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Plant Hunting in the Temperate Mountains of Taiwan 2011 https://growingontheedge.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6595 |
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Author: | DJ Hobbs [ Tue Jan 17, 2012 11:14 am ] |
Post subject: | Plant Hunting in the Temperate Mountains of Taiwan 2011 |
Whilst on holiday back in the summer in Thailand I managed to con (Oops I mean convince) my wife to extend the holiday by a week and jump on a short 3 hour flight to the nearby island of Taiwan where I went in 2010 and found some interesting plants. This time however I wanted to go deeper into the forests and see what other exciting plants are still hiding in those misty mountains. A seven hour drive South of Taipei put me right where I wanted to be……………………………the middle of nowhere. 2 The following plants were found growing between 1800 – 3500 Meters altitude so should have some good cold resistance. Once into the forests I noticed a very nice looking fern starting to appear here and there that could be some kind of Blechnum or maybe something else? 3 Before long I found the main colony which totally covered a small area of the mountain. 4 The nice thing about this fern was the bright white rubbery coating to the leaf undersides which made it really eye catching. 5 Good sized leaves on this species too which seemed to grow to about 1 meter long, they also had subterranean trunks which might indicate how cold it can get in these mountains. 6 This batch of Arisaema, probably a form of Taiwanensis were growing in full sun which is unusual as they are shade loving plants, they seemed happy enough at this location and were slowly spreading down the hill side. 7 They also displayed some interesting characteristics, normal Arisaema have between 9 and 12 leaves however these ones had up to 18 that were centered around an attractive purple eye. 8 Flat ground in Taiwan is a bit of a rarity so this is how the people adapt by propping up the back part of their houses using anything they can find (Usually bamboo) Would you go inside one if invited 9 Osmunda Japonica was a fern I rarely saw but with its wooly white croziers and big leaves up to 120cm long by 60cm wide I sure wont be forgetting it in a while. 10 Aralia Bipinnata with their heads in the clouds at nearly 3000 meters. 11 Clouds and rain moving in over a dense canopy below, time to put the camera away……………………………….again 12 Coniogramme Intermedia usually appeared in its plain green form but now and then one of these veined types would be seen growing alongside them which really stood out. 13 Now heres a nice little plant I didn’t expect to find growing in the cold mountain regions, it’s a Pilea species of some kind that is usually found in subtropical climates at much lower altitudes, but here it was at 2100m. Only a few plants showed the lovely silver markings on the leaves, others were plain green. It also had beautiful red splashed stems as an added feature. 14 The new growth of this Polystichum sp was almost metallic looking, I wonder how long they last like that before fading to green? 15 Two reliable hardy garden favourites for me seen here growing side by side, Woodwardia Unigemata which grew everywhere and always looked good with its big red new leaves and Fatsia Polycarpa with its many different forms. 16 Here are a few different Fatsia Polycarpa forms I came across in various different locations. Most look perfectly normal but now and then you come across one which is slightly different in some way. This one has flat backed leaves and well cut drip tip leaflets. 17 Most new growth on Fatsias are green but sometimes the odd plant would have pure white leaves that would slowly fade to green. 18 Heres a weird one which was very deeply cut and had little notches taken out of the leaves, not sure if I liked it or not, although im sure some of you will. 19 This Gleichenia sp was just starting to unfurl and really is a beautiful fern with its white undersides, it likes climbing too and I regularly saw it half way up other trees. Why is this plant not available in cultivation? Id happily let it grow over anything in my garden, from altitudes up to 3000 meters I bet its pretty hardy too. Also check out the Arisaema to the right of me with its overlapping leaves, never seen one like that before. 20 Syneilesis Subglabrata covered the forest floor in certain areas and had a good variety of leaf shapes and sizes. 21 Taiwan really is a fern lovers paradise and this one stopped me dead in my tracks when I saw it, this was a medium size plant with my foot for scale, they did grow bigger than this too with leaves topping out at about 1 meter long. 22 Fantastic persistent rusty scaley stipes that kept the colour all through the Rachis too. 23 Im pretty sure its Polystichcum Polyblepharum and it liked growing in boggy conditions at the forest edges. 24 Following an old disused logging railway track which twisted and turned up through the forest was leading to some interesting finds. Sometimes however the fog was so dense that you could barely see more than a few meters in front of you. 25 Rain, Rain, and more Rain seemed to be a daily occurrence in the mountains and this was supposed to be the dry season. Anyway id come too far to stay in so out I went to look for some more plants, the hardest part though was trying to keep the camera dry. Arisaema Taiwanensis green and silver forms usually appear in separate locations but here in this photo you can see both types overlapping with small silver plants starting to appear in the bottom right of the shot. This can cause some hybridization and produce the odd plant that carries both colours as is seen here just left of centre. 