Just thought I'd finally get around to uploading a few photos from a trip to Mallorca (from May 2015). I have lots of photos from several trips to interesting parts of the Canaries and other places that might interest people on this forum. When time allows I'll see if I can post them.
Anyway, back to Mallorca... the island exceeded all my expectations in terms of scenery once we'd managed to escape the tourist hotspots (which can be a bit grim). We left the airport in Palma and headed straight for the North East corner of the island. The mountains and rugged coastline are spectacular. The rock is limestone, and whilst this may be common in parts of Europe, limestone landscapes like this are rare for us Brits.
May was not the best time to go plant spotting, but still lots to be seen. I was especially keen to try and find the habitat of Helicodiceros muscivorus - a tuberous aroid that I grow here, and one of my favourites. Being Mediterranean, the flora is at its best during the winter, with most of the geophytes dormant during the hot summer months.
I'd like to go back and see the vegetation at a different time of year. It's a great island and I'd certainly recommend a visit, hiring a car and getting out exploring. Once away from the honeypots we hardly saw a single person. Anyone else been?
View towards the highest peak, Puig Major 1445m, unfortunately out of bounds due to a military radar station:
Looking towards Puig de Massenella, the highest accessible peak at 1364m, from Puig des Tossals Verds. The lower valleys are cloaked in forest largely made up from Arbutus unedo, Quercus ilex and Quercus rotundifolia. Various pines were also common.
The hillsides were covered in wild Rosmary, Rosmarinus officinalis, which made walking pleasantly aromatic. Here pictured with a swallowtail butterfly.
It was great to see wild stands of Chamaerops humilis. In fact, this palm was extremely common and widespread, and also very variable. Palm fans go mad over minute differences in Chamaerops - here all seemed to be growing side by side. Tall non-suckering forms, drooping leaf tips, erect leaf tips, suckering forms, black spined forms, silver leaf undersides, short / long petioles - you name it, it was growing there somewhere! The range of palms seen in gardens was very limited - mostly Chamaerops, Washingtonia, Phoenix and the occasional Trachycarpus.
Green pool frog:
Digitalis minor. Really liked this small foxglove. Apparently it is perennial. Anyone tried to grow it?
Asphodelus microcarpus had finished flowering down at sea level. This seemed to be growing pretty much everywhere we went.
But higher on the mountain tops the occasional flowering plant could still be seen.
Wild goats roam the mountains and cliffs, along with pigs and wild boar. They cause much damage to the native vegetation.
These gecko's were common under stones and boulders.
Cap de Formentor peninsular
The highlight of the week was traversing the Caval Bernat Ridge, a spine of limestone between Port Pollenca and Cala de Sant Vincent, from where it is particularly well seen. The cliffs plunge 300m vertically into the sea and traversing the spine of the ridge requires a head for heights and some tricky scrambling which just strays into easy rock climbing territory. Chamaerops humilis were common on the ridge sides. Arum seedheads were abundant, growing from limestone pockets. These were likely to be Arum pictum, but I expect Arum italicum was present also.
Searching for Helicodiceros muscivorus
Arum pictum seedheads.
Fading leaf from Arum pictum.
I was too late to see Helicodiceros in flower (as expected). However, a few plants were seen in fruit. Mostly growing in remote limestone pavements along the Cap de Formentor peninsular.
Cyclamen balearicum. These were not in flower unfortunately, but were common in shaded woodland. Often growing along with Arisarum vulgare.
And to finish off, a couple of shots of my own Helicodiceros growing here. Not a plant for the faint-hearted