A handful of bulbs

So, following on from the account of the Flora of Cape St. Vincent, here are a few other plants (and animals!) which took our attention during our week at Armacao de Pera in the Algarve (18-25 March).

I am not alone in professing a fondness for the smaller snowflakes, once classified in Leucojum, but now understandably hived off into a separate genus, Acis. Unlike the true snowflakes, the little Acis are more typically Mediteranean geophytes of summer-dry baked ground, flowering in spring, or in the case of the most familiar, the vigorous little Acis autumnalis, in early autumn. They are indeed charming small plants, and when I stumbled on the rare Acis nicaeensis on the Col de Vence in southern France a few springs ago, I was in seventh heaven.

Acis trichophylla grows in southern Spain and Portugal, and I had hoped there would be an outside chance of finding it during our visit. Thus, I was delighted when a few stems were seen in stabilised maritime sands next to the boardwalk which transverses the inner edge of Praia Grande, outside the Pera marsh. However, nothing prepared me for the spectacles to be seen in the vicinity of Quinto de Lago. This site, to the west of Faro airport, is essentially a large golf resort, but the lakes and wetlands there are well-known birding locations. On the edges of the Mediterranean scrub and pine forest which still survives in patches, the acis grew in dense groups, almost to the exclusion of other vegetation.

The Algarve also boasts several scilla species, some of which are endemic to the region. Perhaps the best known is Scilla monophyllos, easily identified by its single large leaf. We found this growing on banks by the road in a couple of spots in the acidic Serra de Monchique. Apologies for the photo, but it was pouring with rain, as it did for much of that day.

Scilla odorata is not unlike the foregoing, but is dwarfer and sturdier and has two basal leaves. It is principally a plant of maritime pine forests on sand, and we found it at the Ria Formosa reserve, Olhao, growing with Narcissus bulbocodium and Dipcadi serotinum.

Scilla peruviana is a different kettle of fish completely, a massive plant and the largest European scilla. Indeed it rather resembles some of the South African species and this may have helped to mistakenly convince Linnaeus that this Europaen native originated from the southern hemisphere. We saw it several times, although never commonly, usually in damp shaded locations, as here at the Fontes de Benemola.

Also at the Fontes de Benemola, growing on the shaded damp sides of brambles, we found the Spanish Bluebell, Hyacinthoides hispanica. This was scarcely recognisable as invasive plant of our gardens and woodlands, being smaller, neater and with a broader flower. I can only assume that our accessions originated from a quite different area of Iberia and am caused to wonder whether Algarvian strains might prove to be an altogether more sympathetic garden subject.

The Fontes de Benemola is a well-known location for orchids. As previously metnioned, this was not a classic orchid year (or maybe just delayed in the late spring that has affected most of Europe). However, the charming man orchid, Orchis anthropophora proved to be locally frequent there.

This was also the only place we saw Orchis italica, the naked man orchid, which was locally abundant. I think I have never seen a white (albino) variant before.

This locality also boasted six ophrys, five of which, Oo. speculum, bombylifera, fusca, lutea and tenthredinifera were common in many locations. The sixth, O. dyris, we had seen here the previous January. Here is O. speculum.

We had heard much of a hill called Roche de Pena, not far from Fontes de Benemola, to the north of Loule. We arrived there in a  slight drizzle, but not long after we set off up the hill the weather worsened dramatically, and in particular the cloud closed in and visibility became very poor. We had hoped to find Narcissus gaditanus there, as well as N. bulbocodium, not to mention a wealth of orchids. There was indeed a scattering of common ophrys on the way up, and a great deal of Orchis olbiensis on the plateau, but we were not tempted to leave the track to any extent. Here is the orchis.

However, I would guess that the prize for most spring visitors would be Paeonia broteroi, and there is a sizeable colony around the path about 20 minutes in. Despite the poor weather and late spring, it was just starting to flower. This alone made our very uncomfortable walk worthwhile!

Near the peony we also found Aristolochia baetica in flower. This odd, primitive plant is one of the more spectacular species.

Returning to the coast, another odd, remarkable, species we hoped to see is the parasite Cistanche phelypaea, which grows at the edges of salt-marshes where it parasitises some of the fleshy chenopods there. We found this in some abundance at both Ria Formosa and Quinto de Lago, although it seemed not to grow further west where we were staying. It forms colonies and is very startling and conspicuous.

There are some very showy daisies in maritime habitats. Several of these are of South African origin, but, curiously, the species I thought the showiest of all is native. This is a perennial marigold, Calendula suffruticosa. Doubtless it is far from hardy, but would be a desirable subject for frost-free rock gardens.

It is always a surprise to find lupins in Europe, and it is tempting to think that this principally north American genus is introduced here. In fact, some lupins can be found right around the northern hemisphere (and even more species occur in South America). No less than five species are native to Portugal, of which we saw three. In this picture, L. varius is on the left and L. angustifolius on the right.

However, the showiest species is undoubtedly the golden Lupinus luteus which is often used as a fodder crop, despite being native here.

On our previous visit, we found several Ericas on acid ground, mostly in the hills, already flowering in late January, namely E. arborea, E. australis and the rather scarce E. lusitanica. Calluna vulgaris, our own heather, also occurs, although it flowers in the summer of course. To these, we were able to add another species, E. umbellata, which we found in the sandy pine woodland in the coastal Pia de Formosa reserve. It forms a handsome bush, about 1 m in height.

Naturally, in late March there were many handsome flowering shrubs. Rosemary is locally common, as is French Lavender, Lavandula stoechas, and'Heavenly Blue', Lithodora diffusa. As expected, cistus were dominant in many areas and coming into full flower. C. palhinhae, already illustrated, was only seen at Cape St Vincent, but C. salvifolius, C. monspeliensis, C. ladanifer and C. albidus were widespread. The lattermost, illustrated here is, ironically, the only one not to have white flowers! It is typical of the limestone, while C. ladanifer is only found in the acidic hills where it is usually dominant.

A few butterflies were starting to fly. I was delighted to photograph Black-eyed Blue, a new species to me. Less arcane perhaps was the Spanish Festoon, a swallowtail relative which feeds on Aristolochia, and was flying at Ria de Formosa.

I get kind remarks when I interject some birds into these narratives, and so I thought I would subject you to the best bird of the trip, an American Ring-necked Duck, apparently a transatlantic vagrant rather than an escape. We saw this at Pera Marsh on two occasions, where it had apparently made friends with a lady Pochard. Potential for some strange Mid-Atlantic hybrid offspring! I was delighted to find this bird which was apparently not known to local birders.

Quinto de Lago kept up its reputation for rare ducks with some splendid Red-crested Pochards, which apparently breed here (last time we saw Ferruginous Ducks here).

Purple Swamp-hen is a local speciality (here at Pera Marsh).

As always, Flamingos, Spoonbills, Glossy Ibis, Cattle Egrets, Caspian Terns and many others made for spectacular birding. It was great to see the White Storks back. If anyone knows where to pass on the ring number +548, be my guest!