The last day - my doesn't time fly when you are enjoying yourself. Today was the day when we hit the wall - we had recorded 44 species of orchid in five days, for me 32 were lifers, the chances of getting something new were pretty slim. The law of diminishing returns had kicked in. However, I have to say that we had a fairly exotic alternative.
We started the day on the wooded slopes of the Loutanis River, looking for paeonies but we found carpets of Cyclamen rhodium which we were keen to record.
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| Cyclamen rhodium |
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| Cyclamen rhodium |
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| Ophrys dodekanensis |
I noticed what I thought was a piece of red plastic some distance off the path so I set off for a look. Blow me! I had found my first Dragon Arum, Dranunculus vulgaris. Well, actually I had seen the plants before but never in flower.
To say it was striking is an understatement - this is a full in your face plant. As I closed in for a photograph the sweet scented smell of the woodland disappeared to be replace by the stink of rotting flesh. The only comparison I can make is that it smelled similar to a maggot farm - the production of angling bait. The only thing missing was the acrid stench of ammonia. Within the immediate vicinity there were dozens of plants, none of them in flower. Further away I found a pair of blooms and the smell was even stronger.
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| Dranunculus vulgaris |
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| Dranunculus vulgaris |
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| Dranunculus vulgaris |
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| Dranunculus vulgaris |
On another hillside, not too far away, we searched for the paeony, sadly the early spring had done for it - just a sea of seed heads - disappointment all round, But sharp-eyed Tracey found a single perfect bloom in the shade and everyone was happy. I remembered photographing the specimen on "Windmill Hill", had we drawn a blank then the insurance would have paid off.
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| Paeonia cluesii ssp rhodia |
The next roadside stop was reminiscent of a fly tipper's paradise. However, between the piles of discarded building material little gems were to be found.
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| Serapias bergonii |
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| Serapias bergonii |
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| Orchis italica |
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| Orchis italica |
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| Orchis italica |
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| Orchis italica |
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| Orchis italica |
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| Orchis italica |
Lunch was taken on the beach where I enjoyed the pleasure of paddling in the, rather cool, Aegean Sea. I had long forgotten the ritual of having to clean sand from between the toes but the whole exercise was most refreshing, as was the penultimate ice cream of the trip. Well it was a forgone conclusion that we would make a final visit to the Creperie at Embonas - just a double scoop of chocolate and savoury caramel in a cone. Apparently legend has it that there are no calories in Greek ice cream.
The final destination was a return to the olive grove that we had visited earlier in the week. Some orchids had passed their best but others were replacing them and I recorded Ophrys calypsus, Ophrys colossaea, Ophrys rhodia and Serapias politissii. The downside was that some of the land had been ploughed and countless orchids lost but that is how it is done here and in general the orchids thrive, even if, for some seasons, they are only found at the base of the trees.
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| Ophrys calypsus |
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| Ophrys calypsus |
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| Ophrys colossaea |
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| Serapias politissii |
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| Ophrys rhodia |
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| Ophrys rhodia |
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| Ophrys rhodia |
A walk to the adjacent river afforded the sight of hundreds of iris - a mini sea of blue with just one white specimen, which was duly recorded. The last hurrah was a Naked Man Orchid of huge proportions - the largest I have ever seen!
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| Barbary Nut Iris, Moraea sisyrinchium |
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| Barbary Nut Iris, Moraea sisyrinchium |
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| Barbary Nut Iris, Moraea sisyrinchium |
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| Barbary Nut Iris, Moraea sisyrinchium |
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| The last hurrah - it was big! |
All bouquets - no brickbats on this tour. As always - great Greenwings organisation, great hotel and excellent company. A big thankyou to Jon and Yiannis for their expertise and patience, especially when faced with one or two dodgy botanists.
