Papuk

Papuk Nature Park (Park Prirode Papuk) in Croatia is a habitat of Jovibarba globifera.

here are some habitat photos of J. globifera on Papuk

Narcoleptic, this is wonderful. Thank you for sharing thsi with us!!!

Here's the link to the web page of Papuk Nature park:

http://www.pp-papuk.hr/

Unfortunately, they do not write about Jovibarba - they should be proud of the rare specie that grows there!

Any time Renee
i wouldn't say that they aren't proud it's just that Papuk as every other protected natural area in Croatia has too few employees and too low budged for publications.
I have found pic from their poster from their other site.
http://www.papukgeopark.com/publikacije/flora.pdf
I also know that they have a large picture of Jovibarba globifera on the wall in their headquarter in Velika.

Here are more photos. All photos were taken 23.8.2009.

Plants grow in the vicinity of Velički grad. Those are remains of an old castle that has rich history. http://www.pp-papuk.hr/1english/povijest.htm (bottom of the page).
It is possible that this species is brought to this place as a decoration or medicine.



Other than my theory, this plant is belived to be glacial relict (as many other species) on Papuk because Papuk is a part of a few mountains in a flat part of the Croatia.

And a link to an online photo: www.pp-papuk.hr/galerija/za_galeriju59.html

More on park Papuk here

http://www.sumari.hr/sumlist/201001.pdf

The text is in Croatian language.

The author claims also S. tectorum si native to the Papuk natural park.

This mountain is full of surprises. Last few weeks I had some time and made a few trips
on Papuk. My priorities were alleged Sempervivum habitats.

Firt of them was Kamengrad fort. It's not
very popular place, it's not easily accessible,
on the way there you drive roads through minefields and there
are also rumors about very high radiation there...

More about this place here in English and Croatian:
http://www.pp-papuk.hr/1english/povijest.htm
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=8e658c0e-0a9d-4d53-aa20-296c97b300b7

I've heard this could be Sempervivum habitat and I had to go there.
Fort is really deserted, and vegetation is ruining the remains of it. In the fort, and
around the walls vegetation is mostly too high to make good habitat for Sempervivums but just below there are rocky sites that look very promising.

Just one of the walls



Unfortunatelly I found no Sempervivums there, but I've found interesting Sedums. True, I was in a hurry because my friends were nervous
and wanted to go back while I was searching. In the future I should make another trip (with more patient friends), so maybe I'll get more lucky.
I'm not very good at Sedums, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

S.telephium


S.telephium and S.hispanicum


S.hispanicum and S.annuum (?)


Not sure about this species but it looks like S.annuum. It's not mentioned as part of the flora of this mountain (at least not in a list that I have)


It's very monocarpic

Marko, this must have been a wonderful trip! Thanks for sharing photos with us!

I'm glad you like it!
So far from my recent articles you could conclude that I wasn't
very successful in Sempervivum hunt...
Luckily that's not true!

Other site I visited on Mt.Papuk is Sokoline stijene (''stijena'' is Croatian word for rock or cliff, and ''stijene'' is plural).
I was told that S.x rubicundum grows there which was very strange. I went there and found habitat of Jovibarba.

These rocks are some kind of organized climbing polygon, with anchorage and hooks for ropes. I don't think site is used very often
which is good for plants I guess.

Habitat is very rocky and steep.

On the way up (and down) I saw many of this crazy looking monkey orchid (Orchis simia)


Then I saw them










Sometimes it seems they grow from bare rock






such a long stolons for Jovibarba




at the top


view from the top


me on the top cliff

I wrote before about extinct colony of unknown Sempervivum on Stari Grad, on Mt.Papuk.
I visited this place few weeks ago and had a really great surprise:



 








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I think it's naturalized S.tectorum because Stari Grad is an old deserted fort. Actually there are only few remains of the walls left, forest swallowed everything else. Plants are growing on the natural rock cliff just below.
What do you think?

Marko, thank you for next photos from Papuk mountains. The Sempervivums on your photos in the last post is really Sempervivum tectorum. It is a nice colony of them. Sempervivum tectorum is very variable and has many forms on the habitats.

I am interestred in one question. Did you find any notice about houseleeks in Papuk mountains in the literature or were not there any notice in the literature?

I found a list of flora of Papuk without locations and I've found them by asking various people from botanists and mountaineers.

Another excursion, new colony found