S. octopodes - news from year 1937!

In revue Nature 140, page 1057, issued on 18 th December, 1937 it was written:

New Species of Sempervivum

DR. W. B. TURBILL describes a new species of Sempervivum in the Gardeners' Chronicle of October 23. It is S. octopodes Turrill, and was discovered on Mt. Peristeri in north Macedonia, by Dr. R. Seligman, during an expedition with Dr. Giuseppi.

Firts of all - there si no Mt Peristeri in Macedonia .... That's for start. Now one can only guess if Pelister is in question here. Macedonians have no "Mt" word (meaning mountain!), so this is added to a geographical name, it's not a part of it!

Right from the start there is a mistery about the habitat of the plant!

Any Macedonian here to help us sort out this problem.

Sempervivum octopodes is strictly endemic of mountain plateau Baba (Pelister), which grows from 2130 m above sea level, almost to the tops of the mountains, the lower the population grows scattered in the undergrowth of pine woods, top, very rich and dense populations are found in full sun in the company Jovibarba heuffelii (var. heuffelii and var. glabra) and Sempervivum reginae-amaliae. Here are some photos I took there this year. Name of Peristeri is probably of Greek origin or truncation


















View of the Baba planina, shot from the road between the towns of Bitola and Ohrid.

Another bunch of lovely photos!

Great habitat photos!

Here is my plant that came labeled as S. cilliosum subsp. octopodes  (S.octopodes)
collected in  Baba planina, Stiv - above the top, granite, Macedonia.

I visited Baba planina last summer. I observed there Sempervivum octopodes, Sempervivum marmoreum and Jovibarba heuffelii. I was there at the end of July, many rosettes were blooming in this time.
I observed that S. octopodes grow on very different places - under the pines tree, under the juniper bushes, on the stones, in the nearby of stones on sun...

On the slopes of Stiv mountain


Sempervivum octopodes on the natural habitat


Blooms of Sempervivum octopodes


I also observed the variability of blooms of Sempervivum octopodes. Main differences were in amount of petals, in presence of red colour on the basis of petals. After the visit the habitat of Sempervivum octopodes, I have more questions than before the visit. Do they grow only in Baba planina mountains? the information about S. octopodes from Nidže mountains is almost sure. Is Sempervivum octopodes species? And what is Sempervivum thompsonianum? Why is Baba planina so different mountains than the mountains in the nearby? Not all thing are caused by the type of rock.
I would like to visit Baba planina mountains again.