High Living #2: plants above the treeline

In my last post we went soaring well above where most of us spend much time, way up in the mountains where the conditions are too harsh for trees to survive - ie above the treeline. Today I want to introduce a selection of the plants that survive up there; some exclusively, others have broader habitat ranges. If you missed part one you may want to catch up before reading this, to get some background on the ecology and the places where these plants and animals live. On the other hand if you just want to browse the pictures here and enjoy some plant life you may not have met, that of course is fine too! It's mostly just a photo essay.

Silver Snow Daisies Celmisia sp. and Mountain Celery Aciphylla glacialis brighten the alpine
meadows in summer in Kosciuszko NP, in the NSW Australian Alps.

All these photos were taken in Australia and South America (and, just, in North America). I've only once been above the treeline in Africa and while I have strong memories of that day high in Lesotho (including a magnificent Lammergeier sailing overhead), that was well before my digital photography days. And the closest I've got in Asia was the lower slopes of mighty Kinabalu. 

Let's start with some plants. 

Mataguanaco ('guanaco bush') Anarthrophyllum desideratum, Torres del Paine NP,
Chilean Patagonia. This spectacular spiny cushion bush pea thrives in the often frozen,
always windy treeless expanses of Patagonia. 

The next half dozen photos were also taken on the exposed Patagonian Steppes slopes of Torres del Paine NP; I've been there five times, not because I love the experience of cold, often wet, winds (I don't) but because it's an extraordinary landscape, and supports some appropriately extraordinary life.

A more 'conventional' pea, Paramela Adesmia boronioides, a tough aromatic low shrub
which grows on the edge of the open plains at the foot of the mountains.

Mariposa del Campo ('butterfly of the field') Alstroemeria patagonica, in the mostly 
South American lily family Alstroemeriaceae. This is a tiny plant, with flowers on 
5cm stems to keep their head down out of the wind.

Darwin's Slipper (but in Spanish Zapatito de la Virgen, 'our lady's slipper')
Calceolaria uniflora, family Calceolariaceae. This is another very low-growing
herb of the harshly exposed Patagonian meadows and mountainsides.
Astonishingly it is pollinated by the Least Seedsnipe, one of a small family 
of four shore waders which have become vegetarians in Patagonia
and the high Andes. Apparently the white 'lip' of the flower contains sugars which 
the seedsnipe appreciate; in pecking the flower they transfer pollen from on flower 
to another. Rather than make you wait for the animals section (by when you may have 
forgotten about it) I'll introduce this surprising mountain bird now.

 

Least Seedsnipe Thinocorus rumicivorus near Coyaique, northern Patagonia

Estrallita ('little star') Perezia recurvata, a daisy. It grows on rocky ground
in the Patagonian Steppe.

And finally, to my surprise at the time, there are orchids in this harsh wind-blasted steppe land; here are a couple which delighted me.

Porcelain Orchid Chlorea magellanica. There is nothing small and 'keeping head down' 
about this beauty, which is found as far south as icy Tierra del Fuego. It can spend 
8 months of the year under snow but when the snow melts its flowering spike
can grow to 50cm tall. 

Yellow Gavilea Gavilea lutea can also grow tall, to 60cm. While probably
most often found in Nothofagus forests, it also grows in wet areas
in the absence of trees.

Far to the north of Patagonia in the Andes of southern Peru near Chivay at 3600masl, conditions are much drier and many alpine plants must grow on the rock faces.

Air plants Tillandsia sp. growing on a road cutting. They are bromeliads which take
most of their nutrients from the air; bromeliads are probably better known as
abundant epiphytes in tropical cloud forests (though the most famous bromeliad
is doubtless the pineapple!).

Puya Puya sp., another genus of bromeliads, growing on the top of
the same high altitude road cutting.

Cactuses growing, perhaps unexpectedly, at the top of Colca Canyon, also
near Chivay at about 3600masl, above the trees.

Again in the southern Peruvian Andes a very different and moister habitat, perched on the brink of the Amazon basin above the cloud forest at 3800masl at Acjanaco Pass on the Manu road, has of course very different plants. 

