Narcissus PallidiflorusI thought that I had this species cracked and in the bag until I met John Blanchard, author of what, for me, is the definitive guide on Wild Narcissi, out of the blue one day virtually on top of a Spanish Pyrenee. He promptly disabused me and informed me that what I had taken to be Pallidiflorus was, in fact, a species newly named as Narc Moleroi. I have, since, covered this species more fully in an article on Narc Moschatus. After a Narc hunting season spent happily adding to the “been there, done that” list I was somewhat saddened to have to reduce the list by one after our chance meeting. Shortly after this I was returning to my home in Spain from a trip to the Cevennes in France and wanted to photograph a fairly late flowering Orchid – Orchis Spitzelii – on the way. Normally, from the Cevennes, I return via the coast road but this time I cut further across France to drop down through Larzac where I hoped to photograph two of Europe’s rarest Insect Orchids – Ophrys Aymonini and Ophrys Aveyronensis (in which aspiration I was successful) – before cutting further across to take in the Corbieres Mountains just North of the Pyrenees. From there it is a straight run down to the site I had in mind for Orchis Spitzelii at Tragacete in the Provincia de Cuenca just East of Madrid in central Spain. Having passed through the Corbieres with several excellent Orchid species encountered, including Serapias Cordigera in significant quantities, I then drifted over towards Andorra. It was many years since I had passed that way and it was on a more or less straight line to my destination. I approached it via Pas de la Casa and after a seemingly never ending series of hairpin bends I arrived at the lower outskirts of the town. Most towns and villages in this region derive their living from the side benefits of skiing and at this time of the year, May, with the snow all but gone they have a bedraggled appearance. Almost bereft of residential life, there is a flurry of construction in an effort to generate even higher returns next year, and loads of decorative glitz now out of season, and so out of context, and looking somewhat tarnished. The consoling factor was that, as I came up the road, I could see Narcissi flowering on both sides. However, due to its switchback nature, and the fact that no provision at all has been made to allow parking or pulling off, then the large volume of traffic travelling at manic speeds ensures that you have to keep going rather than park on the carriageway. I was, therefore, grateful at the outskirts of the town to find a layby to pull into. The upward hill to the left, and the downward hill to the right, both hosted a population of Narcissi thus obviating the need to backtrack on foot and, particularly off to the right, some very handsome Pulsatilla Alpina in full and open flower. The Narcissi turned out to be the true Pallidiflorus and were, for me, not only a first but also a very satisfactory ending to a lengthy season’s Narcissi hunting. As to photographing them – that was a different story. The force 9 winds prevailing at the time were a mere bagatelle in the melting pot of a Wildlife Photographer’s life and I foolishly thought that that was all I had to contend with. The downward slope seemed more sheltered than the upward one and so I opted for that with fingers crossed. Although, due to its rocky nature, there were several virtually wind free pockets on the slope not one Narcissus had opted for these seas of tranquillity but were, instead, firmly ensconced in the teeth of the gale. Nothing for it but patience and so I chose my plants with care and waited, and waited, and waited. Seriously there were, as almost ever (except in the Falklands, but thereby hang several other tales), gaps in the wind and I did, indeed, finally achieve my objective. Having, at long length, photographed the Narcs to what I felt was a sufficiently comprehensive degree I turned my attention to a few side shots of a particularly delightful pair of Pulsatilla Alpina that had been nodding pointedly in my direction and, in all but words, demanding “Take me, take me !” Mission accomplished I then readied myself to climb up what now, from below, looked like a precipice, which I had much more easily climbed down, when a gust of wind and a virtual blanket of fog blew up behind me. Almost dislodged, much to the merriment of a group of workers from a nearby industrial unit, I looked up towards the Landrover only to see it disappearing into the mist. Never mind I figured that if I kept going up I would bump into it eventually. Unfortunately that great Narcissus designer in the sky intervened by placing, almost beneath my very feet, the most photogenic N.Pallidiflorus ever seen by man. I don’t know how most would have reacted in the circumstances but as an obsessional Wildlife Photographer I’m afraid that once the radar locks onto a target then no amount of man made or divine intervention is going to get in the way. Accordingly, as clouds of cloud or mists of mist rolled by, I proceeded to photograph a plant that I could only see in fits and starts. I remembered, once before, photographing European Bison from a horse drawn sledge in the snow and finding, when I got the slides back, that they were all blanketed in a fine white mist and totally unusable. It took months and a return visit to work out that it was a mixture of my breath, horse’s breath, steam off the horse’s rump and airborne water vapour that were to blame and here I was like to repeat the performance. (The accompanying photograph shows the results). I must admit that John Blanchard’s written description of Pallidiflorus did,I thought, exactly fit the “Moleroi” plants I had found earlier. Face to face with the living proof , however, even I, in my Narcissistic naivete, could see that this was an entirely different kettle of fish. Actually very attractive. Of medium height (on this site anyway), with foliage of a height with the flowers, it looked like a pale version of Narc Pseudonarcissus though to my eye more appealing. Very subtle shades of creamy yellow in the petals contrast only slightly with a deeper coloured corona. For me its winning feature was its fantastically flared, and at times recurved, flange at the end of the corona, up inside which was a pleasant mix of shades of cream. I found it an altogether pleasing plant to see. It looked nothing like the Moleroi and Moschatus I had seen only a few days before and was, for me, a fitting finale to my year’s Narcissus hunting and photography. From Pas de la Casa I continued down towards Spain via Andorra la Vielha. The first major town I encountered was Soldeu, and as I dropped down (in Andorra you are always either dropping down or climbing up), towards it the road, on entering civilisation, turned sharply to the left. Directly to the left and “up a bit” in the curve of the hairpin was what looked like a reasonably new Ski Village. Between this village and the road that I was on was a fairly extensive grassy area already provided with a service road, no doubt indicative of its designated future as an extension to the “des res” development alongside. That apart, at the time of my visit, this area was completely carpeted with Narcissi. One side of the green held a large population of Narc Poeticus and the other side one of Narc Pallidiflorus with a small stream separating them. My mind immediately switched into “Hybrid mode” and I turned off to investigate. True enough there they were. Although the Pallids were just “going over” and the Poets just coming, nevertheless, on the line of demarcation between the two species, were a number of hybrids. They were not unlike the hybrid between Narc Abscissus and Poeticus though, in this particular case, the petals were much whiter creating an especially attractive flower. As I dropped further down the valley the Pallids became fewer and fewer and eventually ceased to be. Their place was taken by a colourful array of cranes, building sites, traffic lights and jams, duty free shops and filling stations – all in full bloom! Never have I seen so many filling stations per capita of residents. It must have equated to at least one each! After the serenity of the mountains for so long I must confess that this was something of a culture shock that I nevertheless had to endure for the greater pleasure of passing back through into Spain.(Diesel, by the way, was almost exactly half the price it is in the U.K.) Through Customs, which seems to be much of a formality these days, and “onwards and upwards” as they say, to Orchis Spitzelii. Taken from articles based on “In search of Wild Narcissi” by Brian Pettit. |
