The flora of PĂ©rigord in South-West France is abundant and diverse. In this blog you can find, in pictures, brief encounters with several hundreds of wild flowers and plants as they grow here in French Perigord. Following the seasons other species are added. An index of scientific and English names you find below on the right.

Corine Oosterlee is a botanist and photographer and she offers guided Botanical Walks and other activities around plants and vegetation in nature in Perigord. Do you want to know more? On www.baladebotanique.fr you can find more information. For Corine's photography see www.corineoosterlee.com. Both websites also in English.

Enjoy!




May 4, 2012

Two Pines


The Maritime Pine (Pinus pinaster) is planted often between the Sweet Chestnuts on more or less acid soil, or in single-species plantations. But here we consider the two species of Pine also commonly found on calcareous soil, in Oak and Hornbeam forests. They are originally also cultivated species, but they behave like wild trees and grow spontaneously in many places. Now they start flowering, and are easy to distinguish by the form of their male catkins. Yes, this yellow powdery stuff that makes your car look dirty is Pine pollen!



The male catkins of the European Black Pine (Pinus nigra) are rather large and form a crown at the base of the newly developing branches. In this image you see them just before dispersal of the pollen above last year's long green  needles.













The Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) has smaller catkins and those form a kind of cylinder around a new twig. The orange protection sheath that covered young catkins and twig is still visible.














And the female catkins? During summer they will develop into pine cones, as you can see already. Here you see those of an European Black Pine.