Spring in Algarve

[Colin Key]

The very poor winter and cold spring have delayed the appearance of wild flowers in the Algarve, but here are a few from today (all in my garden):

Corn Poppy

http://www.pbase.com/accentor/image/111085529.jpg


Field Gladiolus

http://www.pbase.com/accentor/image/111088505.jpg


Anchusa azurea

http://www.pbase.com/accentor/image/111088493.jpg


Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum)

http://www.pbase.com/accentor/image/111085486.jpg


Cladanthus arabicus

http://www.pbase.com/accentor/image/111088495.jpg

[Twitcheruth]

Wow!
Stunning images Colin....I love the Poppies!

[Andrew Cunningham]

I was hoping to find some orchids on my recent trip but I think I only saw one (yet to be identified). I should research some trip reports online next time.

[Colin Key]

I was hoping to find some orchids on my recent trip but I think I only saw one (yet to be identified). I should research some trip reports online next time.

Andrew,

Post some photos - Mirror, Bee and Pyramid Orchids are very abundant at the moment.

Colin

[Andrew Cunningham]

Hi Colin,

Unfortunately, I have deleted the images. Not to worry as they were not orchids afterall. The pictures were taken with the long lens and not aesthetically pleasing.

I have some to upload anyway that I would not mind naming. One is the delightful thistle I presume to be Russian Thistle as mentioned in one of my books on Donana.

Cheers,
Andrew.

[Andrew Cunningham]

Two more pics.......

[MichaelF]

1 - no idea. Strange plant!
2 - a species of Scabiosa.
3 - a species of Cistus.
4 - no idea.
5 - a species in the family Aizoaceae (South African family, several are invasive weeds in SW Europe)

Last pair - look like one of the cotton thistles (Onopordum).

[Andrew Cunningham]

Thanks Michael, hopefully those clues will be enough for me to pursue their IDs.

[Andrew Cunningham]

Got one already!

The second one looks very good for Mourning Bride (Scabiosa atropurpurea) with a good match here http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/onblack.php?id=3050856742

[Andrew Cunningham]

Third one is Grey-leaved Cistus (Cistus Albidus).

http://www.first-nature.com/flowers/cistus_albidus.asp

[Andrew Cunningham]

The fifth one looks close enough to Hottentot Fig (Carpobrutus edulis).

http://www.first-nature.com/flowers/carpobrutus_edulis.asp

[Andrew Cunningham]

The thistle is Illyrian Scotch Thistle (Onopordum illyricum).

http://www.first-nature.com/flowers/onopordum_illyricum.asp

[Colin Key]

1. Never seen anything like this before! (is it a dwarf plant from the Cape?).

2. "Morning Bride" is probably correct, but several similar species here.

3. Cistus albidus.

4. Malcolmia lacera

5. Not seen this either; I can see some Carpobrotus edulis in the background, and I think I have seen the vegetation which the flower appears to be on, but have not seen the flower before.

6. Cynara cardunculus ? (Thistle).

Colin

[Andrew Cunningham]

Hi Colin,

Thanks for the pointers and confirmations.

The first one was found in the eastern car park of Lagoa dos Salgados so most probably could be an introduced plant for ornamental purposes.

The fourth one was around the saltpans at Quatro Aguas in Tavira as well as a few coastal spots. I have seen more pics of Hottentot Fig and now rule that out as I recognise those flowers now, much bigger. This one had tiny flowers. Small enough for me to remark on and take a picture.

The thistle perplexes me. It was more common in Donana and I saw it in Castro marim plus a few other places. It only reached about a foot high at the most. Most thistle searches give me tall rangy thin thistle species. I am sure the answer is an obvious one as they were common. I will keep looking.

Cheers,
Andrew.

[Colin Key]

Hello Andrew,

I see that you made numerous posts whilst I was concocting mine!!

My wife is the "botanist" and she is now searching - the info on Algarvean flora, whether in print ("Olly Polly" is her bible), or on the "net", is a total "mess".

Colin

[Andrew Cunningham]

Morning Colin,

Thanks, I am glad of your wife's assistance. I came across a book on Algarvean flowers and wondered if it was worth a punt?

http://www.first-nature.com/books/algarve1.htm

Cheers,
Andrew.

[Colin Key]

Hello Andrew,

To be honest, I would not waste money on that book. There are so many amateur botanists come to the Algarve armed with a digital camera, take loads of shots, and publish a load of rubbish (not that I am saying that this particular book is rubbish, but I have seen many which are).

The definitive text, although rather old now, is "Flowers of South-West Europe - A Field Guide" by Oleg Polunin (hence known as "Olly Polly") and B E Smythies, published by Oxford University Press (1973) ISBN: 0 19 288178 7.

It has some short-comings (more line drawings than photos) but it is scientifically accurate which is more than can be said for the publications of many "flower pickers and tree-strokers".

