The first spring flowers in the Crimea. Blooming Crimea (a brief botanical guide). Dangerous plants of the Crimea - heracleum or flower of Hercules

Crimea is amazing with spring colors. Fresh, bright, juicy.
The forest was just getting ready to put on its green outfit, and already appeared in the grass
bright points pleasing to the eye - the first spring flowers. Primroses.

There were also primroses for May, I wrote an article with 30 photos in more detail on a site with a beautiful Crimean name ipetri

This year, thanks to the late spring, snowdrops were saved from the annual mass destruction. There was a lot of snow on March 8, and the Red Book flowers survived the women's holiday under the snow. Now, at the end of April, they are, and this is interesting. After all, in the past
year mass flowering was observed in March.

In the foothills, primrose now dominates. Harvest year!

6.

It is unusually pleasant to hunt these spring flowers! The photo shows that the snowdrops have faded, giving way to their brethren.

Petrov cross scaly

Here is another photo:

8. Zubyanka five-leafed

Spring inhabitants of Yayla - backache or sleep grass. Now is the time for them to flourish!

We visited the Crimea for Easter. This year it took place in mid-April.
My daughter painted the Easter egg so interestingly that I could not determine the coloring method.
And can you? ;)
10.

These are, as far as I understand, forest violets.

But it's too early for pink peonies. Probably, they will have time for May.

11.

In the Ak-Kai area, they found thin-leaved peonies, they were very happy, like old acquaintances. Still - a whole year did not see each other! :)
12.

Did not miss the willow.

13.

And cherry...

14.

And tiny hardworking beetles pushing a huge ball together...

15.

first butterfly...

16.

The weather favored us, we even sunbathed.
Here's where most of the pictures were taken:
(view from below)

17.

view from above:

18.

And a few more little ones.

19. poultry farmer

The poultry farmer gets along well with muscari.

20. Muscari

Actually:

21.

I will also ask the following kids to identify. Hall help!

22.forget-me-not small-flowered, Myosotis micrantha Pall. ex Lehm

23.

24. Tulip Bieberstein, species not identified.

25.

26. Periwinkle, Vinca minor
periwinkle herbaceous, Vinca herbacea Walds

According to the Germans, periwinkle has the ability to ward off evil spirits. But for this it must be collected in the fall from August 15 to September 8. According to their beliefs, if a periwinkle plucked at that time is carried with you, then neither the devil nor any other evil spirit will have any power over the wearer, and if you hang it over front door house, then all this evil spirits will not have the strength to enter the house. And therefore, a plucked periwinkle should never be thrown into the garbage, but always into the stream, so that it does not die of thirst. Periwinkle planted in the garden brings happiness, and placed in a bouquet - unchanging love. (from Wikipedia)

Here's what I liked the most:

27.

every flower had to bow to the ground:

28.

the locals laughed. shaking tail))

29.

But the beauty was worth the trouble!

30. Adonis spring

Thank you for your attention and I would appreciate your help in identifying specimens No. 7, No. 8 and from 22 to 30 photos.

Special thanks for the photo to the co-participants of the campaign, Vladimir Erofeev,
Andrey Shpakovich and Nadezhda Kolbasko.

End of April/May - most best time to visit the Crimea. It is still not very hot, the greenery has not burned out, there are no crowds of people, as in summer.
But the main attraction of this time is the flowers.

Below are photographs and descriptions of Crimean flowers taken in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008, during the May holidays (end of April/beginning of May). Basically, the Bakhchisarai, Yalta and Sudak regions of Crimea are represented.

DREAM-GRASS, CRIMEAN SHOT (Pulsatilla taurica)

He’s a snowy tulip, he’s a sonchik, he’s a grass-grass, he’s a pine forest, he’s a shooter, he’s a rascal, he’s a beaver.
It grows in the mountains, oak forests, mountain meadows, steppe areas of the foothills and rocky slopes.
The most beautiful spring Crimean flower - you can admire it and photograph it endlessly.
Listed in the Red Book of Ukraine

Sleep Grass. May 2005 Chatyr-Dag

Sleep Grass. May 2005 Chatyr-Dag

Sleep Grass. April 2004 Chatyr-Dag

Sleep Grass. 2.05.03 Yalta Yayla

Sleep Grass. May 2005 Chatyr-Dag

Sleep Grass. 5.05.07 Angar-Burun

FOLDED SNOWDROP (Galanthus plicatus M. Bieb.)

Folded snowdrop (Galanthus plicatus) - a species that differs from other species in folded leaves with a bluish bloom, with folds bent to the underside.
It was previously considered as an endemic Crimean species, but now the habitats of the folded snowdrop have been identified in the Caucasus, Turkey, Romania and Moldova.
Listed in the Red Book of Ukraine

4.05.07 Not far from t/s "Boyko"

Snowdrop. May 2005 Chatyr-Dag

Snowdrop. 1.05.03 Grand Canyon

TWO-LEAVED SWIMMING (Scilla bifolia L.)

It is also the Crimean Scilla (Scilla taurica (Regel) Fuss), it is also the Snow Scilla (Scilla nivalis Boiss.). Glades overgrown with a blueberry mixed with a snowdrop look very nice.

