics have a netted, ladder-like structure. One of them, I. tuberosa, has remarkable rootstocks that wander about, forming large patches; the epithet tuberosa is a misnomer as they start life as true bulbs, in the seedling stage looking just like any other reticulate Iris, but as they grow up they extend finger-like projections in any direction. The bulbs of the group of Iris known as the Syriacae (e.g. I. masia and I. grant-duffii) need handling with care, for their bulbs have sharp spines as well as the netted tunics… not that one ever has many of these unusual species to handle.

SUMMER GROWERS Although the start of the bulb year for the enthusiast is mainly late summer at catalogue time or repotting, there is a supplementary thrill in spring when the summer-growers are ready for replanting. A lot of these are conventional in form with tightly-wrapped scales like an onion bulb. But there are plenty of disparate examples: many lilies have large, upright bulbs with looser scales coloured white, yellow or purple but some, such as L. pardalinum, travel horizontally to form extensive clumps and these have many, comparatively tiny scales. Others such as L. duchartrei emit stolons: you never quite know where the plant will appear next.

Significantly, several of these summer monocots go in for fleshy storage roots rather than compact bulbs or corms, these serving a similar purpose. Instead of their growing points being pulled down to a working depth, the growth bud stays near the surface and the roots delve down, becoming thick and WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

fleshy. Unlike the winter-growers that are dormant through a warm dry summer, these rest throughout winter in dry, cold conditions. Quite a number of Himalayan and Chinese plants from monsoon climates do this and as a result we have the horticulturally significant genus Roscoea, the rootstocks of which show a considerable array of form depending on the species. Some Himalayan Iris species go in for the same strategy, for example I. decora. Across the world, in Mexico, also with summer rainfall and winter drought, Commelina dianthifolia shows a similar type of adaptation although often with just with one long, yellowish, cylindrical tuberous root.

When repotting Weldenia candida, 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 129

PLANTS

LEFT Roscoea tubers ABOVE Similar-looking Weldenia candida

also from Mexico and Guatemala, it is hard to tell the difference between its typically deep-seated rootstock and that of a Roscoea.

LILIACEAE Iridaceae perhaps provides the greatest interest for those of us who enthuse about the underground parts of plants but Liliaceae also has plenty of interest. The diversity in lilies has already been mentioned, their manyscaled bulbs quite unlike those of tulips (which are few-scaled and tunicated, some encased in a thick felt providing added insulation and protection from desiccation). Fritillaria bulbs vary a lot too. Many have just two fleshy, naked scales but a number of them consist of a central core of solid tissue and produce masses of rice-like bulbils, none more so than the bizarre F. davidii. Then there is Erythronium, unique in the form of the bulbs: not a lot of variation in the structure through the genus, most having the typical ‘canine tooth’ 130 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

appearance, except for those from the eastern states of North America which have smaller, more rounded bulbs, some of these capable of producing stolons. This characteristic allows E. americanum and E. albidum to spread far and wide, well away from the point of origin. When a friend requests a spare bulb, it is useless trying to dig next to the label: an extensive excavation always ensues. One fascinating species – albeit the least attractive aesthetically – is the stolon-producing E. propullans.

Here, the stolon does not emanate from the bulb but projects from the aerial stem just below or at ground level and then delves down to produce offspring at its tip. It always provides a frisson of anticipation at repotting time to see if it has increased as it is such a rare species, for all that it falls into the category of being more interesting below ground than above!

Colchicum, as with many other monocotyledonous genera formerly in the Liliaceae, is now out-housed

BULBS

ABOVE Erythronium seedlings in their first and second year BELOW LEFT Erythronium albidum bulbs BELOW RIGHT Erythronium montanum bulbs

into a separate family. These have a remarkable ability to head for the depths as mentioned above, a propensity shared with related Gloriosa. The corms/tubers of these genera are not dissimilar in that the WWW.ALPINEGARDENSOCIETY.NET/JOIN-US

new growing point is situated right at the bottom extremity of the storage organ rather than the top. When repotting gloriosas, however deep the container, one invariably finds the strange finger-like tubers in the 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 131

PLANTS notable for their disagreeable smells such as Fritillaria imperialis (pungent as a fox scent marking) and Nectaroscordum (more powerful than garlic). The majority of bulbs and corms produce roots that do not branch but the Crown Imperial has another peculiarity in that it and other Central Asiatic species produce smaller lateral roots, unlike the European representatives of the genus. More surprising to me, one year when repotting, was to discover young bulbs appearing from the roots of Scilla (Oncostema) hughii.