Colin

[Andrew Cunningham]

Afternoon Colin,

Thanks for the book recommendation. I shall check for a second hand copy on the internet.

I struggle with line drawings for flowers but I do not mind missing out on the occasional identification as flowers are supplementary to the birds and butterflies.

I will now and then drive myself to despair not identifying one now and then though! :puzzled: That thistle for example. I still have not come up trumps. I reckon I need a different 'Google' tactic.

Cheers,
Andrew.

[Fizzer]

Hello everyone. I live in the Algarve and I went for a walk a few weeks ago and found a very strange plant in the woods. I am amazed with my discovery and I would like to know the name of the plant if anyone could help me!

[Colin Key]

Hello Fizzer, and welcome to the forum. I have drawn a complete blank on this one but have passed the images on to a botanist I know for his opinion. Will get back if I have any further information.

Colin

[Fizzer]

Thanks! I´ve been looking around the web ... Haven found anything yet ... :smile:

[Simon Wates]

Dear Andrew, Colin and Fizzer,

Sorry a bit late on this! Not a lot of people know but I am crazy about flora and I have spent far too long in the field around plants in Portugal – on some survey work but mainly in my own time in the western Algarve photographing and documenting my finds. I maintain a database on the flora of Lagos county (212 sq kms) where I did some work for the local council and catalogued 802 species (I am missing quite a few grasses and composites that I haven’t been able to identify though). THE bible for the area without a shadow of a doubt is Flora iberica – some 22 vols of botanical texts in Spanish (there are still a few vols to be published. This monster work includes dozens of top contributors from Spain and Portugal.

http://www.floraiberica.org/

Only about one in 5 spp are depicted with awesome line drawings however and its in Spanish – not much use for Brits I suppose and certainly not practical to carry around in the glove box! The flower crowd from Oxford University visit the Algarve every year and one of the key tutors, Dr. Robert Scotland tells me that Flora Iberica is way ahead of Flora Europea.

A super resource for plants in Iberia is the Flickr Flora iberica group

http://www.flickr.com/groups/floraiberica/pool/ (http://www.flickr.com/groups/floraiberica/pool/)

I know a lot of stuff on Flickr is pretty dodgy but this enormous group is moderated by some big names in Botany and is reliable – great for searching with scientific names

"Flowers of South-West Europe - A Field Guide" - O. Polunin and B E Smythies is a nice book that I have at my disposal too but unfortunately many taxonomical changes have been made in Flora rendering it of minor use nowadays. Also, and most importantly it covers an area with more than 10,000 spp so the approx 2,000 spp it covers for Iberia isn’t enough for the Algarve. Less than half of them occur in the Algarve. This often leads to misidentification as often there are quite a few very similar spp and only one is covered in the book. I really only use it for finding out the English names now.

Anyway, on a quick look I see that one or two of the plants are unidentified and one or two are misidentified:

(I haven’t included English names but most of them can be found by googling)

Colin’s photos:

The photo named Cladanthus arabicus is I believe, judging by plant distribution and the leaves clasping around the stem is actually Sonchus oleraceus

Andrews photos:

1. Don’t know sorry – I’ll try and work it out
2. Scabiosa atropurpurea There is nothing similar here really – bear in mind that it is variable in colour – even rich dark purple.
3. Cistus crispus – the bright cerise of the flowers and the indented leaf margins are a give-away – usually grows on sand and potentially a wonderful ground cover for gardening here, needing no watering to perform.
4. Malcolmia littorea Silver Sea Stock (M. lacera doesn’t occur in the Algarve I think)
5. Mesembryanthemum crystallinum – pretty common, mainly around the edges of saltmarshes – common at Ria de Alvor – the leaves turn red in dry periods – it’s a naturalised exotic.
6 and 7. Cynara humilis – an abundant thistle, mainly on limestone and never on shale. Cynara cardunculus is a little less common in a similar biotope.

Fizzer’s photos

This is Cytinus hypocistus a super parasitic plant who’s host is mainly Cistus ladanifer. Its not very common but certainly not rare on the shale hills on steep slopes. Local shepherds in the Algarve tell me that they suck the flowers to drink the sweet custard-like pulp. I’ve tried it and found it a bit bitter – maybe I should try it when more mature!

Hope this is of help! Any more plants? I’d be pleased to help if I can

Best wishes

Simon

[Andrew Cunningham]

Evening Simon,

Thanks for re-discovering this thread and helping me with my flora identifications. It is much appreciated.

I have since obtained a copy of 'Wildlfowers of the Mediterranean' by Blamey & Grey-Wilson. It is nowhere near Flora Iberica but for the tourist with a casual desire to identify flowers now and then I suppose it will do. It helped with one or two during the winter trip at least.

Regards,
Andrew.

[Simon Wates]

I misspelled the name of the parasitic plant I mentioned on my my last post (Cytinus hypocistus) .The correct spelling is Cytinus hypocistis - sorry if this led to any confusion.

Best wishes

Simon