Scilla. 02.05.03 Ascent to Roman-Kosh

CRIMEAN CROCUS (Crocus tauricus (Trautv.) Puring)

He is Crimean saffron. Endemic Crimean Caucasian species. It grows in the mountains on open stony places, grassy slopes of yail. Listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.

Crocus Crimean.4.05.07 Not far from Ai-Petri

Crocus Crimean.1.05.03 Yalta yayla

PRIMROSES (PRIMULOSES) Primula

It grows in the southern regions of the European part of Russia, in the Caucasus, in the Crimea, Southern and Central Europe. The species is similar to the spring primrose, but with an undeveloped flower arrow. Flowering from April. The plant is cold-resistant - blooms on the edge of the snow.
The ancient Greeks believed that the primrose was able to heal from all ailments and called it the "flower of the twelve gods."

In the old German sagas, the primrose is the keys of the spring goddess Freya. With the help of these keys, the beautiful goddess, adorned with a multi-colored rainbow necklace, opens the real warmth after a long winter. Wherever her rainbow falls, golden keys appear there, and spring flowers sprout from them - primroses.

The Danes are sure that the princess of the elves herself has been turned into a primrose. Once the spirits released the girl to the ground, and there she fell in love with the young man, forgetting about her relatives. For this, the spirits turned the princess into a primrose, and her lover into an anemone.

In Rus', the primrose was affectionately called lambs. There was even such a custom: to throw plucked lambs under one's feet and stomp - for longevity.

The British have a primrose - a favorite flower. It is grown in gardens and vegetable gardens, taken with them on trips, given to loved ones. According to English fairy tales, gnomes hide in primroses, and if you go out into the clearing in spring, you can hear a chorus of gentle voices from the flowers.

Common primrose (Рrimula vulgaris) or stemless (Primula acaulis) April 2004. Area of t / s "Boyko"

Road overgrown with primroses.26.04.03 from Eski-Kermen to Shuldan

Primula Sibthorpa (Primula sibthorpii) 04/25/03 Near Eski-Kermen

Common primrose.25.04.03 near the Red Poppy

VIOLETS

There are many different ones in Crimea. Especially beautiful and large ones are found on the yayla. The yellow and blue look very pretty.

Violet dog (Viola canina)25.04.03 near Eski-Kermen

Fragrant violet (Viola odorata)25.04.03 near Eski-Kermen

Mountain Violet (Viola oreades Bieb.) April 2004 Ai-Petri Yayla

Mountain Violet (Viola oreades Bieb.) April 2004 Ai-Petri Yayla

Field of violets. April 2004 Eski-Kermen

Kupena fragrant (Polygonatum odoratum)

She was bought medicinal, bought pharmacy (Polygonatum officinale L.), she is Solomon's seal. It grows on drying, slightly acidic, rich, humus, loose, mostly shallow, sandy, stony and clay soils: in forests, shrubs and slopes. Edge-forest view. The plant is poisonous.

Bought fragrant. April 2004 Eski-Kermen

Dubious poppy (Papaver dubium L.)

Doubtful poppy is an annual herbaceous plant 30-60 cm high. It blooms in April-June. Grows on dry stony, gravel, clay slopes, among shrubs, on sands, in forest-steppe and steppe, in fields, along roads, in mountains up to the mid-mountain belt. Poisonous.

Mac is questionable. April 2004 p. Red poppy

IBERIAN, STENNIK (Iberis)

The name of the plant indicates the area of \u200b\u200bnatural distribution: Iberia, as Spain used to be called. The genus includes about 40 species distributed in the Mediterranean and Central Europe.

Iberian forms dense rounded cushions, which during the flowering period, in April-May, seem to be powdered with snow due to lilac-white flowers. In Crimea, they live on rocky places, in the mountains, on the South Coast.

There are rocky Iberian (Ib.saxatilis), Crimean Iberian (Ib.taurica), very rarely - bitter Iberian (Ib.amara) and pinnate Iberian (Ib.pinnata). These species differ mainly in leaf shape.

Candytuft. 1.05.03 Great Crimean Canyon

FRINGED POULTRY (Ornithogalum fimbriatum Willd)
He is also a fibrous bird-man, he is a ciliated bird-man.
It grows in forests along the edges, in the steppes, on the yayla. From the subgenus Ornithogalum. Plants no more than 12 cm tall. The arrow is covered with hairs. Blooms in mid-spring, up to 15 days.

poultry farmer. April 2003 District of the Pavilion of the Winds

Paeonia tenuifolia L. (P. lithophila Kotov, P. biebersteiniana Rupr.)

He is a narrow-leaved peony. Herbaceous perennial up to 50 cm tall. It grows on meadow steppes, on leached chernozems, on mountain slopes. Blooms in May. Listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.

