FLOWERS: CROCUS, ALPINE BUTTERWORT, MARTAGON LILY, EDELWEISS, GENTIAN, STEMLESS CARLINE THISTLE

Crocus (pl krokus/szafran spiski)

This beautiful flower has many names. Crocuses grow in the Tatra mountains, the Beskids, the Sudetes and in the Sandomierz Basin, however, they are mostly associated with Podhale and the Tatra mountains. In the mountains they can be found growing at the incredible heights of 1600 meters above the sea level, but they thrive on the lower montane zone glades and pastures at the foot of the Tatra mountains.

During early spring it is one of the first flowers to pierce through the snow and blossom. At the beginning there is a flower with six purple petals surrounding orange pistils and stamens. The flower grows out of spherical bulb and after some time the leaves appear with the characteristic bright stripe.

Crocuses appear when the female bumblebees wake up after winter. For the bumblebees the pollen of crocuses is an essential source of nourishment. The bumblebees and other insects, including the bees and moths, pollinate the flowers and help them develop seeds. At the end of August there is no trace of the crocuses anymore, as they had already withered and disappeared. Instead there are shanks which end with trilocular bags of seeds. If there happen to be sheep grazing at the site the bags are trampled and the seeds fall to the ground. However, if there aren’t any sheep around crocuses can still spread with the help of the ants. The seeds of crocuses are equipped with appendices which have high content of sugars, proteins and vitamins (such appendices are called elaiosomes). The elaiosomes attract the ants that carry the seeds to their anthills and ‘plant’ them in ground once the appendices are torn off.

Then the seeds sprout into bulbs, which turn into flowers after a couple of years. Crocuses are fond of soil rich in nitrogen compounds. Sheep’s manure is an excellent source of such compounds, which is why the crocuses blossom in greatest numbers on sheep’s pastures. There weren’t many crocuses in the Tatra National Park before the sheep were allowed to graze there and now the Tatra mountain glades are full of them. According to studies, there are more than 100 million flowers in the Park, however, they are still under protection since 2014 – that means that you can’t pick nor damage them without special permissions, which are only issued under a justification.

Alpine butterwort

The alpine butterwort is one of the few carnivorous plants that live in the Tatra mountains, the other ones being the common butterwort and the round-leaved sundew. In Poland the alpine butterwort grows exclusively in the Tatra mountains. It prefers soils rich in calcium and can be found on various heights between the upper montane zone and fells.

The flowers of the alpine butterwort blossom from May to August. They are white with yellowish spots, which makes them well visible for the insects. The alpine butterwort is pollinated by the apidae insects and by the flies. What’s interesting is the fact, that it doesn’t feed on the insects that pollinate it. On the contrary, the alpine butterwort produces very tasty (for the insects, obviously) mucilage, so the insects interested in the plant do not seek pollen nor nectar, but in fact the mucilage.

The alpine butterwort catches its prey with its leaves which grow out of a small rose on the ground. The leaves are equipped with glands that produce sticky fluid, which turns the leaves into a sort of a flypaper. Small insects stick to the leaves, and once there are enough of them the butterwort rolls the leaf up. In order to absorb the nitrogen compounds out of its prey’s bodies the alpine butterwort uses other glands that produce digestive enzymes which dissolve insects’ bodies and allow to extract its precious chemical compounds.

After a few days the leaf rolls out again and the only thing left on its surface are undigested carapaces of its victims. The leaves of the alpine butterwort not only catch and dissolve its prey, but are also used in the process of photosynthesis .

As a species the alpine butterwort is under protection in Poland.

Martagon lily (lilia złotogłów/leluja)

The martagon lily is one of the most beautiful flowers growing in the Tatra mountains, which is why it has become one of the ornamental themes of the folk art of Podhale. The martagon lily is a perennial plant. It has a tall stem growing out of its bulb. It may reach the height of several dozen centimetres and on its upper part the plant grows its flowers. The bulb of the lily gets deeper in the ground with each year because of its contractile roots. Old martagon lilies grow accessory bulbs which sprout new generations of the plant.

The martagon lilies blossom from June to August. It is mostly pollinated by insects, although in some cases the plant can pollinate itself without them. The martagon lily attracts the insects with its colorful, pink-red flowers and its intense fragrance, especially strong at evenings and nights. The nectar of the lily is well protected by its smooth calicle and it's difficult to reach for the insects. As it turns out it is the butterflies and the moths that are best equipped for the task. The most distinctive insect pollinating the martagon lily is the hummingbird hawk-moth which pollinates the flowers while hovering next to it like a hummingbird.

