| The
regular monthly sequence of "Plants of the
Month" has fallen behind, as we were trekking
in the Marsyangdi valley in Nepal in mid June -
July. This is monsoon season, when one of the
guidebooks says only mad botanists and lovers of
leeches venture out. However this is when the
flowers bloom ...... |
| Among
the high alpines which we saw were a couple of the
fabled blue poppies, M. bella and M.
horridula, the latter pictured here. |
| When we
have managed to flower this in the garden, it has
often had flowers of a rather dull colour, but
these, growing at around 4,400 metres
(14,500 ft) were intensely blue.
|
|
|
|
| M.
horridula is a very variable species,
and other names such as M. racemosa, M.
prattii are often included with it.
Christopher Grey Wilson states in his book
that the best forms are found in Nepal,
and that "it is one of those plants I
would walk a thousand miles just to
see". |
| The
plants here were growing on a very steep
slope, along with M. bella,
Corydalis, Anemone demissa (a
beautiful deep rose colour which Ron
McBeath tried but failed to introduce),
and many other interesting plants. |
|
|
|
