Crevice dwellers in Central Asia

 

Primula algida

This is a sort of hybrid blog: on the one hand I'll be publishing pictures (for the first time) from a wonderful expedition I undertook to Kazakhstan and Mongolia in 2009 [I'll explain why in a minute]. The second justification is to celebrate the fantastic range of plants that grow in crevices in nature--and in the garden: crevice gardening is the latest rage in rock gardening--and these are fodder for the mill. I have seen this Primula in the Caucasus, Tian Shan and the Altai where I photographed this plant in easternmost Kazakhstan: what a range of thousands of miles and three of the world's greatest mountain ranges I've been privileged to visit. I've grown it too: not hard to grow! Especially in a shady crevice.

 

A dreamy cluster of gems on a rocky outcrop in on the "Austrian Road" in East Kazakhstan

There is a thyme (possibly T. roseus) an Eritrichium pauciflorum and rosettes of Orostachys spinosa. And a yellow crucifer. Gotta have a yellow crucifer in an alpine or steppe setting!

Pinus sibirica

One of the many revelations of this trip was the majesty of Siberian pine: they made enormous specimens in the forests. I can't believe I'm not growing it--it has to be one of the most beautiful of all pines, and has to also be unbelievably hardy (-50F is not rare in its habitat). And it has edible nuts. Here's one growing on what looks to be a Zdenek Zvolanek designed garden on the Austrian road (built by Austrian prisoners of war during WWII--I can only imagine what they went through).

Dracocephalum grandiflorum

Probably the gem of the genus: I must have taken fifty pictures of it on by two trips to this region. Dracocephalum has barely begun to reveal its riches. To gardens for sure or botanists too I suspect.

Patrinia sibirica

 OK, OK...so I published this picture before somewhere: I think it deserves to get published again: the most diminutive of its genus. We've had this growing for a decade at DBG's Plantasia garden: need to harvest some seed before we lost it!

Alchemilla krassovskiana

I'm guessing the I.D. on this...this far flung genus (South Africa and Mexico as well as ALL of Eurasia) is a bit of a much of a muchness as Farrer would say. But it loves rocks!

Eritrichium  pauciflorum

I distinctly recall collecting a thimbleful of seed of this that I never found again. I know it's hiding in the morass of my seed files (probably several tens of thousands of envelopes and packets). Being a borage, it may still be viable. Things that keep me awake at night. We'll see it again. The yellow is Viola altaica and the purple is Dracocephalum nutans, which I grew for decades from seed colletected by Vera Komarkova in the Arun Valley of Nepal at 14,000'.

Physochlaina physaloides

A strange plant--with a strangish name. Here growing quite high on the Austrian Road in the Altai, but I was surprised to find it in the Meskheti region of Southern Georgia, in a steppe climate (although it did grow in shady slopes along with a variety of Saxifrages, primulas and other more mesic plants). It thrives in the Rock Alpine Garden in Denver.

Closeup of Physochlaina physalodes in seed

One of the secret advantages of speaking Modern Greek is that Scientific names (more often Greek than Latin) are cognate to words one uses in speech: Φυσάω (which is pronounced more often Φυσώ in my native Cretan dialect) transliterates as "Physo"--meaning "to blow up".

Corydalis nobilis

What a thrill it was for me to find this exquisite Corydalis growing wild near tree line on the Austrian Road. We've had it for decades in at Denver Botanic Gardens--but I've had trouble getting it going in my home garden. Must try again!

Clematis sibirica

I have a hard time thinking of Clematis as crevice dwellers--but why not.

Saxifraga sp. ign.

Time for true confessions: I took a lot of pictures (many many hundreds) on my first trips to Kazakhstan and Mongolia in midsummer 2009. When I came home I was horrified that many of them were darkish. At the time I had little experience in photoshopping, so I picked out the best exposed shots which I used again and again. Revisiting these old pictures (now that I can edit easily), I realized I could resurrect these old shots: most of what you're seeing are pictures I have never published anywhere (talks, articles, books) because they were too dark. No longer! And I'm finding all sorts of cool plants I forgot about--including this saxifrage which is the spitting image of our American subsection that's been elevated to a genus by Weber and others: this has to be a "Micranthes" (I still like to call these Saxifraga by the way). A superb example of the Rocky Mountain-Altai parallelism first pointed out by Bill Weber.

Papaver radicatum

Poppies are legion in Asia, and many--probably too many--have been lumped under this rubric. (I have to use words like that in case Mark McDonough reads this so he has to look them up).

Bergenia crassifolia

One of the most universally grown plants on "rockeries" around the world, this is definitely a crevice dweller in most of its range. Also photographed on the Austrian Road.

Possibly Saxifraga sibirica

nother plant with an enormous range: I found this on Mount Olympus (both in Greece and Turkey) as well as the Tian Shan.

Goniolimon speciosum

Aha! I see we've moved onto the steppe of Mongolia for the nonce: this species has an enormous range in Central Asia--and we saw it again and again--but it was especially fetching on this crevice (a photo that was much too dark and could use some more lightening!)

Sedum hybridum

Far more coarsely cut in foliage than the form in cultivation, we saw this again and again in both Mongolia and Kazakhstan. In cultivation I love its bright red autumn color.

Gypsophila sericea

I confess, I have published this picture on Prairiebreak before, though not technically in a post. It is an endemic of the Altai, and definitely a crevice dweller.

Taraxacum sp.

Not really growing in a crevice, I'll bet it would love to try to however. If I were to get seed of this dandelion, I'd probably grow it. I have a hunch it wouldn't be weedy (until it cross pollinated that is!)

Larix sibrica

I was almost as taken with Siberian larch as I was Siberian pine. The former, however, is well established at Denver Botanic Gardens, and may be the best larch for Colorado Gardens. I was surprised to find it growing in steppe habitats rather than just montane and subalpine habitats. It seemed to favor well drained slopes rather than the moist swales where our eastern Tamarack thrives best. And here it's been bonsaied on rock!

My best picture of Eritrichium pauciflorum

I have GOT to find that packet of seed!

Somewhere I have a closeup...I'm pretty sure this is an Astragalus (in which case--good luck keying it out). Perhaps it's a Hedysarum. The diversity of peas, whether on the steppes of America, Eurasia--or even the Southern Hemisphere--is astounding. And when they perch so pertly on a hill..

I remember the spot--in our drive the Narimskiy steppe rising onto the foothills of the Altai, not far from where we stumbled on the fantastic colony of Stelleropsis altaica (a very rare cousin to Daphnes only recorded from a hundred miles or so from where we found it). But that is another story, for another blog post.

Oh! for this damn COVID-19 to abate! How much we have taken for granted. My wings have been clipped this past year, and the future is murky. But then I think of how much others have lost, and the lives lost, and I blush. May you, reader, be safe and have a good Holiday.