Tuesday, 16 June 2020
Monday, 15 June 2020
Sunday, 14 June 2020
14-6-2020 RIO ALBAIDA MONTAVERNER, VALENCIA - ARTICHOKE THISTLE (Cynara cardunculus)
Artichoke thistle (Cynara cardunculus), a relative of the globe artichoke, is a robust Mediterranean perennial in the sunflower family known for its spiny, gray-green foliage and bright purple flowers. It grows 3-6 feet tall, forms large basal rosettes, and is considered an invasive weed in many regions, including California.
Key Facts About Artichoke Thistle:
Appearance & Growth: It is a stout perennial with deeply lobed, spiny, grey-green leaves (white and woolly underneath) that can grow up to 1m in length. It produces large (2- to 4-inch) vibrant purple, thistle-like flowers from May to July.
Invasive Nature: Recognized as a significant weed in California, Australia, and parts of South America, it thrives in disturbed sites, roadsides, and grasslands.
Reproduction & Spread: Plants produce over 1,600 seeds annually. They spread via seed (carried by wind/animals) and by resprouting from deep, tough taproots.
Edibility & Uses: The edible portions are the fleshy leaf stalks (midribs) and the flower base (heart), often used in Italian and Mediterranean cuisine. They are also known as "cardoon".
Control Methods: Control is difficult; mechanical removal requires cutting the taproot at least 12-18 inches below the soil surface to prevent resprouting.
Habitat: Prefers sunny locations and is highly drought-tolerant, growing well in clay or sandy soils.
These hardy, fast-growing plants can quickly turn into thickets, outcompeting native vegetation.
14-6-2020 MONTAVERNER, VALENCIA - WAVYLEAF MULLEIN (Verbascum sinuatum)
Verbascum sinuatum, commonly known as the scallop-leaved mullein, the wavyleaf mullein, or Candela regia, is a species of perennial herbaceous plants in the genus Verbascum (mullein), growing in heavy soils in Central Asia and the Mediterranean region. It grows to 1.2–1.5 m (3.9–4.9 ft). The plant has an erect inflorescence stem, and is entirely covered with stellate hairs (trichomes) which are not pleasant to the touch.
In the winter, a rosette of broad-leaves grows at the base of the Scallop-leaved mullein and spreads itself on the ground (length 30–50 cm). In the spring, a leafless stalk grows from the base of the plant, splitting into many diagonal stems that can grow as much as 50 to 100 cm. in length, on which the flowers are located. The plant bears simple, emarginate leaves, and has a yellow lamp-shaped flower (hence its name Candela) of 5 petals, blossoming mostly in late May to August, although sometimes as late as October.
The plant's leaves are alternate, rosette, entire, dentate or serrate.
The plant has a broad Irano-Turanian distribution, as well as a broad Mediterranean distribution (stretching from the Mediterranean coastal regions to West and South Iran). The plant is native to Israel, where it grows in the Golan, the Hermon, the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea, Gilboa, Carmel, Samarian Mountains, Judean Mountains, the Jordan Valley, the Sharon valley, Shephelah, Northern Negev, and Eilat Mountains, and the Arabah, typically found in waste habitats, along waysides, and in open chaparrals (shrublands) and phrygana.
14-6-2020 MONTAVERNER, VALENCIA - MEADOW BROWN BUTTERFLY (Maniola jurtina)
The meadow brown (Maniola jurtina) is a butterfly found in the Palearctic realm. Its range includes Europe south of 62°N, Russia eastwards to the Urals, Asia Minor, Iraq, Iran, North Africa and the Canary Islands. The larvae feed on grasses.
There is marked sexual dimorphism in this species. The upperside of the male is uniformly light brown with a black ocellus centered white at the apex of the forewing, while the female has a tawny patch more or less extended around this ocella. The underside forewing is ochre-colored bordered with dark beige with the same ocelli at the apex in the male, while the hindwing is greyish to brown with a more or less orange band in the female. The males are also much more active and range far about, while females fly less and often may not move away from the area where they grew up.
Adults feed on nectar from a wide spectrum of plants including Centaurea, Cirsium, Leontodon, Erica, Rubus, Heracleum, Eupatorium, (sensu lato) Origanum, Senecio, Scabiosa, Succisa, Ligustrum and Filipendula.
The meadow brown is univoltine (one generation per year) and adults emerge over a long period (spring, summer and autumn). Some individuals have a short larval development time and produce late adults. This is genetically controlled.
