Música en las Montañas, La Taha 2010

The VII Festival ´Música en las Montañas´, a series of summer concerts of classical music, will take place from July to September. The concerts are on old threshing circles, village squares or in churches of differrent villages in the Taha valley. The first concert will be given by the Coral Ciudad de Granada on Friday the 30th of July in Pitres. The festival ´Music in the Mountains´ is organized by the Alexander Music School in Ferreirola and the Ayuntamiento de La Taha.

Viola crassiuscula or Sierra Nevada violet

The Viola crassiuscula is one of the more than sixty endemic plants of Sierra Nevada. There are other violas in the massif, like Viola palustris and Viola riviniana, but this Nevada violet is the only one that can be found exclusively in Sierra Nevada above 2,500 metres. It is a perennial and multi-stemmed species (caespitose) with flowers that range from violet to pinkish to white. After flowering, small fruit capsules are produced that split open by way of three valves to release tiny seeds. As there are few insects in the high peak area, flowers need to compete to be pollinated. The flower needs to seduce the insect with attractive colours and well developed petals. The flower is relatively large compared to the size of the plant itself. In Sierra Nevada the precious viola can be found between cracks in the rock faces. It is small and it has a minimum of foliage in order to minimize the loss of water by transpiration. Having little folliage makes them also less interesting for the mountain goats. It finds shelter by the rocks so that the negative effect of the strong solar radiation, typical at this height, is minimal. The rocks also protect them from being eaten or trampled. These are a few examples of the adaptations through thousands of years to survive the harsh climatic circumstances of the ´pisos oro y crioromediterráneo´ (oromediterranean and crioromediterranean levels). The most striking adaptation is its ability to sprout from the root collar that goes as deep as the ´stable´ ground. Because of this adaptation, the Nevada violet can survive on steep stony slopes or ´canchales´. This are ´pedregales móviles´ or ´cascajales sueltos´, gravelly areas with unstable schist slabs. When the slates or stones move and the stems break, the plant is able to sprout again. Viola crassiuscula was scientifically catagolized by the French naturalist Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent (1778-1846), who published in 1820 his Florule de Sierra Nevada. Viola crassiuscula is listed as rare and vulnerable, and therefor included in the Lista roja de la flora vascular de Andalucía (Red List of Vascular Flora of Andalusia). It is said that it is more common where the human presence is more limited. Personally we did see the Viola crassiuscula at one of the busier areas, namely very close to the top of the Mulhacén. We also saw a number of these botanical jewels where we think very few people go, namely near the source of the Río Chico de Bérchules, not too far from the top of the Cerro del Gallo. We were really pleased to see a few white ones, which are said to be less common.

Related article:
-Guía de visita Parque Nacional de Sierra Nevada
-References on the local flora

Related key words: violeta de sierra nevada, sierra nevada viooltje, sierra nevada veilchen, sierra nevada violette, violaceae, violet family, viooltjesfamilie, familie der veilchengewächse, famille des violacées

Guía de visita Parque Nacional de Sierra Nevada

There are a number of publications available on the Parque Nacional de Sierra Nevada, but there is one that we think that deserves special attention. This is the Guía de Visita del Parque Nacional de Sierra Nevada, published in 2004. In its introduction we can read that the National Park of Sierra Nevada wants to offer visitors a handy guide that gives a complete and realistic picture of its natural, cultural and environmental values. "In this guide, visitors will find a detailed description of its infrastructures, visitor´s service points, suggestions for activities and itineraries that allows them to plan their visit and get the most out of it." We personally think that this guide offers a lot more than you expect after reading this introduction. The vital adaptations of the different species through their evolutional process over thousands of years are described for example. Natural and ecological features are explained in detail which gives visitors a very good idea of the complex interrelationships. Last week we wondered why we find the most exclusive botanical jewels in the peak areas where you would think that nothing could surive. We found the answer to this question in this guide. In fact there are many answers as each species has its special story to tell. As we will dedicate posts to the botanical jewels and the endemic fauna, we will certainly refer to this excellent visitor´s guide of the Sierra Nevada.