Gentians Halenia sp. and hardy grasses in the mist at Acjanaco Pass.

And to balance the unexpectedness (to me at least) of yellow gentians, here's
a more familiarly coloured one - I'm thinking Gentiana sedifolia? - in El Cajas NP
in the southern Andes of Ecuador, at some 4000masl.

And finally, from further north again, in North America in fact, some ancient, non-flowering plants from the páramo of central Costa Rica at about 3400masl.

Lycopods, or club mosses, a Class of now small plants which appeared more than 400 million years ago,
long before the rise of the flowering plants, and which dominated forests for a long time.

But we'll finish this part with some Australian alpine plants, mostly from Kosciuszko NP. After an introductory 'wildflower meadow' photo, there are 11 photos of plants from 11 different families. All were growing above the treeline in Kosciuszko NP except where I've specified otherwise.

  December on the Main Range of Kosciuszko NP, with the flowering just 
getting underway; the flower spikes are mostly of Candle Heath Richea continentis.

A close-up of the Candle Heath, a striking plant which lives in boggy situations in 
the alps of NSW and Victoria.

The snow country is perhaps not where we expect to find ferns, but nature can
 enable life in almost any environment. Alpine Water Fern Blechnum (now 
usually known as Austroblechnum) penna-marina is extremely hardy and even 
lives on the sub-Antarctic islands, as well as New Zealand and South America. 
It likes a sheltered position, often among rocks, and spends part of the year under snow.

Bidgee Widgee Aceana novae-zelandiae is far from an alpine specialist - it can be found
at sea level - but it is also very much at home above the trees. It's in the rose family, and
the head of tiny white flowers later forms a bundle of sticky burrs. They evolved to
transfer seed on fur and feathers, but many high country walkers have discovered
that socks suit them equally well. 

Mountain Celery Aciphylla glacialis is indeed in the celery family (Apiaceae). It is found
almost entirely above the treeline and is recovering well from the ravages of
historical alpine cattle grazing.

 

Ribbony Grass Chionochloa frigida grows only in the Kosciuszko alpine zone;
it too has recovered well since the removal of stock grazing. (Actually I'm having slight
doubts about my identification here, from a long time ago. Any comments welcome.)

Tasmanian Mountain Gentian Chionogentias diemensis, Ben Lomond NP,
north-eastern Tasmania. The gentian family is associated with mountains
on every continent (except Antarctica of course). This species is 
limited to alpine and subalpine areas in Tasmania.

Silver Ewartia Ewartia nubigena, Main Range Kosciuszko NP. A small-flowered but
extensive mat-like daisy bush that only grows in exposed alpine herbfields, where
it can colonise bare areas of soil and rock..

Royal Bluebell Wahlenbergia gloriosa in the Snow Gums in Namadgi National Park
in the Australian Capital Territory. It does however extend above the treeline, and
as the ACT's official wildflower emblem (despite my reservations as to its 
appropriateness!) I thought I should give it a guernsey. 

Alpine Mint Bush Prostanthera cuneata, Kosciuszko NP. This lovely member of the true
mint family grows above the treeline (and just below it), often among granite boulders,
in the NSW and Victorian alps.

Alpine Rice-flower Pimelea alpina is another prostrate shrub when growing above
the treeline. It has a similar distribution to the Alpine Mint Bush. The hundred or so
species in Australia and New Zealand are otherwise all found at lower altitudes
and most are erect shrubs.

Alpine Orites Orites lancifolia belongs to a generally unfamiliar genus in a generally very
familiar family, Proteaceae (ie banksias, grevilleas, waratahs etc). This one is found high
in mountains from the ACT to the Victorian alps and grows erectly even above the treeline. 
The only other Australian species is a rainforest tree! 
(There are also four species in Tasmania and two in South America.) 

And that I think is probably enough for one posting! I wonder sometimes if my longer postings aren't a bit off-putting, but I'm unlikely to get feedback from people who don't want to read that much, so I'm only speculating. 

