Gargano Day 6: Monte Sant’Angelo Ridge

On our last full day in the Gargano, we did not set off in the bus, but on foot, past the Teucrium fruticans hedge around the hotel, and westwards along the ridge that Monte Sant’Angelo sits on.  Monte Sant’Angelo sits on the top of a scarp edge, where the limestone uplands fall away southwards to the plains, and we had wonderful views south-eastwards over the port of Manfredonia and across the bay towards Bari.

Helianthemum nummularium

Initially the ridge was very heavily grazed, and we saw little in flower.  The Rock Rose Helianthemum nummularium grew in abundance on the rocky banks beside the track, and seemed relatively unpalatable – it was covered in flowers.  A little later we found a pale cream form.

Helianthemum oelandicum

The little rock rose, Helianthemum oelandicum, appeared occasionally beside its bigger relative, and even more sporadically we found plants of the tiny species we identified on Day 3 as Helianthemum salicifolium.

Erodium cicutarium

Also in the cropped turf were the flowers of Storksbill, Erodium cicutarium, and the little Geranium molle.

The track passed a farm; the dogs chained with the animals barked ferociously, but two others, up on the hill overlooking the farm, sat quietly and watched us.  The fenced enclosure held goats, whilst their kids played with a litter of puppies.

The views were still spectacular, and slowly there was more to see around our feet.

Tordylium apulum

It was a pleasure to see this little umbellifer appearing along the track.

On our north side, the fields rose to a ridge, becoming ever rockier as we proceeded.  Scattered trees found a foothold among the limestone slabs.

Serapias lingua

Before long it was very clear that the grazing was lighter.  Spikes of Serapias lingua bloomed on the bank.

Salvia argentea

Here for the first time we encountered the huge furry leaves and imminent flowers of Salvia argentea.

There were lots of familiar flowers here:

• The little parasitic Parentucellia latifolia
• The pale blue Linum bienne, growing with Erodium cicutarium and Helianthemum salicifolium.

We came across a small colony of moth caterpillars as we walked on along the ridge.

Onobrychis aequidentata

We had seen a lot of different vetches during our trip, but here we found something new.  Initially we just found isolated bright magenta flowers, before eventually coming across some more substantial clumps.

Lathyrus cicera

Other vetches were more familiar:

• The lime-green and black Vicia melanops
• The bright poppy-red Lathyrus cicera
• The small purple and white flowers of Lathyrus hirsutus.

Euphorbia rigida

The short upright spikes of Euphorbia rigida were becoming common.

Anacamptis morio

Green-veined orchids were flowering in good numbers, here making a fine view with Onobrychis aequidentata, on the bank, silhouetted against the bay behind.

Aubrieta columnae

We came across a rocky outcrop, and then a ruined cottage, both of which had nice fresh plants of Aubrieta columnae growing in cracks.

Stachys italica

On the top of these rocks, Stachys italica was coming into flower.

Reichardia picroides

This little composite was also clinging to a crack in the abandoned cottage.

Calicotome villosa

This little spiny broom was one of the backbones of the plant community.

Cirsium eriophorum

The Cirsium eriophorum here were more advanced, displaying their beautiful hairy buds.

Ophrys tenthredinifera

As the grazing grew lighter, we were very excited to find a succession of clumps of Ophrys tenthredinifera, the Sawfly Orchid, always short in this short turf, and clustered together into small groups.

Soon, we turned off the path, and started to climb towards the ridge itself, past cows and through copses of rather stunted oak trees.

Orchis quadripunctata

A small colony of Orchis quadripunctata caught our attention.

Muscari neglectum

The turf here was dotted with Muscari neglectum, growing amongst Valeriana montana and other familiar plants.  Occasional spikes of Muscari comosum (Tassel Hyacinth) varied the mix.

Serapias

Occasional Serapias were evident; we found both S. lingua and S. vomeracea here.

