The Pyrenees
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The Pyrenees A Greentours Holiday for the Alpine Garden Society 10th to 23rd June 2011 Led by Paul Cardy Trip Report and Systematic Lists by Paul Cardy Day 1 Friday 10 th June Arrival and Transfer to Formigueres Having driven from the south western Alps and reached Carcassonne the previous evening, I continued to Toulouse to meet the group at the airport. I was unexpectedly delayed by French customs who stopped me at the toll booth entering the city. There followed a lengthy questioning, as I had to unpack the contents of my suspiciously empty Italian mini-bus and show them my two large boxes of books, suitcase full of clothes, picnic supplies, etc., to convince them my purpose was a botanical tour to the Pyrenees. Now a little late I arrived breathlessly at Toulouse airport and rushed to the gate to meet Margaret, and the New Zealand contingent of Chris, Monica, Archie and Lynsie, hurriedly explaining the delay. Anyway we were soon back on the motorway and heading south towards Foix. White Storks in a field on route was a surprise. We made a picnic stop at a functional aire where there were tables, and a selection of weedy plants. Black Kite soared overhead. Once past Foix and Ax-les- Thermes the scenery became ever more interesting as we wound our way up to a misty Col de Puymorens. There a short stop yielded Pulsatilla vernalis in fruit and Trumpet Gentians. Roadside cliffs had Rock Soapwort, Saxifraga paniculata , and Elder-flowered Orchids became numerous. Now in the Parc Naturel Régional des Pyrénées Catalanes, a fascinating route down into the valley took us through Saillagouse and Mont-Louis before heading up a minor road to the village of Formigueres, our base for the first three nights. We had our first look at the narrow gauge little yellow train that would cause so much interest during our stay here. Arable fields were full of Cornflowers and many Corncockles. Red-backed Shrike was seen, and at a short meadow stop, the wealth of plants captivated the group’s enthusiasm, especially the abundant Poet’s Narcissus, a feature of the area. Here too was the endemic umbellifer Endressia pyrenaica and Pedicularis comosa was locally common. It wasn’t far now to our comfortable small hotel. We settled into good rooms and enjoyed a very good dinner. 1 Day 2 Saturday 11 th June Val d’Eyne A misty start soon saw the weather clearing and although sometimes cloudy there was no rain all day, and periodical sunshine. We left the bustling village of Formigueres and drove towards Eyne where we were to spend all day walking slowly up a floriferous valley towards the Spanish border. Progress was initially slow as there was much to see, all being seen for the first time. Lower down were meadows full of Poet’s Narcissus, much Thalictrum aquilegifolium and Aquilegia vulgaris. Near the start of the track was a purple Oxytropis that I will have a closer look at next time! Blackcaps and Tree Pipits sang, and Great Spotted Woodpecker was here. One field was pink in areas with Dianthus deltoides. The flowers continued with St.Bruno’s Lily, Great Masterwort, Pyrenean Vetch, and Winged Broom. The strong vanilla scent of Pyrenean Broom filled the air, the cliffs above being extensively deep yellow with it. There were many Great Yellow Gentians, some in flower. Ferns included Brittle Bladder Fern, Holly Fern, and Oak Fern. Entering coniferous woodland Alpenrose was commonly in bloom and there were three species of Wintergreen in bud, Lesser, Intermediate, and Round-leaved. Wet flushes had much Marsh Marigold, and the attractive Cardamine asarifolia. Meadow Saxifrage was numerous, and more unusual were the endemics Saxifraga aquatica and Saxifraga geranioides. Green Helleborines were a feature, Hepatica was in fruit, and there was some fine yellow Pulsatilla alpina . We continued our beautiful slow walk up the valley, adding Iberis sempervirens , Rock Redcurrant, and Vicia onobrychoides. Crag Martins sped along the valley and Common Treecreper searched tree trunks. Umbellifers included the stately Molopospermum peloponessiacum . A lone Primula latifolia was found, and the Cowslips were still in flower. Alpine and Black-berried Honeysuckle were both here, we saw Lesser Butterfly Orchid, and a few Early Purple Orchids. The sun brought out a few butterflies, namely Orange-tip and Green-veined White, Pearl- bordered Fritillary and a Duke of Burgundy. A perched Clouded Apollo was found early on, and later several were on the wing. Larva of Apollo on Sedum was an interesting find where we had lunch. A single Spring Gentian was seen, and Moonwort was as always a pleasing find. The valley was rather busy today with walkers, this being a weekend and also a holiday one. A few plants were added to the list on the return walk, among them Alpine Bastard Toadflax and Draba nemorosa . There