26 Apologies for the blurry photos but I was more concerned with keeping the camera dry as it was lashing down at the time. 27 Even the leaf undersides showed nice markings. I only saw 2 plants like this so I guess that its not a common occurrence. 28 This forest looks so peaceful although it was the total opposite with monkeys howling in the trees warning everything else of our wareabouts. 29 This very delicate looking fern known as Arachniodes Standishii was growing out of a rotten old tree stump and seemed to enjoy the constant dampness of the stump as it was much bigger than others in the surrounding area. 30 Paris Bockiana in flower poking its head out of the foliage. 31 This fern had leaves that seemed to get thinner with age, only measuring 5mm across at the widest point. The dark black stipes wernt bad either. 32 This small climber had very soft hairy leaves and enjoyed growing in full sun in rocky areas. 33 Its new growth was a strong intense red that faded through pink to green. 34 Growing at almost 3000 meters in filtered sun was this fine looking fern with what looked like pen lines down the middle of the leaves, very unusual. 35 At last a few Sinopanax Formosanus small enough to take photos of, all the other plants I saw of this species were huge and pretty much impossible to get a good shot of. Well shaped leaves with a good beige underside made this a very handsome species. 36 The ground in Taiwan is very unstable and land slides are common causing huge devastation, whole sides of mountains can come crashing down and many of the roads in the mountain regions have huge cracks in them. I must have climbed over about 15 different landslides in the small area I covered whilst looking for plants. As you can see they are very unstable and quite dangerous to cross. 37 Growing high up in the moss covered cloud forests was this beautiful multicoloured fern that emerged red then turned pink and even a shade of violet before going green. Just below and to the left of the leaf is a small green mature frond, notice how all the leaves nicely arc towards the front of the frond giving it a really appealing look. 38 It seemed to love the misty damp conditions of its habitat where the leaves grew to about 90cm long, anybody know its id? 39 It can get quite dark deep in the forest at times but heres a plant that really seemed to shine even in those conditions. 40 A stunning form of Trochodendron Aralioides whos new leaves emerge a bright hairy silver colour before fading to green, a real eye catching plant which lit up the gloomy forest in which it inhibits. 41 Some plants even had a pinkish tint to the silver leaves too which was nice, I only saw about 15 of these plants growing in a deep mountain gorge which they didn’t seem to venture out of. Another added feature was the leaf undersides that stayed a bright white colour. 42 This fern almost looked as if it was upside down as the leaves seemed to hang just below the rachis which itself displayed a nice strong purple colour. 43 Some of the mountain roads were a nightmare to drive on as I had to keep getting out of the car and regularly moving rocks that had fallen into the road. 44 Huge boulders loom dangerously above the road just waiting to put a dent in my already mud covered rental car. 45 The road signs didn’t exactly fill me with confidence either 46 Tetrapanax papyrifera was a plant I commonly encountered in the mountains, however these two particular plants had much bigger leaves than any of the others I came across, aswell as having completely flat leaves unlike the claw shaped ones that we see in cultivation, the older leaves also had a very nice sheen to them too. 47 This fern seemed to take over the whole area with vast numbers tightly packed together forming a dense colony. 48 It was a handsome plant with tough leaves that grew in very loose rocky soil below a deciduous canopy. As I walked horizontally around the mountain they disappeared in the sunnier aspects indicating their love for the shade. 49 This Aralia differed slightly to the usual Bipinnata I saw in that it displayed spines down the leaf centres too. 50 It was growing at the edges of a pine forest in part sun and was well armed and didn’t want to be touched. 51 Here is a small village in which I stayed for the night, the people were very friendly but no one spoke any English and the food menus were all written in Chinese which made ordering interesting. (Note to self, practice using chopsticks before next visit) 52 Growing near the base of a waterfall was a small population of this wonderful fern whos leaflets were very tightly packed together. 53 It had long black stipes and leaves that seemed to…………………………well im not sure how to describe what they are doing on the stipes but it was very unusual and I liked it anyway. 54 This was the only time I saw this fern and I was desperately looking for spore on the few plants that were growing at this location. This would make a great garden specimen with big attractive fronds that grew to about 1.5 meters long. 55 A small patch of Podophyllum Pleianthum hiding from the sun under a big overhanging rock. This plant is now quite a rare species in Taiwan from over collecting. 