Eventually we reached the top of the ridge, with spectacular views down into the valley to the north, and then further north across the peninsula, as well as south-east, across the bay.

It seemed like a good place to take a view of the group who were walking.  Helen had gone ahead with Lois in the minibus.

Aubrieta columnae

Amongst the rocks on the edge of the ridge, more plants of Aubrieta columnae were flowering, in a truly wild situation.

Fumaria officinalis

In the cracks with the Aubrieta, we found fumitory.

Aethionema saxatile

In the grass below, there were the little pink and white flowers of Aethionema saxatile.

Before long, we set off again, slowly making our way back to the main track along the ridge.

Anacamptis papilionacea

Our way was lined with orchids – most of the species we had seen in the past few days were here.  I photographed several Pink Butterfly Orchids (Anacamptis papilionacea).

Anacamptis morio x papilionacea

Along with two hybrids with Anacamptis morio, the Green-veined Orchid.

Neotinea ustulata

We were pleased to find quite a number of Burnt-tip Orchids (Neotinea ustulata) scattered about, usually singly, including some very dark variants.

Orchis anthropophora

Man Orchids could be also found in small clumps all along the track.

Ophrys sphegodes subsp passionis (aka O. ‘garganica’)

Along with the Spider orchids which had become a familiar feature of these meadows.  One of these photos actually has a small spider sitting on the flower, building a web to catch potential pollinators.

Ophrys ‘bertoloniiformis’

There were quite large numbers of these orchids.  Once again, I confess that I was unsure whether they were O. bertolonii or O. ‘bertoloniiformis’, but Paul tells me they were all the latter.

Vicia dasycarpa

Elsewhere, there were carpets of Horseshoe Vetch (Hippocrepis comosa) and the little blue and white Vicia dasycarpa which we had seen before in other similar locations.

Silene conica

More plants familiar from previous days – the lovely blue Alkanna lehmannii, and Silene conica with its pink flowers and inflated bladders.

We saw lots of butterflies, though few stopped long enough to be photographed.

We were quite a way from Monte Sant’Angelo by now, and approaching our rendezvous with Lois and Helen. The prospect of a picnic lunch beckoned.

Ophrys ‘promontori’

But we had just reached an area where there were large numbers of Ophrys ‘promontori’, one of the stabilized hybrids endemic to the Gargano, which we had not encountered very frequently during our tour.  It clearly has Ophrys sphegodes in its ancestry, but has a relatively long, narrow lip with two little speculum marks, rather than the H mark we were seeing on Ophrys sphegodes subsp passionis.

Ophrys lutea subsp galilaea

There were also thick sheets of the little yellow bee orchid here (Ophrys lutea subsp galilaea).

Euphorbia spinosa

We encountered huge prickly cushions of Euphorbia spinosa – don’t sit on them !

Astragalus monspessulanus

One new plant was this attractive pink Astragalus.  We only found a handful of plants.

Orchis quadripunctata

The little magenta Orchis quadripunctata was present in vast swathes.

Dactylorhiza romana

As we hurried towards the minibus, one last orchid caught my eye – a solitary stem of the yellow Dactylorhiza romana, which we had seen growing in the woods on Day 4.  It was a surprise to find it in this very different habitat.

Trifolium stellatum

As we ate lunch in an area of shade, we were able to admire Trifolium stellatum in flower; we had seen its starry seedpods several times before. The day had become extremely hot, and we were glad to cool down in this carefully selected shady corner, and to refill our water bottles.

We could also look back at Monte Sant’Angelo, and the new building to the west of the main town, down the slope of the ridge.

Santa Maria di Pulsano Abbey

Our afternoon stop was the abbey Santa Maria di Pulsano, a few miles to the south and west.  We parked the bus in the shade of an orchard.  Most of the trees around us were young black walnuts.  Beneath them the grass was full of blue Echium and orange Calendula arvensis.

Silybum marianum

We set off from the car park down towards the abbey, past some large milk thistles (Silybum marianum) which were coming into flower.

