Parnassia palustris or Marsh Grass-of-Parnassus

Our last flora post we dedicated to the Marsh Gentian. Close to this Gentiana pneumonanthe subsp Depressa we saw another interesting bog species with prominent white blossom, namely the Marsh Grass-of-Parnassus. Parnassia palustris is a species with a holarctic distribution according to the on-line magazine Waste. Throughout the northern continents of the world in can be found in moist areas like watersides, damp slopes, shores, wet moorland, swamps and stream banks. It can be found throughout Spain and as far south as Northern Africa (Rif Mountains). In Andalusia, the ´hepática blanca´ or ´hierba del parnaso´ occurs only in Sierra Nevada between 1,500 and 3,000 metres. In Sierra Nevada its habitat are the wet grasslands locally known as ´borreguiles´. In many countries it is on the list of endangered species. In Andalusia it is on the ´Lista Roja de la Flora Vascular de Andalucía´. It was the 18th century Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus who first validly published the name ´Parnassius palustris´ in1751. On Wikipedia it is mentioned that the name is inherited from ancient Greece. “Evidently the cattle on Mount Parnassus appreciated the plant; hence it was an honorary grass.“ The Greek Mount Parnassus has an altitude of 2,475 metres. This is more or less the height where we saw our Bog-stars, namely at about 2,600 metres in the Barranco de las Albardas in the Trevélez valley. Other sites in Sierra Nevada where it flowers from June to September are for example Arroyo del Palancón or the Borreguil del Río San Juan.



Related key words: bloemen, northern grass-of-parnassus, sumpf-herzblatt, studentenröschen, paranassiaceae, parnassiafamilie, herzblattgewächse, parnassioideae, alpujarras

Gentiana pneumonanthe subsp Depressa

There are plant species which are widely distributed in Europe, while it has a subspecies that is endemic to
Sierra Nevada. This holds true for Gentiana pneumonanthe subsp Depressa. This blue-flowered gentian can be found in an area that is almost twenty kilometres long, albeit interrupted due to its ecological requirements. The number of individuals capable of flowering is estimated between 5000 and 10000.
This subspecies of the Marsh Gentian grows at altitudes between 2,200 and 3,200 metres, in the oro- and crioromediterranean levels. The factors that determine its scarcity are the ecological requirements and the limited number of suitable habitats for its development. Its habitats are high mountain pastures, known as ´borreguiles´ and peat bogs. This Gentiana pneumonanthe subsp Depressa and four other gentians that inhabit the marshy meadows of Sierra Nevada are listed as ´vulnerable´ and on the list of endangerd species, the Lista Roja de la Flora Vascular de Andalucía. This is because their habitat, the ´borreguiles´ are affected by overgrazing, the changing of water courses and tourism.  Three weeks ago we saw a fairly large number of this endemic Marsh Gentian along a small stream flowing into the Barranco de las Albardas at an altitude of 2,550 metres.



Related articles:
- References on the local flora

Related links:
- Gabriel Blanca López: Flora amenazada y endémica de Sierra Nevada (pdf 18MB)

Related key words: cáliz de la aurora, genciana de turbera, klokjesgentiaan, lungen-enzian, familia gencianáceas, gentiaanfamilie,  familie der enziangewächse,  famille des Gentianacées

Senecio nevadensis

The Senecio nevadensis or ´Suzón de Sierra Nevada´ is one of the more than sixty endemic plants of Sierra Nevada. There are other ´senecios´ to be found in the massif, like Senecio elodes, Senecio eriopus and Senecio quinqueradiatus, but this ´Nevada ragwort´ is the only one that can be found exclusively in Sierra Nevada. Its habitats are in the highest parts of the mountain range, between 2,600 metres and 3,300 metres in the ´pisos oro y crioromediterráneo´ (oromediterranean and crioromediterranean levels). This member of the daisy family can be found on steep stony slopes or ´canchales´ (´pedregales móviles´ or ´cascajales sueltos´, gravelly areas with unstable schist slabs). It caught our attention mid July because it has large stems (up to 30 cm) and it was still in bud. Many other plants in the area were tiny, colourful, with hardly any stems or leaves, peeping out of the rocks and in full flower; like the Chaenorrhinum glareosum, Iberis carnosa subsp emberger, and the Viola crassiuscula (violeta de Sierra Nevada or Nevada violet). When we went back early August, we saw this Senecios nevadensis in full bloom just below the ridge of the Loma de Piedra Ventana, a spot were the shepherds probably don´t come. We took another route back, so where we had seen a large number in bud, we did not see whether they had come into flower or not. This ´Nevada reagwort´ is listed as ´vulnerable´ and and therefore included in the ´Lista roja de la flora vascular de Andalucía´ (Red List of Vascular Flora of Andalusia). According to the information on this ´Nevada ragwort´ in Flora amenazada y endémica de Sierra Nevada there are only three populations (between 10000 and 15000 individuals). When we look at the small map in Flora amenazada y endémica de Sierra Nevada on which the known populations are located, we are to the right of them. The ones we have seen, might be a population the scientists are not yet aware of. It is a threatened due to its specific ecological requirements and extreme fluctuations of fruit production, depending on the climatic conditions. Because it flowers late, in years with a particularly early cold autumn, it barely comes to fruition. Apart from this, grazing constitutes another threat. This species was first validly published by the Swiss botanist Emond Boissier and his French companion George François Reuter in their Pugillus plantarum novarum Africae borealis Hispaniaeque australis (1852).