were Dippers along the river, and active in the conifers were Crested Tits. The first Golden Eagle of the tour was seen. En route back to the hotel a roadside stop was made for Broad-leaved Marsh Orchids, where there was also Verticillate Lousewort. Day 3 Sunday 12 th June Canigou A fascinating drive took us down the Tet Valley along a spectacular road, more or less following the tracks of the Petit Train Jaune all the way to Villefranche-de-Conflent where we started the climb up the slopes of the imposing Pic du Canigou. Mt.Canigou is somewhat isolated from the main Pyrenean range, a mountain of gneiss. Lower down was much Cistus 2 laurifolius in bloom and Aleppo Pine forest. The car park we stopped at was already in great habitat and among the many plants were Artemisia alba , Centaurea pectinata , Thymus vulgaris , Cerastium trigynum , and Plantago holosteum. A pleasing find was the delicate Dianthus pyrenaicus. Subalpine Warbler was seen well and butterflies were much in evidence, among them Black-veined White, Sooty Copper, Little Blue, Amanda’s Blue, Adonis Blue, Queen-of- Spain Fritillary, de Prunner’s Ringlet, Piedmont Ringlet, and Red-underwing Skipper. There was a great selection of other invertebrates here too. Walking further up the road we found a lone Greater Butterfly Orchid, impressive St.Bruno’s Lilies, and the lovely Rock Speedwell. Continuing up the track would have taken us to fine alpine pastures, but we would see plenty of those during the tour. I look forward to reaching the area next year! The main species we missed here was Senecio leucophyllus , and although a fine floral display, most other species on the mountain we would see elsewhere. Back near the vehicle we ate the picnic, the area now somewhat busy with motorbikes rather than the expected bicycles. I next found another road that took us higher up into the Canigou massif with fine views all around. A roadside stream had Saxifraga rotundifolia in flower. Day 4 Monday 13 th June Formigueres, Puymorens, Andorra, Seu d’Urgell, Col de Canto, La Guingeta Full of expectation for an interesting transfer day we loaded up the vehicle and set off through the attractive scenery and up again over the Col de Puymorens. Heavy rain accompanied our departure, and the weather was changeable all day, but generally allowed us our scheduled stops. We drove initially past crops full of arable weeds, especially Corncockles and Cornflowers, and fields of Poet’s Narcissus. A short stop at Puymorens in rather eutrophied grassland yielded Antennaria dioica and Polygala alpestris. The fine scenery here was marred by much ski paraphernalia. Linnets were typical of the habitat. Crossing into Andorra we negotiated the horrendous small ski town and duty free centre of Pas de la Casa, and headed above it to fine alpine slopes. There were many Alpine Pasque Flowers, and Narcissus-flowered Anemones on the roadsides. A short stop yielded Pedicularis pyrenaica , Lychnis alpina , Bartsia alpina , Gentiana acaulis and the geometer moth Psodos quadrifaria. It was the next site that offered a truly superb flora. The slopes were pink here and there with Androsace carnea , stunning blue with superb Gentiana pyrenaica , white with Ranunculus kuepferi , and yellow with Geum montanum. The Erigeron uniflorus was very attractive and the mats of Creeping Azalea were new for the list. Gentiana alpina was much admired. A little below the Col I found a pleasant site down in the valley and set out a full picnic, made a little difficult by the breeze. Here were many Nigritella rhellicani in flower. Black Redstart frequented the small building. Our journey continued through Andorra, the scenery and flora beautiful, the settlements at best ugly and at worst absolutely monstrous. Crossing into Spain the architecture and culture changed rather markedly. At the first stop was a hovering Short-toed Eagle, and several close Griffon Vultures were very impressive. Cistus laurifolius was in flower . One stretch of road had many Orobanche rapum-genistae under the shrubby legumes. A stop at 3 the Col de Canto was aborted due to very cold rain, but another stop in budejal scrub saw an improvement in the weather and allowed us to find the lovely Linum narbonense, Astragalus monspessulanus , and Orobanche alba. There was a lone Burnt-tip Orchid. We reached the Noguera Palaresa valley and followed the rushing river up to where our hotel was situated. A new base for us after many years of coming to the area, I had found this beautiful, recently renovated hotel the previous year and it was a delightful place to stay, in a perfect location, with lovely and helpful staff, superb rooms, and delicious high quality food. It was loved by all! Day 5 Tuesday 14 th June Port de la Bonaigua and Vielha Tunnel A very fine day saw us heading up to higher altitudes, initially the Port de la Bonaigua not far above the hotel.