Related article:
- References on the local flora

Related links.
-website Parque Sierra Nevada

Parnassius apollo nevadensis (2)

The beautiful butterfly Parnassius apollo of the Papilionidae family is found in mountainous areas. Twenty-three subspecies have been recorded on the Iberian Peninsula, four of which in Andalusia. Unfortunately the Parnassius apollo subspecies gadorensis (Sierra de Gador) is likely to be extinguished and the disappearance of the subspecies filabricus (Sierra de Filabres and Baza) is being feared. The population of the subspecies mariae (Sierra de Maria) is considered stable after there was a period of regression. Of our Parnassius apollo subspecies nevadensis the reports are more optimistic.  It is stated that they can be locally abundant and that there is a stable trend. This is no guarantee as the other subspecies of the Sierra de Gador and the Sierra de Filabres were just as abundant twenty-five years ago. The Parnassius apollo subspecies nevadens is being monitored by the Observatioro de Cambio global de Sierra Nevada at the Altas Cumbre, Loma de Papeles, Hoya de la Mora and the Lagunilla Seca. They write that the Parnassius apollo is probably one of the best indicators of ecosystem changes related to climate variations. Its larval food plants are sedum, sempervivum and bryophylum, so these are studied as well as the nectar sources of the apollo. In an earlier post we wrote about spotting the Parnassius apollo subspecies nevadensis near the top of the Morrón del Mediodía. This summer we have seen many apollos on the Loma del Chullo, the Loma de Piedra Ventana and the Loma de las Albardas. To photograph a butterfly you either need a lot of patience or catch it when inactive (the apollo is said to be inactive on cloudy days), feeding or mating. Last Sunday we were lucky to see a mating couple. We quickly took this photograph and then left them alone. On the website of Matt Rowling we found an additional note on the mating behaviour of the apollo. "One of the amazing features of this genus (shared by some other butterflies too) is the structure called the 'sphragus'. It is a hard structure that is deposited on the female's abdomen by the male during mating. It physically prevents the female mating a second time." On Wikipedia  and on other websites we read that the apollo is found above 1,000 metres up to 2,000 metres. This is not correct taking the subspecies nevadensis into account. In Sierra Nevada it flies up to 3,000 metres. The proof is this mating couple that we photographed on the Loma de las Albardes at an altitude of 2,860 metres. The females are said to have ´darker´ wings, so on our photograph that should be the one with the orange eye-spots on the hindwings. The wings of the male are said to be ´whiter´, so this must be the one with the more yellowy eyespots.






Related key words: mountain apollo, apollovlinder, apolo, pavón diurno, rote apollo, apollofalter, apollon, familia papiliónidos, familie grote pages, familie der ritterfalter, parnassiinae, Alpujarras, Sierra Nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, trektocht, standplaats vakantie, hiking, trekking, Berchules, B&B, hotel, wanderungen

Cerro del Gallo, the highest mountain of Bérchules

The Cerro del Gallo is with an altitude of 2,913 metres the highest summit of Bérchules. It is located on the northernmost border of our municipality that has a surface area of almost seventy square kilometres. There is little written about this summit that you can see while driving up from the Empalme de Bérchules towards the village. The Cerro del Gallo is mentioned in the new guide book ´Guía Turística de la Alpujarra de Granada`. It says that it is an important peak within the Sierra Nevada with an abundant endemic plant life. On the internet there are only a few websites with the personal experiences of hikers that write about climbing this summit. Most of these accounts are of people walking up from the refugio Postero Alto, something we did ourselves many years ago.
Last Sunday we decided to revisit `our` highest mountain, this time from the Plaza de los Lobos at almost 2,600 metres. To get there you follow the pista de la sierra from the Cruz de Juviles for twelve kilometres. Then you are at 2,000 metres and go up a track to your left that passes Cortijo de las Minas. There is no sign, but you recognize it by two small posts with a chain on the ground (hopefully) and a steep track that looks overgrown. For these last eight kilometres you probably need a fourwheel drive as it is not in a very good state.

The Plaza de los Lobos offers a spectacular view of the Mulhacén, the Alcazaba and the Chorreras Negras and is already worth the drive up. With a map and the GPS to orient ourselves, we followed the Loma de Piedra Ventana passing the Peñones del Muerto to reach the Puerto de Jerez. Then we followed the Loma de Albardas to reach the Cerro del Gallo. It was spectacular to walk on the ridges because of the views and the large number of butterflies (many ´apollos´). To re-experience the Cerro del Gallo in high summer was absolutely fantastic. The summit is a broad stone heap with plants growing between almost every stone. We recognized one endemic one, the Arenaria tetraquetra subsp amabilis, in Spanish known as piel de león, papo o cojin. The return route we walked about fifty metres below the ridge, crossing a number of snow fields and passing the source of the Río Chico. It was especially on our way back that we saw a large number of endemic plants like  Chaenorrhinum glareosum (espuelilla, dragoncillo), Iberis carnosa subsp embergeri (carraspique de Sierra Nevada), Jasione amethystina (botón azul de Sierra Nevada), Ranunculus acetosellifolius (ranillo de las nieves) and Viola crassiuscula (violeta de Sierra Nevada or Nevada violet). Our conclusion at the end of the day was that going up our highest mountain, the Cerro del Gallo, is one of the best kept secrets of the sierra.