There is always something intriguing to discover. Propagation by twinscaling is a multifarious subject on its own but some bulbs do it on their own if damaged in any way.

ABOVE Fritillaria davidii

bottom of it or even on their way out of the drainage holes and difficult to extract without damage to the new bud at the tip. The corms of some Colchicum species also produce extensions and as such look not unlike miniature Gloriosa tubers.

The many petaloid monocots that fall into the grouping of Scilla, Muscari, Hyacinthus, Hyacinthoides and Bellevalia have on the whole rather conventional bulbs but there are some interesting anomalies to be found in our subterranean world.

Some have bulbs with coloured tunics and scales: those of Scilla (Tractema) lilio-hyacinthus are yellow, loosely scaly and somewhat lily-like, while those of Scilla (Othocallis) melaina are noticeably purple. Other ‘liliaceous’ bulbs are 132 90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

'HONORARY' BULBS Underground storage organs are not the sole preserve of the monocots.

There are ‘honorary bulbs’ (as my mentor Ken Aslet at RHS Wisley used to call them): dicots that have taken on a geophytic habit and are equally fascinating for the subterranean gardener. Quite a lot of familiar examples in a range of plant families: Corydalis (Fumariaceae), tuberous Anemone species and Eranthis (Ranunculaceae), Cyclamen (Primulaceae), Geranium tuberosum and southern African geophytic pelargoniums (Geraniaceae), Oxalis, etc., but there are some that were to me rather unexpected: a splendid Modiolastrum (Malvaceae), M. gilliesii, from Uruguay and a rosette-leaved South African Othonna (Asteraceae), O. bulbosa. Leontice and Gymnospermium (Berberidaceae) have truffle-like tubers, sometimes very large and usually found deep in the soil. If you happen to damage one it is seen to be yellow on the inside and with a distinctive smell, characters that underline the family

BULBS connection with the genera Berberis and Mahonia that also have yellow tissues beneath the bark. Cyclamen tubers are particularly interesting and sometimes identifiable to species without referring to the above-ground parts, useful when they are dormant; the exterior can be smooth to rough and cork-like, the shape may be globular, doughnut-like or irregular.

The roots are produced in a variety of places, in some species they arise from the centre underside of the tuber while others have a bald base and the roots appear mostly around the upper rim

of the tuber. C. graecum has long fleshy roots for delving into rock fissures.

THE NASTIES It’s not all fun underground of course.

Not least in the adversity stakes is depredation by creatures on the lookout – or ‘sniffout’ – for a tasty morsel.

The larger ones such as mice, voles, squirrels and badgers go about their business by digging down. How do they know which are the rarest, the ones you have kept alive since they were collected

by Paul Furse in 1965: of course, that’s the sort they go for. Maybe the flavour of bulbs ages like a good malt whisky. Then of course there are Narcissus bulb flies, vine weevils, root aphis… maybe Farrer had a valid point. We also have our fair share of pestiferous ‘bulbs’: Oxalis that range from the recalcitrant treasures of the Andes to those nigh-impossible to eradicate. Several species that we now have as weeds were not hardy in my youth in Surrey, where the ground regularly froze like concrete for lengthy periods in winter.

Now it barely penetrates the surface crust, even in some of the ‘harder’ winters.

Allium triquetrum used to be confined to the Isles of Scilly but for some years has been spreading fast on the mainland.

Time to head into the garden and start lifting and splitting clumps of the summer growers. I wonder what that fine clump of Polygonatum kingianum will look like underground… (Oh yes, I should mention that the above ground parts are quite ABOVE Modiolastrum gilliesii interesting too.)

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90TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 133

Bulbs from the archive Taken from the first volume of the AGS Bulletin, this article on growing bulbs was written by Sir William Lawrence.

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The Alpine Garden Society is a registered charity dedicated to the cultivation and conservation of alpine plants. Become a member today for exclusive access to: Virtual talks by experts Our quarterly 128-page glossy journal, The Alpine Gardener, delivered to your door Access to our extensive Seed Exchange 20% off our wide range of gardening books Access to our members-only Facebook group

PHOTO: DAVID MORRIS

And more...

To join visit:

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The first edition of the Bulletin of the Alpine Garden Society was published in 1930