OLIVER'S MEXICAN TRIP N° 1

(By Oliver Gluch, July 12-13, 2008

(All pictures by Oliver Gluch)

 

 

A Ping tour weekend

After having multiple occasions going to Southern Chile over several years for business and seeing different sites of Pinguicula chilensis, I got a new opportunity to go into a Pinguicula country in Latin America, this time Mexico. Before having meetings at an international Wheat and Maize Breeding Institute close to Mexico City, I took the chance arriving there already on Friday night and profiting from a Ping tour weekend.

In 2005 I made already a tour in Mexico beginning of May. We found most of the species forming an onion-like winter rosette still not in flower. As I never was in the State of Guerrero, I decided to go there on the Saturday morning and seeing the area around Cerro El Huizteco close to the silver city Taxco. Fernando Rivadavia kindly provided me with location data which should enable me to find easily some species there. I was specially keen on seeing P. parvifolia in flower, but also P. heterophylla and P. moranensis, which occur there as well.

The landscape was very different from what we had seen in May. While in May it is still the dry season and many trees had no leaves, now the landscape was very green and normally in the afternoon showers and thunderstorms develop especially in the mountain areas. When arriving in Taxco, it was a very busy day full of tourists, and it took me a while to cross the city and looking for the right way to El Huizteco. After the city limit I had not seen any sign indicating me the right way, therefore I have asked a Mexican for the way. The very kind Mexican jumped into my car and took me to the right road (which I probably never would have found by myself), so I headed up the mountains to find the right places. The lake indicated on the Google map was finally a small pond and part of a dam (if you ever go there ask for “la presa” or “El Huizteco recreation park”). After having followed the road for some kilometers I have discovered the first P. heterophylla plants on a vertical cliff. At that site I have not seen any plant in flower anymore, but the plants on the almost vegetation free rock were very impressing. All the plants had already developped their up to 10 cm long summer leaves and where the sunlight hit the plants the glands were glittering in the light.

An habitat of P. heterophylla on a vertical cliff.

Photo : O. Gluch

- July  2008 -

 

P. heterophylla flowering in habitat (see later).

Photo : O. Gluch

- July  2008 -

 

Continuing the road for some further kilometers, I have suddenly recognized some pale violet flowers on the cliffs. Pretty sure that it was a Pinguicula, I stopped the car at the next possible place and walked back. Accessing the plants was not easy as the soil was wet and slippery. But it soon turned out that it was P. parvifolia. A lot of plants were in flower showing a quite variable flower in shape of the corolla lobes and in colour. The flowers varied from a whitish- pale violet colour to a darker blue-violet coloration. Most of the plants had 2 to 3 leaves formed, but some flowers appeared out of “nothing”, as the winter rosette is buried in the moss or substrate. The rock on which the plants were growing seemed to be of volcanic origin (for sure it was not calcareous), but I will have to do more geological investigation to confirm my assumption. Further on the road, there were also some spots with P. moranensis. Some of them were in flower. The flower colour was a dark violet, varying between more reddish parts to more blue violet coloration. Nothing spectacular (like at the Molango site), but very nice. The rosettes had often 3 to 4 leaves and were of a green to reddish colour.

An habitat of Pinguicula parvifolia.

Photo : O. Gluch

- July  2008 -

 

The flower seems to appear out of “nothing”, as the winter rosette is buried in the moss or substrate. The rock on which the plants were growing seemed to be of volcanic origin (for sure it was not calcareous), but I will have to do more geological investigation to confirm my assumption. 

Photo : O. Gluch

- July  2008 -

 

P. parvifolia flowering with a small emerging leaf.

Photo : O. Gluch

- July  2008 -

P. parvifolia flowering in habitat. A lot of plants were in flower showing a quite variable flower in shape of the corolla lobes and in colour. The flowers varied from a whitish- pale violet colour to a darker blue-violet coloration. 

Photo : O. Gluch

- July  2008 -

 P. parvifolia flowering in habitat with a seed cap in maturation.

 

Photo : O. Gluch

- July  2008 -

 

 

P. moranensis in habitat with a green to reddish colour of the leaves.

Photo : O. Gluch

- July  2008 -

P. moranensis flowering in habitat.

The flowers were dark violet, varying between more reddish parts to more blue violet coloration.