Because of the vast distribution habitats are hard to define but broadly are forest edge, forest-steppe and meadow steppe habitats up to 2,000 m above sea level, cultivated lands (meadow, forest plantations, parks and orchards).
14-6-2020 MONTAVERNER, VALENCIA - CENTAURIES (Blackstonia grandiflora)
Blackstonia is a genus of flowering plants of the family Gentianaceae, native to Europe and to nearby regions of Asia and Africa. Its best known species is its type species, Blackstonia perfoliata, the yellow-wort.
The genus is named after the English botanical writer John Blackstone (1712-1753).
Species
Species currently accepted by The Plant List[3] are as follows:
Blackstonia acuminata (Koch & Ziz) Domin
Blackstonia grandiflora (Viv.) Maire
Blackstonia imperfoliata (L.f.) Samp.
Blackstonia perfoliata (L.) Huds.
14-6-2020 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - RUSTY DOT PEARL MOTH (Udea ferrugalis)
Udea ferrugalis, the rusty dot pearl, is a moth of the family Crambidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1796.
This species can be found in central and southern Europe, Asia Minor, Africa, India and Japan.
The wingspan is 18–22 mm. The forewings of these small moths have yellow, brown or ferruginous ground colour and prominent indistinct dark brown or blackish markings towards the edge. Hindwings are brownish grey. Legs are whitish. Caterpillars can reach a length of 10–15 millimetres (0.39–0.59 in). They are greenish with yellowish head.
These moths are bivoltine or trivoltine. The moth flies through the year, but mainly in the autumn, depending on location. The larvae feed on various herbaceous plants, such as Stachys, Arctium, Lycopus, Mentha, Eupatorium cannabinum and Fragaria vesca. They overwinter in the soil as a chrysalis. This species is sometimes considered a pest, as the larvae attack various crop plants.
14-6-2020 MONTAVERNER, VALENCIA - EURASIAN BLACKCAP (MALE) (Sylvia atricapilla)
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The Eurasian blackcap, Sylvia atricapilla, is a common and widespread typical warbler known for its distinctive cap and melodious song. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism with males sporting a black cap and females a chestnut one. The upperparts are generally olive-grey, while the underparts are pale grey. This bird is small and agile, measuring around 13 cm in length with a wingspan of 7–8 cm.
Males can be identified by their black caps and light grey underparts, while females have a reddish-brown cap and a slightly browner hue to their grey upperparts. Juveniles resemble females but have a rufous tinge to their upperparts and a more olive tone on the breast and flanks. The blackcap's tail is dark grey with an olive edge to each feather, and it has a grey bill and legs with a reddish-brown iris.
The blackcap favors mature deciduous woodlands with a well-developed understory. It also occupies parks, large gardens, and overgrown hedges, provided there are tall trees for songposts and dense shrubs for nesting.
This warbler breeds across much of Europe, western Asia, and northwestern Africa. It is a partial migrant, with northern populations wintering in northwestern Europe, around the Mediterranean, and in tropical Africa. Some have adapted to wintering in British and Irish gardens.
Blackcaps are territorial during the breeding season, with males establishing and defending their territories through song and display. They are mainly monogamous and may raise one to two broods per season. The species is known for its leap-frog migration pattern, where northern populations migrate further south than those from the Mediterranean.
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The male blackcap's song is a rich musical warble, often ending in a high-pitched crescendo. In isolated areas, a simpler song may be heard. Calls include a hard "tac-tac" and various squeaks and trills. The song is sometimes confused with that of the garden warbler but is slightly higher-pitched and more broken.
Blackcaps typically build a neat cup-shaped nest in brambles or scrub, laying a clutch of 4–6 buff eggs with grey and brown markings. Both parents incubate the eggs and care for the altricial chicks, which fledge in about 11–12 days.
The blackcap can be confused with other dark-headed Sylvia species, such as the Sardinian and Orphean warblers, but these have more extensive black on the head and are larger with white tail edges.
During the breeding season, blackcaps feed mainly on insects, switching to fruit in late summer. In winter, they consume small fruits and may rely on food provided in gardens, such as bread, fat, and peanuts.
Despite pressures from hunting in the Mediterranean and natural predation, the blackcap has been expanding its range for decades and is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Least Concern. Its population is estimated to be between 101 and 161 million individuals globally.
Friday, 12 June 2020
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