©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg Looking at plants by the sea Ruth Baumberg Orchis italica at the edge of the sea n March this year, while clay is superb for roses and up a nearby limestone hill I the weather in the UK many perennials thrive, and at 410m saw our first was cold and windy, I went but conditions are hugely narcissus species, natives of on a trip to the Algarve in different from the chalk and the Iberian peninsula – there southern Portugal where it limestone sea cliffs. were paper-white daffodils was equally windy with 60 The vegetation in this (Narcissus papyraceus) (fig. 2) mph gales coming straight off area along the coast is mainly and N. gaditanus (fig. 3), a the Atlantic. garigue – low open scrubland pretty yellow miniature. We Living in Leeds, which near the coast, and higher also had a first helping of is one of the furthest areas up and further inland the the wonderful wild orchids from our coastline, I am not shrubby vegetation usually of the Algarve. The Mirror very familiar with coastal known as maquis; together Orchid, Ophrys speculum plants so I was looking these are known in Portugal (fig. 4), was one of the forward to seeing something as matos. commonest seen all week. different. But I always have On our day of arrival, Also common were the in mind what might grow when we spent the first Bumble Bee Orchid, Ophrys in my garden, where heavy night way inland, we walked bombyliflora (fig. 5); ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg Fig. 2 Paper-white daffodils, Narcissus papyraceus Fig. 3 N. gaditanus 551 ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg Fig. 4 Mirror Orchid, Ophrys Fig. 5 Bumble Bee Orchid, Ophrys Fig. 6 Man Orchid, Orchis speculum bombyliflora anthropophora the Sombre Bee Orchid, shrubby matos areas would A plant I was surprised to O. fusca; and the Man Orchid, be covered in it, a beautiful see was Cistanche phelypaea Orchis anthropophora (fig. 6). scene. (fig. 9), a spiky yellow We also met our first There are salt marshes at parasitic broomrape growing Cistus species, both white various points along the coast on certain shrubs; I had last C. albidus (fig. 7) and (fig. 8), and we spent half our seen it in a similar sandy C. monspeliensis. Cistus first full day on one which environment in southern has died in my garden so projected into the sea, trying Morocco. There was a white I am not an enthusiast, not to get blown down. I allium, A. subvillosum, though at some stage we have few photos of the plants which we encountered had the National Collection there as I feared the wind quite frequently during the of Cistus in Leeds at the and rain would damage my week; the tassel hyacinth, garden of an HPS member. camera, so I put my camera Muscari comosum; a squill, However, we saw quite a in my backpack for part of Scilla odorata; and that other number of different species the walk and enjoyed (if that ubiquitous Iberian plant, all over the Algarve, and I is the word) just looking at Antirrhinum majus (fig. 10), understand that in April, the plants while struggling to from which our garden just a few weeks later, all the keep upright. snapdragons were bred. ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg Fig. 7 Cistus albidus Fig. 8 The salt marshes – we struggled to stay upright in the wind 256 ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg Fig. 9 Cistanche phelypaea Fig. 10 Antirrhinum majus Narcissus bulbocodium Our first full day at Sagres Anemone palmata, more (fig. 11) grew here and I we travelled first inland to orchids, the Aleppo Pine, and decided I must grow it in my a heathland with trees and naturalised, creamy-coloured garden at home (the bulbs a valley, in part to view freesias. Over it all flitted are readily available at every an unusual green orchid, many butterflies including garden centre). Gennaria diphylla (fig. 13), the dramatic Spanish Festoon, Very many of the plants which no gardener would and the ground was full of in the Algarve, of all sizes look at twice! But there crickets, grasshoppers and and habits, belong to the were plenty of other plants the like while close to a pond legume family. Climbing up a including another magenta were many frogs including fence was Dutchman’s Pipe, cistus, C. crispus (fig. 14), with tiny ones, presumably Aristolochia baetica (fig. 12), a crinkled leaves, and Romulea recently tadpoles. strange-looking plant; again, I bulbocodium (fig. 15), a bulb After lunch we went to had last photographed a similar like a pale violet crocus and an estuary beach on the west species in southern Morocco, a plant from a family I’d last