Photo : O. Gluch

- July  2008 -

 

Along the road there were still more places with either P. parvifolia or P. heterophylla. Plants of P. heterophylla occurred not only on the vertical cliffs along the road, but also in the more flater areas together with much more vegetation in pine tree and oak forest (also with some terrestrial orchids), which probably is more the real habitat of the species, as the cliff is more man-made due to road construction. At some places there were still some plants in flower.

 

Pinguicula heterophylla with already developped their up to 10 cm long summer leaves.

 

Photo : O. Gluch

- July  2008 -

 

Pinguicula heterophylla in pine tree and oak forest habitat. Where the sunlight hit the plants the glands were glittering in the light.

Photo : O. Gluch

- July  2008 -

According to Noah Elhardt and Forbes Conrad  there should have been also a hybrid growing in the area potentially between P. heterophylla and P. parvifolia. At least at the places I have found there were no hybrids present. The rosettes were either truly P. parvifolia or P. heterophylla. You probably need more time to explore the smaller trails along the hills to be successful. But nonetheless it is an impressing area for Ping lovers.

Initially I wanted to continue further south to a site were P. orchidioides should grow (and potentially would have been in flower), but as it was at least an 6-7 hours tour to go there and the area was not considered to be safe, I decided not to take a risk and returned to Mexico City on that day.

Next morning I decided to go to the El Chico National Park north of the city of Pachuca in the State of Hidalgo. In this area we found in May 2005 P. crassifolia on top of the mountains in 3000 m altitude and P. moranensis var neovolcanica and P. acuminata further down close to Mineral del  Chico.

Even in an altitude of 3000 m the temperatures are pretty warm (while in January you can have snow there). I was sure that I will not see P. crassifolia in flower at this time of the year (as in May it was already the very end of the flowering season and flowers appear out of the winter rosettes), but it was interesting to see the summer leaves of the species. Beside the site we have discovered last time, I have also seen the place “Las Ventanas” where Fernando found the plants as well. At several places on vertical rocks P. crassifolia grows on wet places (where water is running down the rocks). Plants were in summer rosettes and the impressive rosettes reached diameters of up to 15 cm. If the weather conditions will not change dramatically the species is not in danger as the sites are almost inaccessible.

Pinguicula crassifolia in habitat.

If the weather conditions will not change dramatically the species is not in danger as the sites are almost inaccessible.

 

Photo : O. Gluch

- July  2008 -

 

A summer rosette of Pinguicula crassifolia.

Photo : O. Gluch

- July  2008 -

Few P. crassifolia in summer rosettes with impressive rosettes reached diameters of up to 15 cm.

Photo : O. Gluch

- July  2008 -

 

 

At lower altitude close to the town of Mineral del Chico there is a site of P. acuminata, where we only found some winter rosettes deep in the soil in May 2005. I was sure that the plants now were in summer rosettes, but I also was hoping to find some plants still in flower. Seeing the site again, it was impressive how many P. acuminata plants were growing there. The whole rock (densely covered with moss) and also places in the forest were covered with thousands of P. acuminata plants. Unfortunately there were no plants in flower anymore. What was surprising was the fact that I have not found a single flower stalk, even not any remaining parts of them. Have the plants not flowered at all this year? I can not imagine that the flowers rot so quickly away, as beginning of May there is still no flowering season. Nevertheless it was very interesting seeing so many plants growing, having leaf colours of pure green to redish. A big surprise occurred when climbing a little further up the hill. In May we have found some P. moranensis plants which according to Sergio Zamudio are considered as var. neovolcanica. At that time we only found some winter rosettes in more eroded places, but in July the whole hill was covered with thousands of P. moranensis in full flower. It was even hard not to jump on a plant when walking there. Flower variation wasn’t big, but the amount of plants was astonishing. There was no water running down the hill, but the presence of mosquitos was indicating that the place must be wet for a longer time.

P. acuminata in habitat. The whole rock (densely covered with moss) and also places in the forest were covered with thousands of P. acuminata plants.

Photo : O. Gluch

- July  2008 -

P. acuminata in habitat growing in mosses.

Photo : O. Gluch

- July  2008 -

 

P. acuminata showing the summer rosette.

Photo : O. Gluch

- July  2008 -

 

 

 One of the thousands of P. moranensis in full flower.

Photo : O. Gluch

- July  2008 -

Another  P. moranensis in full flower. There was no water running down the hill, but the presence of mosquitos was indicating that the place must be wet for a longer time.

 

Photo : O. Gluch

- July  2008 -

 

Satisfied with the findings during this weekend, I returned to Mexico City to continue with my true reason to be in Mexico.