Brazilian Expedition 7 (I think)

From: ss66428 (ss66428@hongo.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp)
Date: Tue Jun 24 1997 - 23:23:39 PDT


Date: Wed, 25 Jun 1997 15:23:39 +0900 (JST)
From: ss66428 <ss66428@hongo.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp>
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg2472$foo@default>
Subject: Brazilian Expedition 7 (I think)


        On my 4th day in Diamantina, I took John and Gabi to the area where
Fabio and I had found D.montana var.schwackei on the first day. I not only
wanted to find more of this species, but I also wanted to see more D.sp."Emas"
which Thomas Carow had found in the same area 10 years before. But I guess I
was most interested in finding D.sp."stemless chrysolepis", which Thomas had
also found in that area. As I said previously, I have only seen this species
at the Serra do Cipo, althought it has also been collected in moutains just
south of the S.do Cipo and at the Serra da Mangabeira, just north of the S.do
Cipo (but where Fabio and I had seen no sign of it).
        We set out in the morning under constant rain and with occasional
gusts of wind as well. Not an ideal day for hiking at all. Yet we were rewarded
very quickly with a very large site of D.montana var.schwackei. Now remember
that this was only the 3rd time I was seing this species in nature, so I was
still very excited with it. It was the first time John and Gabi saw it and I
had only seen the medium-sized population at the Serra da Mangabeira and the
small site on my first day with Fabio at Diamantina. So we hung around for at
least 1/2 hour admiring the plants, herborizing, collecting live specimens,
photographing, etc. All of this was especially difficult because of the rain
and wind.
        We then headed on, chosing the paths as we went. We basically hiked in
a wide circle that day, heading out in one direction and returning to the
starting point by another direction. From the D.m.schwackei site we walked
through rocky fields and then over towards a steep hillside. On this hillside,
in a shady area where bare vertical rock surfaces dripped with water, I found
a rather peculiar D.communis population with very narrow lamina. Normally I
would've thought it was simply a result of ecological factors, since I had
already found more or less normal D.communis in the Diamantina region and I
know from experience that more than one D.communis form does not usually occur
in any one area.
        But I remembered Fabio telling me that on his previous trip to
Diamantina, a month before, he had found a weird population of narrow-leaved
D.communis as well. I had given no second thoughts to his comments, thinking
it was just one of those millions of variations I'd seen of this widespread
and common species over many years of botanizing in Brazil. A few of these
variations truly seem to be genetic, yet most are certainly only ecological.
        At first I wasn't sure what to think of this narrow-leaved D.communis.
Chances were that it was nothing special, only a freak ecotype. But some
botanical instinct made me wonder about this and I decided to take some
specimens home just in case. And sure enough, once they were drawn up by my
friend Rolf Grantsau, they proved to have a rather different floral structure
in comparison with other D.communis. So it seems to be a new subspecies or
variety.
        That was pretty much it for that day. We really didn't see anything
else that we hadn't seen on the previous days. And the rain plus wind didn't
really stimulate much enthusiasm for hiking up until sunset as I usually do
when in the field. So we went back to the hotel and spent a few more hours
together before John and Gabi had to leave, mostly identifying the plants we'd
collected during the 2 days they'd stayed in Diamantina.
        Thus I was alone the next day, my 5th at Diamantina. In Japan a few
weeks before, while planning my CP trips through Brazil (actually, I'd been
dreaming of it ever since I had mover here!), I hadn't considered staying
anywhere for more then 2 or 3 days, but it just turned out that Diamantina had
more to offer than I had guessed on my previous 2 trips there in '92 and '95.
        So I decided to hang around for one more day. I wanted to insist on
the search for D.sp."stemless chrysolepis", find more D.sp."Emas", and also
more D.m.schwackei. So I went back to the area where I had gone the day before
with John and Gabi, which I had also explored on the first day, and which
Thomas Carow had explored 10 years before. Basically, I did the same hike as
I'd done with John and Gabi the day before, but circling in the opposite
direction and making a much wider circle.
        I was lucky that the rain was not as constant that day and the sun
even came out for a few brief periods, although when it did I would quickly
find myself wishing for more rain due to the intensity of the sunlight. I was
also lucky to find several new sites, although all small, with D.m.schwackei.
All sites were extremely similar to each other and to the other three seen on
previou days, with the plants growing on white quartz gravel mixed with white
sand and with sparse grasses. It was interesting to notice that at least in
that one area it is a rather common species, although it beats me why it
seems to be non-existent in other areas I've visited around Diamantina.
        I also found a site with typical D.montana var.montana, which I don't
think I had ever seen in Diamantina, although its presence there was no
surprise. Like D.m.schwackei, D.m.montana flowers during the summer months,
although a bit earlier. So while D.m.schwackei were beginning to open their
first flowers, D.m.montana were practically finished. Unfortunately though, I
had to return to Diamantina that night without having found D.sp."stemless". I
guess I would just have to give up and leave it for a future trip. Time was
short and 5 days at Diamantina had already been too much for such a tight
schedule.
        So the next day I headed out early in the morning towards a town
called Itacambira, not imagining half the troubles I would go through that
day. Well, it's all my fault since I decided to take the longer scenic route
through dirt roads and mountains, instead of the shorter way which was mostly
asphalted and flat. I finally did make it to Itacambira very late that night,
having learned my lesson to NEVER take scenic routes during the rainy season
if you're in a hurry!!!!

        To be continued................

Fernando Rivadavia
Tokyo, Japan



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