Steppe revisited (This is a test)

Let's see how clever you are: this is a test! the picture above was taken in one of the following:

            1) grassy pampas near Córdoba, Argentina

            2) foothills of the Drakensberg near Bloemfontein, South Africa

            3) steppe near the Karatau, Kazakhstan

            4) shortgrass prairie near Douglas, Wyoming.

I'll answer the last multiple choice test shortly but first indulge me in a prose poem to steppe. 

                                                     Prose poem to steppe

 Around the world, people "step" on the gas as they traverse the prairie/steppe/pampas/karoo almost in dread at the interminability of gray+brown+tan+dun+auburness. Grass or brush or tumbleweed go on and on--seemingly forever. Of course on any steppe, at the propitious moment, you may find a riot of brighter colors--bulbs, annuals perennials, shrubs and even trees can blaze all the more brightly here against the prevailing austerity. These are the rare holidays and holy days here. But only once you embrace and caress and learn, yearn and celebrate the harsh truth that much of the year the principal actors on the steppe aren't pretty posies, but the fiery sun, the crisp horizon, sky, clouds, earth and wind endlessly combing the tufted, golden grasses.

Herein I revisit the ultimate, primordial of all true steppes: the Karatau ("black mountains" in Turkic) which were bisected by the towering Tian Shan: an ancient and sacrosanct place, if you think about it, since the ancestry of probably 2/3 of humankind paused and evolved on these very steppes for much of the last hundred thousand years. Most will zip by this blog as quickly as they drive through Nebraska or Nevada. More's the pity.

Our guide on both early trips to Kazakhstan was Vladimir Kolbintsev, a born naturalist who's spent much of his life studying and exploring these regions. He's standing beneath a cliff clustered with Scutellaria immaculata, one of the choicest chasmophytes I've yearned to see. Click here to see why.

A few more glimpses of that yearned for plant: alas, one that didn't follow us to cultivation!

 

 Another closeup of this remarkable plant.

And here it is growing on the coarse conglomerate cliff.

Almost as wonderful as finding a plant new to you is finding one you've loved for years in the wild. Allium karataviense is widely and cheaply available from Dutch Bulb sources (and a plant most of us treasure in our gardens). To see the tumbleweed heads on its native screes--so similar to places in the Rocky Mountain foothills--was amazing! Hard to believe a plant found here has become a bulb sold and loved round the globe!

You can hardly blame us for finding Pistachia vera in nature for the first time!

How strange that a small, attractive, nut bearing tree found in such cold, harsh regions has never established itself as an ornamental in Denver.

 Capparis herbacea on a cliff: I may be even more mystified how such a spectacular groundcover has eluded us: of course, the very similar Capparis spinosa of the Mediterranean is sold by a few speciality nurseries, but THIS is the one we need!

Quite the contrast to the previous closeup, dontcha think? That's the dichotomy of this landscape of vastness and strange scale.

Look carefully and you can scale the humans in this shot.

Another panoramic shot shows the contrast between humanity and the dramatic landforms.

I could slip in identical shots from Utah and you wouldn't know, would you?

One of many species of Crataegus we encountered growing where they wouldn't get appreciable moisture for months on end, and not much more after that. Obviously a genus that merits greater study for dry climates.

I believe this is a wild Safflower (Carthamnus tinctorius): the flowers are beautiful, but the seedpods are not bad!

Islam has a long history here, but the principal evidence to visitors are the occasional mosque and picturesque cemeteries: judging by the popularity of vodka hereabouts, I don't think we're dealing with a very virulent strain of the religion here.

You may not be impressed at first, but Acantholimon albertii was a high point for me (very pointy as a matter of fact!)

The seedpods are decorative for months after the flowers fade...

Not a very promising vista for plants you might think...

But turn around the corner, and a tree appears!

 As we approached we identified this as Crataegus pontica, which apparently grows all the way to Asia Minor.

The fruits are comparatively enormous--and apparently used by the locals for jelly...

What a striking plant up close!

As a contrast, nearby we found this tiny Ephedra sp.. Possibly a good subject for bonsai!

 We found a variety of roses, this one Rosa maracandica is especially appealing do to its small size and decorative fruit.

 Mike Bone and Vladimir Kolbintsev on a train, as it whisks across the vast, haunting steppe...oh! To go back again!

You may have failed the multiple choice in the first picture, but if you read all the way down to here you passed the real test! Hail, steppe brothers and steppe sisters! Live long and thrive as long as the wind blows through the prairie grasses!