56 I have no idea what plant this is but it had striking purple undersides to the leaves and grew to about 70cm tall in dark misty conditions. 57 Another impressive ground fern growing at high altitude making clumps to 2.5 meters wide with rigid textured leaves, I havnt even got a clue to its genus. 58 This steel coloured sharp pointed climber looked quite aggressive but it was actually the opposite and hung out in the shade with the ferns where it seemed well behaved and happy to show off its nicely patterned leaves. 59 A fresh new leaf of Arachniodes Aristata showing a good silver colour that stood out amongst the surrounding green foliage. 60 Moss was everywhere in the forests and seemed to cover most things that didn’t move, here seen in a rare bit of midday sun. 61 Here is an unusual form of Arisaema Consanguineum which has a beautiful Turquoise colour to the whole plant, quite unlike other plants in the same area that displayed the usual plain green leaves and mottled stems. 62 This stunning Diplazium species was a pleasure to see and the biggest fern I saw at these altitudes with a good crown of large leaves. 63 Growing in filtered sun at the edge of a pine forest, it had big arching fronds and attractive hairy stipes. Don’t let the size of the Arisaemas fool you into thinking it’s a small fern as these were big too. 64 Tree ferns don’t grow at high altitude in Taiwan as its too cold but this Diplazium was doing its best with about 40cm of trunk on show. 65 Heres one of the fronds which still hasn’t even fully opened yet measuring almost 3 meters in length, found growing at an altitude of 2650m where it regularly experiences snow and frost in winter, it should hopefully prove to be hardy and if so would make a great garden specimen for those of us who live in colder climates. 66 To finish with here is a beautiful pink form of what is probably Albizia Julibrissin, unfortunately I couldn’t take any photos of this stunning plant in habitat as it was once again raining really hard and the small population of about 20 trees were “growing on the edge” of a very steep and dangerous looking cliff making it pretty impossible to hangon and take photos at the same time. 67 I did however manage to get a small plant which has grown quite well and is now showing the beautiful pink colour to the leaves, a real head turning plant. 68 I hope you’ve enjoyed this small peek into the wonderfully diverse plant life growing in the temperate mountains of Taiwan and if anybody can help with any ids it would be much appreciated. |
Author: | MarkEE [ Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:45 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: Plant Hunting in the Temperate Mountains of Taiwan 2011 |
What a fantastic thread. Thanks for sharing and taking time to type it up, Darren. I can't help with any IDs except that 31 is possibly a Pteris species and 32 and 33 look like an Actinidia. My favourite shot is 24, ironically the shot most affected by Fog. Captures the atmosphere perfectly! |
Author: | Aqua [ Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:49 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: Plant Hunting in the Temperate Mountains of Taiwan 2011 |
Only one word....Stunning! Thanks for sharing! |
Author: | David Matzdorf [ Tue Jan 17, 2012 1:08 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: Plant Hunting in the Temperate Mountains of Taiwan 2011 |
That's wonderful and fascinating, thanks. A labour of love and well worth the time and effort. Nos. 32 & 33 look like an Actinidia, perhaps just a small plant of A. chinensis. I grow Polystichum polyblepharum and mine looks a lot like nos. 21-23. Could no. 58 be a sp. of Cissus? The astonishing Arisaema in nos. 6 & 7 is the pick of the lot for me. |
Author: | BenC [ Tue Jan 17, 2012 1:54 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: Plant Hunting in the Temperate Mountains of Taiwan 2011 |
Darren, you've just made me green with envy!! Thanks for putting up those shots - absolutely fantastic! The Arisaema in photos 6 and 7 are really interesting - I've not seen one quite like that before. That purple centre is beautiful. I agree, it is almost certainly a sub sp or variety of A.taiwanense (it just has that look about it), but I'm still open to the suggestion that it could be an unusual A.consanguineum: I would not be that surprised to find A.consanguineum growing in full sun as it is adaptable to quite a range of conditions, which in turn has resulted in numerous colour morphs and often with red and maroons in the leaf and petiole. Also, A.consanguineum can have a large number of leaflets. Gusman's brilliant monograph 'The Genus Arisaema' states between 9 - 22. (It also states that A.taiwanense has up to 15). Shame the spathes had withered. Did you get any other shots of the spathe or the corm? |
Author: | Paul Spracklin [ Tue Jan 17, 2012 4:49 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: Plant Hunting in the Temperate Mountains of Taiwan 2011 |
Superb, absolutely superb. What a place! |
Author: | MarkEE [ Tue Jan 17, 2012 7:33 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: Plant Hunting in the Temperate Mountains of Taiwan 2011 |
