Flora of the Spanish Pyrenees - part 1

As its name suggests, this creeping shrub of limestone crags and scree is a Pyrenean endemic species.  It can be locally common, and is recognised by its smooth green leaves, which are grey underneath.

This species is described in the Flora of the Cordillera Cantabrica section of the site.

This species is described in the Flora of Ben Lawers NNR section of the site.

This common Pyrenean meadow species is described in the Flora of the Cordillera Cantabrica section of the site

Another common Pyrenean meadow species, Maiden Pink is also described in the Flora of the Cordillera Cantabrica section of the site.

Familiar to many as a garden plant, Green Hellebore is native to calcareous mountain woodlands in Spain.  It is easily recognised when in flower (early sping), and the flower bracts persist throughout the year - they are still surrounding the fruits on the specimen shown below.  The nominate subspecies is not found in Spain - it is endemic to central Europe.

A common wildflower of marshy places and water margins, Marsh Marigold is a beautiful plant, forming large mounds of cordate leaves, topped with bright yellow buttercup-like flowers.  It can be found throughout Spain, but favours cooloer habitats in the south

Fairly widespread in rocky limestone grassland in the mountains of northern Spain, Yellow Monkshood is easily recognised.  If in any doubt, the straight nectary spurs in the flowers will distinguish this from other pale-flowered species.  Yellow Monkshood can be seen throughout the mountains of southern and central Europe.

This widespread European Monkshood is restricted to the Pyrenees in Spain, where it often forms large colonies in damp grassland.  When in flower, such a sight can be very impressive.  Individual flowers are purplish-blue, and have a broader aspect than other Aconitum species - the hood is usually wider than high.

Primarily a species of the eastern Pyrenees in Spain, the Alpine Poppy is a perennial species, characterised by bright yellow, cup-shaped flowers and soft foliage (visible to the bottom left of the flower in this photo).

One of four Sempervivum species found in the Pyrenees, S.montanum can be recognised by its rather plain, downy appearance - it lacks the cobweb-like hairs of S.arachnoideum and lacks the glabrous foliage of S.tectorum.  The other species, S.andreanum is a highly localised endemic, found in the eastern Pyrenees, and is not found further west.

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One of the classic plants of the Pyrenees, this species has to be the most spectacular of all the saxifrages.  All this grandeur comes at a cost though - the plants flower only once (they are monocarpic), and die after they set seed. 

Even so, the sight of a cliff face adorned with the arching flower spikes of a dozen or so Pyrenean Saxifrages is a memorable one, and one I was happy to to enjoy whilst sheltering from the mid-summer rain!

foliage, Ordesa National Park

This common mountain saxifrage is described in the Flora of the Cordillera Cantabrica section of the site.

Purple Saxifrage is widespread in the Pyrenees, where it forms cushions on base-rich rock.  Elsewhere in Spain this plant has a very restricted distribution, limited to high altitudes in small areas of the Cordillera Cantabrica and Sierra Nevada.  Ssp. paradoxa is endemic to the Pyrenees, and can be recognised by its alternate leave which form rosettes, unlike the typical ssp. oppositifolia.

One of the most abundant saxifrages in the mountains of northern Spain, this species can be difficult to recognise as it is so variable!

Ssp. moschata has unfurrowed leaf segments, each of which is divided into three lobes (the leaves in the photo on the left are slightly furrowed, however).  The leaves are slightly hairy.  When flowering, the petals are yellow. 

This strikingly-coloured saxifrage is restricted to limestone faces in the Pyrenees.  This species was one of my 'target species' during my trek up the Esera Valley, and finally I chanced upon a small colony of it, living amongst various other saxicolous plants on a limestone outcrop.  Sadly, it had finished flowering, but it was enough of a reward to see the scattered cushions of the species in its natural habitat. 

Endemic to the Pyrenees and Picos de Europa, this lime-encrusted saxifrage is a rare species.  The tightly-packed, narrow-leaved rosettes and (when present) the yellow flowers make recognition easy.

