Overview of many wild orchids found in the Cantabrian Mountains.

Deze post in het Nederlands: Klik hier.

This post is written with the intention to give a detailed account of a large number of wild orchids which can be found in the Cantabrian Mountains (Cordillera Cantabrica in Spanish) of northern Spain. To be more specific, those species that I've managed to photograph during the past year. Of many species I have put in a picture, not just to embellish this post, but mainly to illustrate the great variety of orchids. The majority has been localized around my hometown Cistierna, situated in the province of Leon, including quite a few who did not even belong to occur there, at least according to the official literature. So you see what a thorough fieldwork can bring to the scientific daylight. The species names are shown in orange and the generic names in magenta.

READ FURTHER AND ENJOY THE PHOTOS.

The first blooming orchids and other wild flowers of 2014 in northern Spain

Deze post in het Nederlands: Klik hier.

To my great pleasure, last February 8 I have been able to see the first flowering orchids of the Cantabrian Mountains of this year. Because this winter is actually relatively mild and damp, these orchids have appeared  more than a week earlier than last year. Off course these orchids were not yet in full bloom, but on the lower part of the spikes many orchids had already several flowers. The orchid  I am talking about is the giant orchid or Himantoglossum robertianum. The name giant orchid is due to its large size and great length, sometimes with a height of about 1 meter. When an orchid is not blooming, it is often very difficult to determine the exact species or even the genus it belongs to. Nevertheless, with some practical experience it is possible to distinguish some species, using characteristics related to leaf color and leaf shape, which can be recognized but are often difficult to explain.

READ FURTHER AND ENJOY THE PHOTOS.

The many names of the dandelion (Taraxacum officinale).

Deze post in het Nederlands: klik hier.

Why the dandelion is not named a Leontodon (Hawkbit).

INTRODUCTION.
Who doesn´t know the dandelion, this common yet so beautiful flower? The dandelion does not exist of a single species, but of an agglomeration of many micro species, which is partly the result of its possibility of multiplication by means of unfertilized seeds (cloning). The plant forms a rosette with strongly toothed leaves and the stems are hollow with on top a flower head consisting of many yellow ray florets. The dandelion is listed among the composites or Asteraceae. The plant has a surprising number of applications, but to avoid too long  a post only its naming is discussed here. Already many years ago I noticed that the meaning of dandelion in English and Spanish is "lion´s tooth", although in the Netherlands the name lion´s tooth is reserved for the genus Leontodon (hawkbits), while the dandelion is called "horse-flower". However, to make the confusion complete some Spaniards call the dandelion "meacama (= piss-a-bed) and the hawkbits (Leontodon)  they call "diente de león". So this asked for a little research.

READ FURTHER AND ENJOY THE PHOTOS.  

Flowers in March in the Cantabrian Mountains, Part 1

DEZE POST IN HET NEDERLANDS: KLIK HIER.

The end of winter in Asturias: flowers already blooming in the Cantabrian Mountains.

In march we managed to escape a few days to Asturias to enjoy its softer sea-climate, where we found many blooming plants. We were able to photograph at least 40 different species of which some are really common and others quiet rare. A small collection of flowers we found is shown in this post, while the others will be adressed in following posts.


READ MORE AND ENJOY THE PHOTOS.