Crete 2012: 19th April

Low grey clouds hanging over the hilltops, so low that the occasional soaring Griffon Vulture would disappear in and out of them. Not the perfect weather for a day of botanising... but at least the clouds stayed up there and didn't empty onto us, and the wind had abated a fair bit.

And so to Spili, one of those classic wildflower destinations: every natural history group that comes to western Crete spends some time tramping the famous "bumps", and we were of course no exception. 6 hours and 21 orchid species later, we returned to Plakias content.

Ophrys cretica

Orchis anthropophora (Man Orchid) with Orchis italica (Naked Man Orchid). Spot the difference...

Anacamptis laxiflora

Orchis lactea

Orchis quadripunctata

Iris cretensis

Tulipa doerfleri were amazingly abundant in some of the arable fields. All were steadfastly remaining closed, thanks to the weather.