BSBINews - BSBI Archive - Botanical Society of the British Isles

Report of overseas field meeting - 2009 - Paramos of Northern Castile (Spain) 55
together on the rocks, and several early spikes
of Himantoglossum hircinum (Lizard Orchid)
decorated one sunny slope. As we descended
to the road, the banks were full of deep-purple
Viola bubanii (Violet Mountain Pansy), yet
another northern Spanish endemic.
Despite the exciting novelties of the
morning, the highlight of the day for many of
us was the afternoon's walk through a small
valley to the south of the pass: a little Arcadia
of stream, meadow and beechwood. In
damper spots we found white-flowered
Ranunculus aconitifolius (Aconite-leaved
Buttercup) and nodding Geum rivale (Water
Avens), with Geranium sylvaticum (Wood
Crane's-bill) and Crepis paludosa (Marsh
Hawk's-beard) yet to bloom. On one crag,
Arabis scabra (Bristol Rock-cress) could be
admired, while the beechwoods were carpeted
with flowering Scilla lilio-hyacinthus
(Pyrenean Squill), in fair imitation of an
English bluebell wood (see Back Cover), but
dotted through with Hepatica nobilis
(Hepatica), Aquilegia vulgaris (Columbine),
Corydalis cava (Hollow-root), Cardamine
impatiens (Narrow-leaved Bitter-cress) and
Primula elatior (Oxlip).
In the woodland glades, the leaves ofAdenostyles
alliariae (Adenostyles), Lilium martagon
(Martagon Lily) and Paris quadrifolia
(Herb-Paris) gave promise of things to come,
as did the sheets of glaucous-leaved Allium
scorzonerifolium (= A. stramineum) in the
adjacent meadow. It was with horror, therefore,
that we learned that the road here was
due to be straightened and widened, almost
certainly resulting in the destruction of this
beautiful spot, and all in the interest of speeding
up - and no doubt increasing - traffic
between the central plains and the coast.
Having reconvened at a site for Aconitum
lamarckii, the Iberian endemic Ranunculus
gouanii (Gouan's Buttercup) and Fly Honeysuckle
(Loniceraxylosteum), we set off for the
Romanesque church of San Salvador de
Cantarnuda. Although we expected this to be
a strictly cultural activity, the north wall of the
building turned up one of the real botanical
surprises of the week: Dryopteris submontana
(Rigid Buckler-fern).
Our final stop of the day was at another little
Romanesque chapel near Barrio de Santa
Maria: a village that boasts an enormous
number of nesting White Storks. As some of
the group admired the intricately carved
capitals of the chapel, others examined the
crop of ruderal and arable weeds in the
surrounding cereals, to be rewarded by
Thlaspi perfoliatum (Perfoliate Penny-cress),
Centaurea cyanus (Cornflower) and a scarletflowered
pheasant's-eye - in the absence of
ripe fruits, either Adonis flammea or A. aestivalis
ssp. squarrosus - as well as a new grass
for the week, suspected by Arthur to be
Hordeum hystrix.
18 th May - Hoces del Ebro (Bu)
This was certainly the most strenuous day of
the week, involving an llkm walk through the
spectacular limestone canyon of the Roces del
Ebro. Stuart Redley (Teresa's co-leader from
our Benasque tour in 2008) and Graeme Deas
also spent the day with us, providing extra
botanical expertise.
While Teresa and Jon refuelled the vehicles,
the group explored a small area of acid heathland
near Respenda de Aguilar (P), which was
dominated by the beautiful Erica umbellata,
Lavandula stoechas (French Lavender) and
the white-flowered 'sun-rose' Halimium
umbellatum. Arthur informed us that among
the more interesting grasses here were Mibora
minima (Early Sand-grass), Micropyrum
tenellum (Gravel Fescue), Vulpia unilateralis
and Aira elegantissima. As well as the rare
British species Veronica triphyllos (Fingered
Speedwell), we also found the skull of a large
canine by the roadside and speculated as to
whether it could have been that of a Wolf, as
this part of Spain is known to harbour a
healthy population of these carnivores.
We stopped for elevenses in the dry Mediterranean
scrub, high above the Ebro gorge,
where we saw at least three species of juniper:
luniperus communis, 1. phoenicea (Phoenician
Juniper) and 1. oxycedrus (Prickly
Juniper), although rather more eye-catching
were the low clumps of yellow-flowered,