Can I ask a few logistics questions, Darren. Purely out of interest as I can't afford to go to Taiwan. I can't even afford to go to Taibach (port Talbot) at present, such are current funds! Anyway.... how easy was it to organise getting around (hiring a car, accomodation, etc) and how was finding your way around? Were the road maps easy to follow? How much was car hire and fuel? You don't look dressed for cold weather or trekking, were you always fairly near the car or did you wander quite a way into the forests? Sorry for being so nosey! Cheers Mark |
Author: | DJ Hobbs [ Tue Jan 17, 2012 7:56 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: Plant Hunting in the Temperate Mountains of Taiwan 2011 |
Thanks for the kind comments guys, glad you enjoyed the tour. Ben unfortunately i didnt get any shots of the spathe or the corm but..........................i did bring a corm home with me so i can show you some pics in the summer, they also multiply Mark trying to organise anything from home was almost impossible as nearly everybody in Taiwan speak only Chinese, i did however manage to book a car which was a reasonable price and fuel was dirt cheap. For the accomodation i had to use a Taiwan agent who found me the closest hotels in the areas i was travelling in, as far as roads and maps were concerned, everything was in Chinese and sat navs dont work in the mountains The day temps in the mountains in June were an average 20-23c so a t-shirt was warm enough, even the night temps at that time of year were still in the teens and the air was fresh compared to the heat and high humidity of Taipei. |
Author: | Bart [ Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:18 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: Plant Hunting in the Temperate Mountains of Taiwan 2011 |
Wow! Great pictures. That last fern is amazing. Thanks for sharing! You're familiar with that there's a amazing fern book with amazing photos of every fern in Taiwan? Nice to see a few gardenplants in their native habitat. |
Author: | BenC [ Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:58 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: Plant Hunting in the Temperate Mountains of Taiwan 2011 |
Author: | stevenbrown [ Tue Jan 17, 2012 9:05 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: Plant Hunting in the Temperate Mountains of Taiwan 2011 |
Thanks for posting Darren, those are some wonderful photos , the Arisaema are just something else, they have a fantastic leaf shape. There must be hundreds of garden worthy plants in Taiwan that have not been tried yet. |
Author: | Kev Spence [ Tue Jan 17, 2012 9:38 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: Plant Hunting in the Temperate Mountains of Taiwan 2011 |
Wow nice Darren I am liking this post a lot and this Arisaema is so fantastic it deserves a second post. Its great to see how these plants should be grown, not just one of each spp in our own gardens, a hillside of Arisaema or a forest floor of Syneilesis look far better than our attempts to emulate what happens in nature. The old railway would look good in a Chelsea garden someday or a misty Irish garden. That Paris bockiana is equsite I want one now... Did you spot any berries on the Trochodendron loving the new foliage. Many thanks for taking the time to post Darren, especially with the narrative too, it makes far more interesting reading. |
Author: | Clive in London [ Tue Jan 17, 2012 9:57 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: Plant Hunting in the Temperate Mountains of Taiwan 2011 |
Amazing! I want to go. In the mean time i think that the upside-down fern might be an Araiostegia as all the ones I've seen seem like that. And this might be the fern book for Taiwan - is this what you meant, Bart? http://sa.ylib.com/project/201106/index_ch.asp Otheriwsie a lot can be found on this taiwanese fern enthusiast's flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/31242653@N ... 635679451/ He contributed to the book above (and sells it too i believe). |
Author: | Bennz [ Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:22 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: Plant Hunting in the Temperate Mountains of Taiwan 2011 |
Beautiful pictures. Not wanting to sound too boring, but did you by any chance get any pictures of the Alders, like the one in the background to that brilliant roadsign? I'm guessing this is Alnus formosana, which is a tree I've been wanting to grow, but can't source. Any idea what average temps are like in the mountains in winter? |
Author: | Steven [ Tue Jan 17, 2012 11:27 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: Plant Hunting in the Temperate Mountains of Taiwan 2011 |
Darren, thanks for sharing these wonderful pics!!! 4 looks like Pteris to me 23 your sugestions seems about right, but I miss the glossiness of the fronds, maybe it's just the picture. 31 is probably a Pteris again 48 my guess is Coniogramme Podophyllum pleianthum is a very gardenworthy plant, it can grow much bigger here in Europe than on your pic (I'm spotting a flower below the leaf in the far right) 58 I'd have said Epimedium at a first glance, but climbing and soft texture doesn't suit it. Epimediums have stiff prickly leaves likes barberries, to whose family they belong At the risk of only repeating what others already said: The Arisaema is stunning!!! Thanks again! |
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