Beside humans, the martagon lilies are also highly appreciated by the deer, although it is not because of their looks, but because of their taste. To be fair, people used to eat the bulbs of the lilies as well. The plant was also used for medicinal purposes. In the Middle Ages the alchemists used a golden fluid made of martagon lily’s bulbs in order to turn other metals into gold, however, to no success. Nowadays, the biggest threat to the plant are humans picking it up and uprooting it to plant in their gardens, even though the martagon lilies are under protection. We must always remember that the most beautiful lilies are the ones growing wild!

Edelweiss (pl szarotka/kocie łapki/sukiennik)

The edelweiss is a flower that grows exclusively in calcareous soil. It is perfectly adapted for growing in severe climate conditions of steep and dry rock walls. Its leaves and stem are covered with trichome, which is an entanglement of hair-like outgrowths filled with air. It resembles thermal fabric and protects the plant form heat, cold and dehydration. Because of those hair-like outgrowths the edelweiss is known as the cat paws (pl kocie łapki) in the local dialect of Podhale.

The edelweiss flowers have small heads surrounded with leaves, which look like petals. Within the heads there are four kinds of flowers: male, female, androgynous and neuter nectaries.

The edelweiss is a beautiful plant and it is often grown by people on rock gardens. Of course it is illegal to replant the wild plants, but is it legal to plant seeds or privately cultivated flowers. At the end of the 19th century thousands of the flowers were picked, desiccated and sold as they were considered fashionable souvenirs from Podhale. After drying the flowers were often glued to cards and used as a form of postcards. The species came near extinction, however, after few dozen years of preservation the population of the edelweiss in the Tatra mountains is once again rising.

The edelweiss is a traditional symbol of the Podhale Rifles (pl Strzelcy Podhalańscy), who wear it on their hats and uniforms.

Gentian (pl goryczka)

The gentian is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family, which includes many species of plants, of which over a dozen grows in the Tatra mountains, such as the Clusius’ gentian, the spotted gentian, the willow gentian, the spring gentian and the gentiana frigida.

The common treat of the gentian plants is a flower with five petals and five stamens (except for the ciliated gentian which has four petals). The polish name of the flower is goryczka and it means bitterness. The name was given to the flower by the people of Podtatrze because of its taste, as some species of the gentian were used in medicine. The gentian is also associated with the gentian violet, however, the color is obtained by mixing chemical compounds and has nothing to do with the flowers.

The gentian flowers blossom in the Tatra mountains from early spring to late fall. During spring there are grand, violet calicles of the clusius’ gentian blossoming on the calcareous grounds as well as the smaller flowers of the spring gentian, which are also violet. During summer there are yellowish, spotted flowers of the spotted gentian blossoming on the granite grounds and very rare beige flowers of the gentiana frigida, which may be found on the crystalline rocks of the Tatra crags. The spotted gentian is often used in folk medicine. At the end of summer it is the tall and purple willow gentian’s turn to blossom, which lasts throughout fall, when the ciliated gentian, the star gentian, and the spring gentian (it blossoms twice a year) start to blossom.

Stemless carline thistle (pl dziewięćsił bezłodygowy or dziewięciornik in local dialect of Podhale)

The stemless carline thistle is a biennial plant that resembles thistle plants because of its leaves with characteristic, irregular-shaped edges. As the name suggests, it has no stem, however, it has a head of flowers growing out of its rosette of leaves. The heads are surrounded by bright involucres, which for a long time were used to predict the weather, as they expand during dry weather and shrink when it’s about to rain. During summer the flowers blossom and cover themselves with thistledown attached to their seeds in order to spread. For its proper development the stemless carline thistle requires a lot of sunlight and dry grounds.

Its Polish name dziewięćsił means nine forces and corresponds to the belief that the plant has nine different healing effects and that its healing potential is nine times bigger than of other plants. The belief was not unjustified as the root of the carline thistle has many uses in medicine. It may be used while treating gastrointestinal diseases, it helps in healing of wounds and serves as an aphrodisiac. The stemless carline thistle is sometimes called the bread of hunters, as its receptacle is edible, like the receptacle of the artichoke.

The plant is often used in ornamental folk art. People used to believe that it has supernatural powers and that it repels bad spells. People used to pick it in large numbers for decorative purposes, which is why it is now placed under legal protection. It is sometimes cultivated in rock gardens.