It's not the time to be going to admire the flowers in the high country in the Southern Hemisphere, but perhaps you can bear this in mind for the coming summer. It's made me think we should plan another expedition to Kosciuszko, probably before or after the school holidays. Meantime, thanks for accompanying me on this particular wildflower walk; I've enjoyed it, hope you have too.

NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 13 AUGUST

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An Orchid Alphabet

I am writing this post in the depths of Canberra winter, thinking longingly of the coming spring. And when I think of spring I also inevitably think of orchids. In anticipation of that I've put together an alphabet of orchids from four continents, just as a celebration of these wonderful plants, with which I am besotted. (If you enjoy it, you might also enjoy some previous alphabets that I've put together; on yellow flowers, red flowers, white flowers, acacias, and eucalypts.)

My general guidelines are to try to offer an Australian and an overseas orchid for each letter, using a genus name if possible, but using a species name if I can't manage a relevant genus. I'm not going to get hung-up on taxonomy here (it is a celebration after all), and inevitably some of the names I'm using are not now universally accepted, but all are published and at least have been and usually still are widely used. In a couple of cases I simply can't narrow it down to just one Australian or overseas offering per letter, but if you're interested in orchids I can't imagine that will be too hard to take. Finally I've failed on a few predictable letters - K, Q and W-Z.

So thanks for joining me, and let's go tiptoeing through an orchidaceous alphabet!

A

Large Mosquito Orchid Acianthus fornicatus, Callala, New South Wales south coast.
The mosquito orchids (named for their pointy flowers, which is also the meaning of Acianthus) are a group
of mostly autumn-winter flowering colonial orchids of damp places

Bamboo Orchid Arundina graminifolia, Crocker Range, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.
A big and dramatic orchid found from India to New Guinea

 B

 

Tiny Strand Orchid Bulbophyllum (this species sometimes separated as Adelopetalum) exiguum, near Nowra,
south coast New South Wales. This is the largest orchid genus, with over 2000 species across the tropics.
This species has tiny delicate flowers less than 10mm across growing on rocks and tree trunks in rainforest.

 C

Two of my favourite Australian orchid genera start with C, and I can't omit either.

Purple Beard Orchid Calochilus platychilus, Gungahlin Hill Nature Reserve, Canberra.
An orchid genus dear to my heart (though my own beard has faded with the years). One of the many
ground orchids which attract pollinators by deceptively mimicking (in looks and scent)
a female insect.

Flying Duck Orchid Caleana major, Bundanoon, southern New South Wales.
What else could you call it?! The flower is 'upside down' and the labellum at the top snaps down
when an insect alights, trapping it inside for a while until it has been forced into contact with the
reproductive organs. The genus name is for George Caley, an early 19th century collector
around Sydney, socially difficult but very good in the field, employed by Sir Joseph Banks.

 And I have the same problem with the overseas Cs - two beauties and I can't ignore either of them.

Porcelain Orchid Chloraea magellanica, Torres del Paine NP, Chilean Patagonia.
Aside from its inherent beauty, this robust orchid fascinates me for its ability to survive
far to the freezing windy south of South America.

Coelogyne sp. near Serian, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo.
One of some 200 species of this magnificent genus, across southern Asia; Borneo is a hotspot.

 D

Diuris, the donkey orchids or doubletails (both reflecting the flower's form, supposedly like a donkey's face - well I can see it! - though 'doubletail' also translates Diuris) are common and familiar orchids across southern Australia. In a good season open forest floors are carpeted with yellow flowers. They are the first orchids I remember being made aware of, on family excursions to the Adelaide hills.

Common Donkey Orchid Diuris corymbosa, Wireless Hill, Perth.
Probably, as its name claims, the commonest donkey orchid in Western Australia.

However not quite all these donkeys are yellow, and I really had to introduce you to one of the truly lovely purple ones (about 12 of the 65 donkey species).

Purple Donkey Orchid Diuris punctata, Tallong, New South Wales Southern Highlands.

Disa spp., Bamenda Highlands, western Cameroon.
This is a large genus - more than 160 species - essentially restricted to Africa.
As usual, any further identification help gladly received.

