Although the vegetation season of most plants is coming to an end, some species can be still found blooming late in October. So with this post we would like to officially close the botanical season (sadly!) and present some of the plants that we encountered during our recent trips in the Karst, from mid September to the beginning of October. Most of them are typical for dry karstic grasslands.
At the end we added also some of the most interesting fungi we found in the Karst recently - something more autumnal!
Hyssop Hyssopus officinalis.
Scarce aromatic plant, found along the Karst edge, on dry grasslands.
Winter Savory Satureja montana.
Commonest savory species in the Karst.
Satureja subspicata ssp. liburnica (with Macrolepiota procera).
Slightly scarcer than S. montana and favouring mountain karstic meadows.
Allium ericetorum (syn. A. ochroleucum).
Allium senescens (syn. A. montanum).
Dittany Dictamnus albus (with Allium senescens).
A typical late spring flower, but sometimes blooming in the autumn as well.
Colchicum autumnale.
Very common "autumn crocus" on meadows and woodland edges.
Dianthus balbisii ssp. liburnicus.
A scarce pink of the Karst region, still in flower in late autumn.
Aster amellus
Autumn Lady's-tresses Spiranthes spiralis.
This tiny species with a characteristic twisted stem is the last flowering orchid of the season, in bloom from late August to the beginning of October on dry meadows.
Smoke Bush Cotinus coggygria.
One of Karst's most typical plants, that turns its leaves red in autumn and adorns the karstic limestone rocks all over the warmer part of western Slovenia, northeastern Italy and northwestern Croatia.
Barberry Berberis vulgaris
Parasol Mushroom Macrolepiota procera.
Very common and prominent fungus on a variety of meadows.
Porcelain Fungus Oudemansiella mucida.
Jelly-like fungus found on rotting beech logs.
Ramaria sp.
A beautiful coral fungus growing on the forest floor.
This one we didn't ID yet. More fungi pics in the nex posts...
