J. arenaria ex Crna na Koroškem, Slovenia

Photo from habitat:

http://www2.arnes.si/~sopjslat/netreski/slike/Crna106.htm

Črna na Koroškem = Crna na Koroskem

Correct habitat name is Črna na Koroškem.

so cute!
just a thought for anyone who is going to photograph plants in habitat:
i find it most interesting and helpful if we can see (of course) close-ups of the plant, (and flowers when possible)but ALSO slightly longer views that show how big the clumps are, and if possible, even broader views that show the habitat.. i know these are not all always possible, but when they are, it can really help give us an appreciation of how the plants grow in nature...

For the photos of Slovene plants / habitats we should be grateful to Mr. Slatner, Slovene anuthority on Sempervivums & Jovibarbas.

We are all calling for his new photos, right?!

Did you put that sentence in my mail Renata?

I am definately not God, but I did visit the area yesterday and found the following:

Črna na Koroškem is a town situated in a very narrow valley and steep rocky slopes extend to right behind and between houses (or rather: houses are build next to and in front of rocky slopes, because the rock was there definately before the town ... ) This looks like good habitat for Jovibarba, so it is very well possible that J. arenaria grows right in the town centre. However, it is a bit awkward to start searching/photographing in what is effectively back gardens, so I did not search in the town.

"Cvelbar" refers to a farmhouse. In this region, all farmhouses have names. These names are on wooden plates at the roadside and they are also on Slovene maps. Mostly the names are also the names of the family who owns the house. This means that "Cvelbar" is a very exact description of a locality, indeed very close to Črna. It took me some time, but, yes, I can post photographs in the coming days!

There should also be J. arenaria in the valley of stream Topla, but they are NOT at the wall called "Burjakova stena" (The wall close to farmhouse Burjak) - this wall is called Peca by the locals. On this wall there are some very nice aurikels (past flowering, but anyway very nice). So the description "Burjakova bajta" (from Renata's list) does not refer to "Burjakova stena", but to some other place close to farmhouse "Burjak" (of which there are two, close to each other). I did not check around farmhouse Burjak as the wall took me quite some time and it was getting late.

More later.

Sorry, I can not imagine how my post and your collided. I wanted to quote you.

You should direct your questions to J. Slatner - maybe he is willing to answer, because he knows the are a well. I never went there.

Primula auricularia - after flowering but anyway nice.



Horned viper, living underneath a cliff. Nice animals, a bit shy. Venonous, yes, but they will only bite when they cannot quietly slip away.



Saxifraga, does anyone know which one? Looks like it is not making offsets.

Jovi habitat!



Yes, they are there, took me 200 km driving and severl hours of searching. Any they were so much out of reach ... Also too dark to make good pictures. These plants can grow on the shadowy side of cliffs as well!



After some -not entirely without risk- climbing (I have very moderate climbing skills at best and fear of heights as well), I could take better pictures of some.



In the sun, they are more closed and more colourfull as well.



I saw only about 10 colonies, most of which consisted of only a few plants. This was the nicest one, and also one of the biggest.

Renata wrote: You should direct your questions to J. Slatner - maybe he is willing to answer, because he knows the are a well. I never went there.

Actually, I am in good contact with mr. Slatner

So, to see J. arenaria, I had to drive 200 km (+ 200 km back) and spend a day out searching. But what an excellent day! Fine weather, a region with breathtaking views (just trying to not look down - either from a cliff or just from a roadside ) and I even found the plants in the end.

By now I have seen 3 out of 4 houseleek taxa which grow in Slovenia. I guess that the next should be to photograph S. juvanii in nature. However, i am not sure if i will or can. All descriptions tell about very crumby and very steep cliffs, which are impossible to climb. Also, it is even a bit further from my home. Still, it is a challenge ...