I've described the species more fully in the Flora of Ben Lawers NNR, Perthshire section of the site.

This species is described in the Flora of Corrie Fee NNR, Scotland section of the site.

Easily identified thanks to its white flowers, bushy habit and Alchemilla-like palmate leaves with silvery undersides, the Pyrenean endemic species is common in rocky areas at moderate elevations.

Montane Potentillas can be tricky to differentiate in Spain, given the number of very similar species found.  I've labelled this one as P.tabernaemontani, based on the silky hairs along the leaf margins and non-solitary flowerheads - this second feature would appear to rule out P.reptans.

It's impossible to be certain of the Oxytropis species pictured here, but the characteristics of the plant shown here (slightly hairy, narrow oval pods & downy foliage) fit O.pyrenaica.

This variable, spiny prostrate shrub can be found in mountain pastures across southern Europe, in various forms. 

Thal's Clover and Alpine Clover (T. alpinum) are rather similar species (to my untrained eye) but favour very different habitats.  Alpine Clover is a plant of fertile, deep acid soils in mountain pastures, whereas Thal's Clover inhabits limestone scree on base-rich soils.  If anyone has a better identification, please feel free to get in touch.

This common species is described in the Flora of the Cordillera Cantabrica section of the site.

This plant could be either O.argentea ssp. hispanica (Silvery Sainfoin) or O.pyrenaica, which is a smaller plant with less hairy pods - from this single view it's impossible to be certain.

Recognisable by its tall spikes of golden yellow four-petalled flowers above greyish-green pinnatifid foliage, this attractive plant is fairly common in partially shaded habitats in the Pyrenees.

Common in the western and central Pyrenees in limestone grassland and scree, Ashy Cranesbill can be recognised by its heavily-veined flowers with notched petals, which arise in pairs on a leafless stem (not especially obvious in this photo). 

A widespread and variable species in Spain, Rock Storksbill has conspicuous pale flowers with the upper two petals strongly blotched at their bases. 

Although a rare and elusive plant in Great Britain, Mezereon remains a widespread and familiar plant in the Pyrenees.  It is the most robust of several species found here, and can be recognised by its bright red fruits (seen from late summer onwards) and pale lanceolate leaves.

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Formerly known as V.saxatilis, this yellow summer-flowering Viola is one of three rather similar-looking species to occur in the mountains of northern Spain. 

V. t. subalpina can be distinguished by its pinnate leaf stipules and lanceolate leaves - the yellow-flowered V.biflora has oval stipules and cordate leaves, as well as preferring more shaded woodland habitats.  The very widespread V. lutea also occurs in Spain, and is very similar to V. t. subalpina, including hacving pinnate stipules, but the final lobe is not longer than the others, unlike in Heartease.  V. lutea also has a shorter flowering season, usually ending in July, so plants like the one shown here (flowering in mid-August in an exposed, sunny habitat) can be reasonably confidently assigned as V. t. subalpina.

In the Pyrenees, a distinct colour variant of the Common Rock Rose is the found, bearing pale pink flowers.  It is a beautiful plant, and is fairly easy to find in short, closely-grazed grassland and mountain meadows.

Endemic to the Pyrenees, this mat-forming dwarf umbellifer is very distinctive and easy to recognise in its montane habitat.  The leaves have an obvious glaucous, rather bluish tint to them, and the plant as a whoile makes an elegant sight when topped by the umbels of pinkish-white flowers in the summer.

Due to their position high above me on a cliff face, I wasn't able to get a good photo of the flowers of this Pyrenean endemic species.  What look like pale green petals are in fact bracts, which are much more prominent than the rather insignificant greenish-yellow flowers.

A common plant of damp meadows and woodlands in lowland Europe, Angelica can also be seen in similar habitats at higher altitudes in the Spanish mountains.

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This species is described in the Flora of the Cordillera Cantabrica section of the site.

This common plant of upland limestone grassland is described in the Flora of the Cordillera Cantabrica section of the site.