Friday, May 21, 2004

The herbinist holiday is in full swing. Today in all my innocence once again walked at the Abbey of Valcroissant. The place where we organized our herbal holidays for many years. A nice, already done hike but now in a different season. Does that make the difference between a good walk and a spectacular walk?

Nature in abundance

Plants! It started with the Yellow Gentian, only the tough yet stylish Hosta-like leaves grew along the side of the road, then came the flowering Bee Leaves, Mellitis melissophyllum and the many Orchids, but we were already used to that. After a reasonable climb to the col de l'abbey and the col de Fauchard up to 950 meters, we continued to climb and descend more slowly in the large flanks of the Glandasse (the southernmost part of the Vercors). As for plant growth, it only started then. I've been seeing a strange, split leaf for a while that I couldn't bring home. So I didn't say anything. First I thought of the Solomon Seal, then of.., until we suddenly found an advanced specimen and the plant puzzle in my brain fell into place: a Lily... a Martagonlily, so many Lilium martagon and almost at the same time on the other side of the narrow path again some other indistinct leaves, until 2 meters further, turning me around, almost fell down with emotion, a blooming female shoe. The whole group in rapture and emotion for our first Women's shoe, the Cypripedium calceolus.

More plants should not be there now. Can we handle more? Can we now walk along the beautiful path in peace and satisfaction? But still the plant violence has not yet been done. A quarter of an hour later, in a gruel slope Atropa belladonna, a real plant for herbalists and real witches and even later on a rock exit with a view towards the Abbey of Valcroissant, it seems as if we ended up on an African plateau with a large group of large, blooming, lily.like plants, nothing less than a flight of white affodils.

Now there is only a long descent to the abbey. From the high, warm, white flanks of the Glandasse, we end up in the dark, cool and mysterious Boxus Forest, to finally get a little tired but satisfied to the patiently waiting cars.
Yes, there is still some wonder with me, not only about the plants but also about the fact that after such a walk we always end up at our departure point and that the cars are usually still there.

https://kruidwis.blogspot.com/2004/05/kruidig-wandelen-in-de-flanken-van-de.html?m=0
#Vercors #frankrijk #wandelen #planten