Beautiful plants in the Dolomites

[Hoy]

I have thought for several years that I ought to go to the Dolomites. Now I know for certain!
Thanks, Anne (and Cliff).

[Spiegel]

Another day and another hike.  The plants seen this day included Ranunculus seguieri as we had never seen it before.  The flowers were perfect, the wind hadn't had a chance to make them ragged and it was difficult to find a plant that didn't have pollinators busy at work.  Oh yes, the rest of the plants were also sensational! Last photo is R. seguieri taken on the way up with the best yet to come.

[Spiegel]

Part 2 of a sensational day.  The Ranunculus seguieri (last picture in previous post) was so beautiful and so pristine.  Often you see ragged flowers thanks to it usually liking exposed positions with wind.

[Spiegel]

And Part 3 of a great plant day!

[Lori S.]

"Pristine" certainly is the word for Ranunculus seguieri - breathtaking!  Very beautiful plants and photos; the soldanella and pulsatilla are particularly outstanding.  So interesting to see, also, a plant that will not stop traffic but is fascinating in it's own right - the Minuartia.   What a lovely Hutchinsia alpina, growing in habitat (such a contrast to the sorry ones in my yard.  Oy!)

Your last photo - the view - is absolutely magnificent.  What range of elevation gains do these hikes involve?  I'm curious also about how many people would you see in a day on the same trails?  Roughly only... a few, many tens, more?

[Spiegel]

This last trail is a very popular one because there's a cable car to the top from the Pass.  We always see people walking down and have some company also on the way up. Later today I'll post pictures of a favorite trail where we see very few if any people.  I'm not sure of the elevation gain - it's a long, steady "up".  You don't really notice the climb that much since there's so much to see along the way.  The pictures posted are highlights, the tip of the iceberg.

[Spiegel]

Another day - a favorite hike - great plants, not another soul on the trail.  Part 1 of the trail ends at a rifugio where the food is so good it was featured in the past year in an article in the NYTimes Travel section.  Beyond that is a hike to another top where we sometimes will go for dessert.  The trail is all rock and all "up" so you can figure you earned the dessert by the time you get there.  Plants are great, the following are highlights.

[Spiegel]

More of the same hike.  Remember that the season is quite early because of late snow

[Spiegel]

Last part of the great day. The rifugio, (the thought of lunch there had spurred me on the last hour), was closed for remodeling, probably thanks to the article in the NYTimes. There was still snow on the trail to the dessert rifugio so we didn't go up.  The food part of the day wasn't too great!

[Booker]

Super images once again, Anne.

Just to clarify - image 481 is of the beautiful Rhodothamnus chamaecistus.

[Spiegel]

Thanks, Cliff. I've been having a few glitches posting. Getting the name on the picture is sometimes beyond me.

[Spiegel]

And finally, the perfect end to a perfect (although very hungry) day.  I was forced to eat some chocolate I just happened to find in my backpack. Far superior to the whiskey traditionally carried by the St. Bernard on his rescue mission!

[Hoy]

"Beautiful plants in the Dolomites" is right, Anne, and you have  beautifully showed them and a beautiful landscape too! If you can't be there yourself, this is the best way.

[Spiegel]

A nice relaxing day high up in alpine meadows.  Note the red lines in the banner petals of Lotus alpinus, an easy identifier.  The Homogyne alpina is shown in flower but it's the leaves which are so marvelous: roundish, shiny, bright green with red/purple underneath and the edge of the leaf is quite hard to the touch.  For those who are up on their James Bond, it's like Odd-Job's hat. 

[Spiegel]

Sorry, pictures #7 and #8 are Sax. paniculata and Daphne striata.  I thought I named everything when resizing the pictures but apparently the computer didn't agree.