Related articles:
- References on the local flora
- Cerro del Gallo, the highest mountain of Bérchules

Related key words: sierra nevada kruiskruid, sierra nevada greiskraut, sierra nevada kreutzkraut, séneçon de Sierra nevada, Alpujarras, Sierra Nevada, wandelen, wandelingen, trektocht, standplaats vakantie, hiking, trekking, Berchules, B&B, hotel, wanderungen

Aquila chrysaetos or golden eagle

There are a number of places in the Sierra Nevada and Alpujarra that have a name that refers to an an animal, like Plaza de Lobos or Hoyo del Lobo. When we pass the Tajo del Águila between Juviles and Tímar, we actually quite often see eagles. Mostly you see birds of prey hover or circle high in the sky, too far for us to take a photograph with our camera. The other day we were lucky enough to see a golden eagle fly very low, a few metres in front of us. We had the feeling we could have shaken hands with this magnificent ´águila real´. When we had a look at the map to see where we had this special encounter, we saw the name ´Tosca del águila´. Maybe it was not such a coincidence after all.



Related links:
- On-line magazine Waste: Aguila chrysaetos
- Quercus: Situación actual del águila real en Andalucía
- Quercus: Aumenta la población de águila real en Andalucía

Related key words: águila caudal, steenarend, steinadler, aigle royal

Plantago nivalis or ´snow star´

The Plantago nivalis or ´estrella de las nieves´ is one of the more than sixty endemic plants of the Sierra Nevada. This ´snow star´ can be found at altitudes higher than 2,300 metres in the ´pisos oro y crioromediterraneo´ (oromediterranean and crioromediterranean levels). This alpine species has a preference for areas where the snow remains for a long period and the borders of high mountain meadows, locally known as ´borreguiles´. The ´snow star´ is a regarded as a bioindicator of this habitat. It presents a number of climatic adaptations. Its leaves hold water and the coating of soft white hairs (pubescence) protects the plant from cold temperatures, prevents evaporation and reflects the strong solar radiation. As the ´snow star´ grows very close to the ground it is a protected from strong winds. The flowers of this plant are grouped in a small head at the end of a long stalk, so as to facilitate the dispersion of the polen by the wind to other plants nearby. According to the text on this Plantago nivalis on the on-line magazine Waste, it has - together with Edelweiss - the legend of being the flower of eternal love as the leaves of the star do no dry out. “People had the tradition to give it do their beloved ones as a token of their eternal love." Nowadays it is a protected species that can not be collected and considered one of the emblematic species of Sierra Nevada. It is the symbol of the Sulayr Long Distance Footpath and can be seen on the wooden waymarkers of this GR-240. The Swiss botanist Edmond Boissier encountered the ´snow star´ on one of his explorations in July 1837 when he went up the Barranco de Benalcázar towards the summits. As he was the first to publish the Plantago nivalis, he is regarded as the author of this botanical name. A drawing can be found in his ´Voyage Botanique dans le Midi de l’Espagne pendant l’année 1837´ (page 181). We saw many ´snow stars´ in the valley of the Río Chico of Bérchules on the first Saturday of august. It is not a threatened species, so it is a species that any visitor interested in the local flora should encounter easily. What is not easy, is to see it in bloom, as this is only for a very short period.



Related articles:
- References on the local flora

Related links:
- On-line magazine Waste: Joyas botánicas de Sierra Nevada
- On-line magazine Waste: La flora endémica del macizo de Sierra Nevada

Related key words: plantaginaceae, plantagináceas, plantain, weegbreefamilie, wegerichgewächse, famille des plantaginacées, plantago thalackeri pau, nardus grasslands