 E

The Purple Enamel Orchid Elythranthera brunonis, Two People's Bay NP, is a startlingly glossy orchid from the south-west
of Western Australia, one of only two members of the genus. The species name means 'brown', which
is pretty perplexing until you know that it's in honour of the great Scottish botanist Robert Brown.
(Attempts to subsume this genus into the huge genus Caladenia haven't received much traction in Australia.)

Epidendrum syringothyrsus, Inca Track near Machu Picchu, Peru.
This beauty is restricted to rock outcrops in cloud forest in the high Andes of Peru and Bolivia.
There are more than 1500 Epidendrums through the tropics and subtropics of the Americas.

 F

And  here's another Epidendrum whose species name starts with F, because I have no photos of any orchid genera starting with F! (In fact there seem to be only two tiny Australian 'F' genera, from the Queensland tropics.)

Fringed Epidendrum Epidendrum funkii, also on the Inca Track.
(Also known as E. blepharistes, but that wouldn't do for my purposes here!)

 G

Waxlip Orchid Glossodia major (and bonus jumping spider, Salticidae), Black Mountain NR, Canberra.
This is yet another that some would subsume into Caladenia, but Glossodia (which contains just two species)
is still widely used. This one, common and in a good season abundant in colonies, is sometimes known
as the Parson in the Pulpit for the erect column over the white base to the labellum.

Orchidea amarilla ('yellow orchid') or Varita do oro ('golden wand') Gavilea lutea,
Torres del Paine NP, Chilean Patagonia. A common robust orchid of cold grasslands
as far south as Tierra del Fuego.

 H

Midget Greenhood Hymenochilus (Pterostylis) muticus, Nangar NP near Canowindra, New South Wales.
This group of very small-flowered greenhoods (the flowers of this species are less than 10mm long) was
split off as a separate genus for some time, though most recent sources would reinstate the huge and varied
genus Pterostylis.

In acknowledgement of that, I'll also offer another Australian 'h-orchid', this one based on the species name.

Purple-heart Fingers Caladenia (sometimes Petalochilus) hillmanii, Myora, south coast New South Wales.
The name commemorates George Hillman of Port Stephens, who brought it to the attention of orchid
guru (and somewhat maverick) David Jones in the 1990s.

Habenaria sp., Wayquecha Research Station, high southern Peruvian Andes.
(At least that is what I was told at the time, though now I have some doubts.)
Habenaria is a genus of over 600 species found throughout the tropics.

 I

This letter caused me some angst too; I have a photo of the lovely Ida locusta from Peru but the poor thing is so nibbled and shrivelled that it would be embarrassed to be shown. Instead I offer another Australian species chosen for its species name.

Spotted Sun Orchid Thelymitra ixioides, Bundanoon, New South Wales southern highlands.
A very widespread and common orchid in south-eastern New South Wales.

J

A slightly contentious one, in that the establishment has largely returned all the genera which were split from Caladenia in an attempt to provide some nuance, back to the huge amorphous grab-bag of Caladenia. However some authorities, including the respected Atlas of Living Australia, still recognise this genus for instance, named for the eminent Australian orchidologist David Jones; good enough for me today!

Zebra Orchid Jonesiopsis (or Caladenia) cairnsiana, Stirling Ranges NP, southern Western Australia.
I really love this jaunty little orchid, which can be quite common in sandy heaths throughout the south-west.

L

Rattle Beaks Lyperanthus serratus, Wireless Hill, Perth. Apparently the flower rattles if you shake it,
but I've never felt the need to do so! A very distinctive orchid, which has a relative (but only one)
in the south-east of Australia too.

M

Alpine Onion Orchid Microtis sp. aff. unifolia, Brindabella Ranges, Namadgi NP, above Canberra.
As far as I can tell, this one is still undescribed. I've mentioned a couple of small-flowered orchids above,
but onion orchid flowers are tiny, just 2-3mm long, sitting on an expanded ovary.

N

Mayfly Orchid Nemacianthus caudatus Spring Mount CP, south of Adelaide.
A very distinctive colony-forming orchid, widespread and common, formerly included in Acianthus;for a change this split seems to have been widely accepted.
(Scan of an old slide - sorry.)

