Echinops antalyensis
Echinops antalyensis
Some Observational Notes
* PDF of this blog with a gallery of photos showing characteristics : archive.org or academia.edu
Location
Echinops antalyensis ("Antalya Topuzu" in Turkish) grows 0 to 8 kms from the coast of Antalya city, and perhaps further inland.
Coastally, it stretches 13 km from the western part of the rocky "Beach Park" to approaching the lower Düden waterfall. Beyond that, there appear to be strange forms growing in the sands from Lara to Side that suggest features of both antalyensis and spinosissimus, which deserve study.
Away from the coast, it is extremely common 5.2 km inland (c. 170 m altitude) in the Yavuz Selim Mh. area and some places in-between, 8 km inland (220 m altitude) NE of Fatih (up to 36.9520975,30.6521346), and can be found 2.2 km inland at several spots SE of the airport (to 45 m altitude), including the large rock area north of Yamansaz.
Given the way the city has grown over recent decades, I suspect these inland populations will be relics of a past where it may have been more widespread inland than it now is.
Habitat
It mostly grows on the crumbling parts of limestone cliffs and slopes, the cliffs themselves, stony slopes, soiled rocks, or fairly-level stony soil, with half or full sunlight, in all cases the stones being calcareous. In practice these are not normally north-facing positions, however some populations are.
On the cliff-slopes near the sea it can be found on the sides and the lips, and edges of adjacent or nearby pavements and steps, and even occasionally in gardens, having got there from nearby populations. Given the spray from the winter storms which can be quite considerable, it must have some salt tolerance to be on these cliffs, although it must be said the storms tend to be in the rainy season and the salt will likely be short-lived with the rain washing it away.
Inland, it grows on rocky road edges and rocky slopes. The habitats it chooses are quickly-draining/drying soils and quickly-drying rocks and prevent water-pooling.
It would therefore be an interesting experiment to test its salt, water and pH/calcium tolerance ranges, separately and also in combination, at both continuous and episodic levels.
Characteristics
On stony ground the soil is usually thin and the plant of somewhat limited size. On the more fertile soils the plant can be quite robust, spreading sideways in a low wide dense dome of foliage, and in some cases can be very large in this way. Young forms tend to lack the basal spread that develops over time and appear more upright, whilst forms in the shade often adopt the usual shade response of prioritising upward growth, resulting in taller, more laxly-leaved specimens.
The leaves are green-looking above, whitening beneath (not always present, particularly on young leaves), typically very glandy on both sides, giving an unshiny look, though they can be shiny. The margins curl under. The low leaves are shallowly to deeply lobed but not completely to the centre, and the lobes are themselves likewise shallowly to deeply lobed, the upper stem leaves are different, being poorly divided, shorter and therefore broad in shape.
The stems are also coarsely glanded on relatively weak hairs, but they lack the reddening of the regional E. spinosissimus (which has red glands that may be stiffer), and the stems of both are ridged to support such long stems with their large heads.
The flower heads are large and typically white-looking when in flower, the corolla lobes curl under in a circle at the tips (like E. spinosissimus). The heads lack the conspicuous extra-long spines the latter often has.
Flowering is in (Sep)Oct-Nov(Dec), when the weather has cooled and the rains and storms might expect to occur, although the timing of the weather seems to be changing. The dead heads persist for a few months, sometimes as long as into March.
In comparison to E. spinosissimus this late flowering means that after flowering the lower leaves are able to be fully or partly retained and built upon, often displaying dense basal masses of dead leaves as well, tending to develop a wide domed approach to growth although sometimes this causes the plant base to ramp up to a considerable height, whereas E. spinosissimus flowers much earlier and dies down, starting its growth each year from a small rosette, and tends to grow rather erect and tall, which are aspects that may be useful for considering the stranger eastern forms. Late-flowering forms of E. spinosissimus may resemble E. antalyensis but seem to follow the rule of the base leaves dying and the stems may well present their reddening.
Conservation
Although restricted in range, a sizeable proportion of its habitat is on cliff sides and lips and not likely to be developed, however there are some more level areas that might be treated as car parks or have other development. The greatest danger to its existence can therefore be expected to come from climate change rather than development.
Eastern Forms
In the sands beside Lara Plajı, Kumköy Plajı and at Side, and judging from Google streetview photospheres also at places in between, there grow in sandy grounds an Echinops that resembles E. antalyensis but has features of E. spinosissimus, that needs investigating. Perhaps it will prove to be a hybrid or a new taxon.
Botanical Descriptions
The plant received its description in the paper "Two New Species of Echinops sect. Ritropsis (Asteraceae) from Turkey" by Cem Vural, which can be found at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267381933.
Further Research
● Types of insects visiting the flowers.
● How does it get on the cliff sides?
● Explore further east inland.
● Explore further the sandside specimens from Kumköy to Side.
Comments
Post a Comment