coast and here, facing the though various species of this seen in South Africa. There Atlantic, we wandered among 500-species-strong family was gorse, spiny genista, a different plant community occur right across the world. yellow halimiums, yellow in the sand dunes (fig. 16): In the afternoon we drove through violent rainstorms to our base for the next five nights, a hotel in Sagres close to the cliff edge and with views ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg of Cape St Vincent which we ©Ruth Baumberg were to visit on our last full day as the highlight of our expedition since a vast number of different plants grow on the plateau. We found our hotel had been battered by the storms and a couple of rooms flooded, causing some of our Fig. 12 Dutchman’s Pipe, party to move. Fig. 11 Narcissus bulbocodium Aristolochia baetica 573 ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg Fig. 13 Gennaria diphylla Fig. 14 Cistus crispus sea holly; succulents clinging buffeted them, the flowers S. colorata, with petals more to the ground; sea spurge, on the cliffs were amazing. cut than S. littorea. There Euphorbia paralias; the allium Flowering Naked Man Orchid, were asphodels, valerian, we’d seen previously; sedge O. italica, covered a big area; scabious and yet another Cyperus capitatus; a knapweed then all the along the path cistus, C. ladanifer. As we and a pinky-purple stock, with the sea, cliffs and bay came back down to the Malcolmia littorea. The most in the background, were the estuary where we had parked attractive flower here was Woodcock Orchid, and the the vehicles, we saw a large annual Silene littorea Yellow Bee Orchid, Ophrys meadow full of narcissus (fig. 17), which we saw every lutea. Set against a backcloth interspersed with grape day whenever we were on dunes. of yellow flowers were hyacinths like some planted The following day at Halimium calycinum (fig. 18), spring show garden. By this Boca da Rio we walked on a type of rock rose; Pallenis time the rain was coming a circular route round the maritima (a prime plant of down strongly, so it was hills from the river mouth the area); Coronilla valentina lunch in the vehicles then up on to the clifftops, then (which we grow in gardens a walk in the reed beds of back to our vehicles. In spite in the UK); and in quantity the river valley for the bird of the force of the wind that another annual silene, enthusiasts. ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg Fig. 15 Romulea bulbocodium Fig. 16 A different plant community in the sand dunes 458 ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg Fig. 17 Silene littorea Fig. 18 Halimium calycinum Fig. 19 Moraea sisyrinchium We did, however, manage to the Mediterranean; and the a thrift, Armeria pungens find a single clump ofFritillaria brown bluebell, Dipcadi (fig. 22); a candytuft similar lusitanica and some very serotinum (fig. 20). to our garden variety but fetching green tree frogs – Next day came the Cape growing in poor soil, Iberis creatures happy with the rain. St Vincent exploration procumbens (fig. 23); our The following day we (fig. 21); it is a the most brown bluebell; and another spent walking on a beach, south-westerly point of small bulb endemic to south- along a spit of salt marsh, Europe, a National Park, and west Portugal, Bellevalia then up on to the cliffs at has one of the richest flora in dubia subsp. hackelii. Near Alvor and another easy cliff the continent. It’s dominated the café on the main road to walk to Praia de Marina. by a lower-growing cistus, the headland was a patch of The flowers were much the C. palinhae, though this Anagallis monellii (fig. 24), same as the previous day was not at its height at our an incredible gentian-blue but with a preponderance of visit in mid-March. There shrubby pimpernel, and the Crown Daisy, Glebionis are tiny annuals like Linaria a large group of Viola coronaria; the Barbary Nut, algarviana which is an arborescens, white with blue Moraea sisyrinchium (fig. 19), endemic of the area; all the veins, again the only site of a tiny blue iris seen all over orchids we had seen before; this plant in Portugal. ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg Fig. 20 Dipcadi serotinum. Fig. 21 Cape St Vincent 595 ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg ©Ruth Baumberg Fig. 22 Armeria pungens Fig. 23 Iberis procumbens Fig. 24 Anagallis monellii Our last stop for the day, birds, but as our last treat little time not walking in the further inland, to see a group we had a final walk up a hill countryside. The narcissus of Little Bustards also gave to see a peony in flower, P.