 

Neodryas rhodoneura, Acjanaco Pass, high Andes, Manu NP, southern Peru.
There appears to be some confusion surrounding this genus, which is also sometimes dumped in Onicidium,
seemingly (as far as I can make out) because no-one quite knows what to do with it.
Not our problem here - we just get to enjoy a lovely orchid starting with N!

 O

Horned Orchid Orthoceras strictum, Black Mountain NR Canberra.
This is a most distinctive orchid, quite widespread and said to be sometimes common, but that hasn't been
my experience. In the ACT it grows in just one small site.
(David Jones, in his monumental Complete Guide to the Orchids of Australia, suggests that there are
two or three other undescribed species in Australia and that the New Zealand and New Caledonian populations
also represent separate species. You'll read otherwise elsewhere, but my strong inclination is to believe
Jones until more evidence is available.)

Odontoglossum auroincarum, Wayquecha Research Station, high southern Peruvian Andes.
(This has also been called O. lasserum, but auroincarum seems to be correct here - it was only described,
from this area, in 2014.) There are about 100 Odontoglossum species, nearly all from the northern Andes.

 P

P begins with a double-P in fact, and it's a rare species as well.

Tarango Leek Orchid Prasophyllum petilum, northern Canberra.
A grassland species now regarded as Endangered, as are many native grassland-relying
species in south-eastern Australia.

Pleurothallus sp., above Machu Picchu, southern Peru.
I love the way these flowers seemingly grow from the leaf stalk.

R

R was surprisingly challenging. There aren't many Australian orchid R-genera; the best known is probably Rhizanthella, the truly remarkable underground orchids - three species which live entirely beneath the ground, the flowers covered by soil or litter. Needless to say I don't have photos of them. Let's settle for an R-species instead.

Large Gnat Orchid Cyrtostylis robusta, Alligator Gorge, southern Flinders Ranges, South Australia.
A fairly common species of sandy alkaline soils of the extensive limestone belt of southern Australia;
it is usually found in big colonies.

 S

S provided the opposite problem - too many delicious choices. In the end I could only get it down to two Australian S-orchids, plus one from overseas.

 

Myrtle Bells Sarcochilus hillii, Nowra, south coast New South Wales. This is a pretty little drooping
epiphyte, with flowers less than 10mm across, usually along streamlines in drier rainforest.
I love the glistening crystalline effect of the flowers.

Pink Spiral Orchid Spiranthes australis, Canberra. Another small-flowered orchid, this one of moist grassy areas,
with flowers tightly spiralling around the stem, a most unusual effect.

 

Sobralia dichotoma, Inca Track above Machu Picchu, southern Peruvian Andes.
A stunning big flower on a plant that can be three metres high! Hard to ignore.

  T

Swollen Sun Orchid Thelymitra megacalyptera, Weddin Mountains NP, south-western slopes New South Wales.
The 100+ species of sun orchids tend to open only on warm sunny days. This one is most prominent
in the drier forests of the western slopes.

Telipogon salinasiae Acjanaco Pass, high Andes of southern Peru.
Another big Neotropical orchid genus, many with unusually patterned flowers.
This one was described in 2003.

 U

Green-banded Greenhood Urochilus (Pterostylis) vittatus, Shannon NP, south-western Western Australia.
As mentioned previously, many do not accept the breakup of Pterostylis into more manageable chunks,
but Urochilus is still used, including by the Atlas of Living Australia.

 V

And finally - because after this we hit the tricky end of the alphabet, which I found intractable today - we end with a V, another based on a species name.

 

Common Hyacinth Orchid Dipodium variegatum, Nowra, southern New South Wales.
The hyacinth orchids are big leafless orchids which are semi-parasites, relying on a complex relationship
of its roots with both a host plant and a fungus.
This one, with a 60cm high stem, is by no means the tallest; it is found from Queensland to Victoria.

I do love orchids, and I'm really hoping that this spring is more productive than the last couple of dry years have been. Meantime, I hope this has encouraged you too to start looking forward to this year's orchid season.

NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 22 AUGUST
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