Re: Madeira holiday

> val dennison wrote:
> > 
> > I'm off to Madeira in July for a couple of weeks. This holiday
> > destination chosen because of the flora of course. Any advice on
> > special places to visit to see plants would be most appreciated.

Yes, it's a wonderful place. It's been ten years since I was there, so 
there may have been a few European Union-funded road improvement 
projects, which may have affected a few localities, but I'm sure the 
remote spots are just as good as ever. You might consider renting a car 
to get all around the island to make the most of your stay.

Do go to Pico do Arieiro and walk the trail from there to Pico Ruivo, the 
island's higest point (about 6000') -- the views are amazing and the 
plants fascinating.

The same goes for the high plateau Paul da Serra, although it's a bit like 
a scene from Wuthering Heights if the clouds are down...

It's worth staying a night or two in Porto do Moniz on the NW coast. There 
was a nice hotel called the Orca there in 1989. Do try the lapas 
grelhadas (grilled limpets) either there or in Funchal (in the latter, a 
restaurant called something like the Dos Combatentes had them).

>From Porto do Moniz you can explore the wild north coast, which has a
road all along it, clinging to the sea cliffs in places. Tremendous
endemic cliff flora here. Also check out the ravines running down to the N
coast, e.g. the Ribeira do Inferno.

Don't miss the Ribeira da Janela valley, the wildest on the island -- it's
mostly virgin laurel forest. You can go by road to a place called Rabacal 
at the head of the valley, where there's a waterfall, to experience some 
of the wildness. If you want to get right into the valley, there's a dirt 
track zigzagging down the valley side from the main road that runs along 
the high ridge west of the valley. You can walk down that track, then a
footpath leads on from behind a shed, taking you to the main levada,
along which you can walk a short way or, if you don't mind going through
the tunnels (take a flashlight), a longer way to the Ribeira da Janela
itself, right in the heart of the wilderness.

If you are in Ribeiro Frio, don't miss the Forestry Service gardens, where 
some of the endemics are grown, e.g. the amazing Musschia wollastonii 
(Campanulaceae).

Also there's the Ponta de Sao Lourenco, at the E end of the island. A 
completely different flora there: of open, hot, dry, volcanic rock 
(although it might be a bit too fried by July...)

There's also the nearby small island of Porto Santo, which you can reach 
by plane or ferry from Madeira. There are endemic plants there too. That 
whole island used to be dominated, at least in the lowlands, by dragon 
trees (Dracaena draco) and juniper, but the former is now extirpatred 
there as a wild plant.

If you want a comprehensive flora, get a copy of Flora of Madeira by J.R. 
Press and M.J. Short, published by the Natural History Museum, London and 
HMSO in 1994. It has keys, descriptions, and line drawings of all the 
endemic plants.

Have fun!  Nick.

Nick Turland
Flora of China Project, Missouri Botanical Garden, 
P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299, U.S.A.
E-mail: nturland@lehmann.mobot.org
Phone: +1 314 577 0269  Fax: +1 314 577 9438
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