Fumaria officinalis

We came across more fumitory, growing in cracks in the paving.

Santa Maria di Pulsano Abbey

The abbey is built on the brink of a cliff, above a gorge where a stream runs off the plateau, down to the plains below.  Our first objective was not to visit the abbey itself, but to search for some plants on the edge of the cliff, so we walked down past the entrance.

Beyond the abbey, there were some clifftop meadows where animals were grazing, including a horse, here making friends with one of our party, and a donkey.  Both were trying to squeeze into the shade under the trees.

The gorge had had a road cut into the far side of it, but it seemed that the works were never finished; this was a road to nowhere.

On the other side of us, an abandoned hermitage clung to the side of the cliff.

The views from the top of the cliff down across Manfredonia to the sea were spectacular.  A precarious, winding path led downwards, but it looked like it would be hard work climbing back up in the heat.

Onosma lucana

The plant we were looking for was this yellow Onosma.  We found a handful of plants, growing in rocky niches right on the edge of the cliff.

Ajuga chamaepitys

Nearby, a Ground-pine had a few yellow flowers left on it; the only plant we noticed all trip. I am sure there were others, probably over already.

Across the gorge we could see the grey leaves of Agave plants clinging to the cliff.

Crupina crupinastrum

I was delighted to find this little knapweed-like plant.  With long slender stems, and a location on the edge of the cliff, it was a horror to photograph, blowing around in the wind.

Whilst I was photographing them, a cat stalked past, ignoring the visitors.

Serapias vomeracea

There were also a few plants of Serapias vomeracea growing on this dry inhospitable clifftop.

Climbing back up to the abbey, we passed a cow which had sat down in a line of conifers, perhaps hoping for some shade.

On our way back up, we did go through the arch, and into the abbey.

Cymbalaria muralis

The walls were adorned with clumps of Ivy-leaved toadflax, a plant which is slowly taking over large areas of my garden, despite vigorous weeding each spring.

Hyoscyamus albus

Growing between the paving in the abbey courtyard was a plant of yellow henbane, Hyoscyamus albus.

Fraxinus ornus

Our final objective was to walk round the other side of the abbey, and down a path which ran along our side of the gorge.  Flowering ash trees (Fraxinus ornus) grew along the path, and beneath them a flower bed with some interesting weeds.

Briza maxima

I loved the quaking grass I found here, backlit by the sun.

Lagurus ovatus

The little furry flowerheads of Hare’s Tail Grass were also very attractive in the sun.

Ophrys bombyliflora

At one point in this flower bed, there were some plants of Ophrys bombyliflora, the Bumblebee Orchid, with a few flowers still open.

Ornithogalum umbellatum

We also saw some neat little clusters of Ornithogalum flowers.

Sedum hispanicum

This Sedum had managed to lodge itself in a crack in a rock, and was just producing its attractive pink-veined flowers.

Papaver rhoeas and Matricaria recutita

The meadow under the walnut trees held carpets of chamomile, together with a few poppies.

Cytisus spinescens

As the path descended a little into the side of the gorge, it became lined with shrubs, some of them planted and labelled for the interest of visitors.  This broom is Cytisus spinescens.

Hippocrepis emerus

Another bright yellow leguminous shrub turned out to be a big brother of the Horseshoe Vetch we had seen everywhere, Hippocrepis emerus, the Scorpion Senna.

Inula verbascifolia

In the rocks beside the path we passed the grey felted leaves of Inula verbascifolia.

Campanula garganica

The plant we were looking for was the Gargano endemic, Campanula garganica.

Having found the Campanula, we took a group photo, and then decided to return.  We could have walked further, but it was very hot, and I at least was struggling.

Onobrychis alba

Making our way back up to the abbey, we passed another Onobrychis, which again looked good when backlit by the afternoon sun.

Reseda alba

With the Onobrychis, the spikes of Reseda alba swayed in the breeze on the edge of gorge, surrounded by chamomile and poppies.