Peony thin-leaved. April 2004 and 05.05.07 On the ascent to Chatyr-Dag

Peony thin-leaved. April 2004 Chatyr-Dag

Thin-leaved peony thickets 29.04.08 Slopes of Lyalel-Oba

CRIMEAN PEONY (Paeonia daurica)

It is also a Taurian peony (Paeonia taurica auct.), it is also a three-fold peony (Paeonia triternata) Endemic of Crimea. It grows in light forests, typically in the undergrowth of oak forests. It occurs en masse at altitudes from 200 meters up to the upper border of the forest. Blooms in May. Listed in the Red Book of Ukraine

Peony Crimean. April 2004 Eski-Kermen

MUSCARI (Muscari neglectum Guss)

He is a viper onion unnoticed, he is also a mouse hyacinth.
Low, up to 15 cm tall, bulbous perennial of the lily family.
It grows in sunny stony glades, on the edges of the forest. Often forms a solid blue carpet. Blooms in April-May.

Muscari. End of April 2004 Chatyr-Dag

Muscari. 25.04.03 Eski-Kermen

Dwarf IRIS (Iris pumila) OR CRIMEAN IRIS (Iris taurica. Iridaceae)

He is a low iris, he is also a dwarf iris.
Herbaceous perennial 10-20 cm tall. Grows in steppes, on grassy slopes, on stony and thin soils, at altitudes from 300 to 700 m above sea level, rarely descends to 50 m and rises to 900-1000 m.

Violet and yellow irises 29.04.08 Slopes of Lyalel-Oba

Dwarf iris. April 2004 Eski Kermen

Dwarf irises. 04/25/03 near the village. Red poppy

EAST ARONNIK (Arum orientale Bieb., A. maculatum auct.)

Relic species, belongs to one of the oldest genera of tropical origin in Ukraine. Perennial herbaceous plant 20-30 cm high. Grows in shady forests. A very specific smell. Blooms in May. Listed in the Red Book of Ukraine

Eastern Aronnik. April 2004 near Shuldan Monastery

TULIP SHRENK (Tulipa schrenkii Regel)

He is Gesner's tulip (Tulipa gesneriana L.). Plants are 10-40 cm tall. stem b. hours naked, sometimes pubescent. Leaves recurved, sickle-shaped, spaced, more or less curly, glabrous or pubescent, not exceeding the flower. Single flower, red or yellow. The tepals are relatively short, wide, obtuse. The spot at their base is black, with a yellow border, yellow or absent. Blooms in April. It grows mainly in the steppe Crimea, as well as in the foothills and on the South Coast.

Tulip Schrenk 29.04.08 Slopes of Lyalel-Oba

LOW ALMOND (Amygdalus nana L.)

He is a beaver, he is a dwarf almond, he is a steppe almond.
It grows in the zone of herb-meadow steppes, in hollows, along ravines, beams.

Thickets of dwarf almonds. 29.04.08 near the t/s "Ai-Serez"

ADONIS SPRING (Adonis vernalis L.)

He is the spring adonis, he is the spring starodubka. Blooms in May
in the steppes, along the outskirts of forests, on lighted forest glades, steppe slopes, meadows. Very bright and beautiful flower.

Spring Adonis. 29.04.08 Upper reaches of the Ai-Serez river

ASPHODELINA YELLOW Asphodeline Lutea (L.) Reichend

A rare endangered eastern Mediterranean species. Herbaceous perennial with a thick high, up to 60 cm, stem. The stem from the base to the inflorescence is covered with dagger-shaped, trihedral fleshy leaves. The flower brush is dense, long and consists of large greenish-yellow flowers up to 2.5 cm in diameter. The tepals have a characteristic green vein. After flowering, a fruit is formed - a large box. Listed in the Red Book of Ukraine

Asphodelina yellow (Asphodeline lutea) 29.04.08 t/s Maski in Ukraine is found only in the Crimea

ORCHID(Orchidaceae)

Wild-growing orchids are the most wonderful flowers of the spring Crimea.
According to various sources, 20-39 species of orchids grow in Crimea. All are listed in the Red Book. Populations of wild-growing orchids are small and continue to decline mainly due to deforestation and the destruction of flowers for bouquets.
Basically, there are orches (purple, monkey), I was lucky to stumble upon the rarest Crimean ofris, of which there are only a few specimens left.

04/27/08 Fox Bay. Orchis painted (dotted) (Orchis picta Loisel.)

Crimean ophrys Ophrys taurica Nevski

Orchis simia Lam.

Purple Orchis Orchis purpurea Huds.

Orchis punctulata

Wolf's orchis Orchis x wulffiana and steveniella satyrioides Steveniella satyrioides Schlechter

Orches April 2004

The following wonderful resources were used in the preparation of the material:
1) http://www.plantarium.ru On-line plant guide
An open illustrated atlas of vascular plants in Russia and neighboring countries.
2) http://family-travel.narod.ru/flora/flora.html Photo herbarium. wild plants Crimea.
3) http://mail.menr.gov.ua/publ/redbook/redbook.php Chervona book of Ukraine.

More than a hundred early-flowering plants grow in the Crimea. They belong to different families: primroses, buttercups, violets, lilies, sedges, cereals and others. What unites them is their similar development in environmental situation close to extreme conditions existence: low temperatures of the soil, air and water, frosts, sharp fluctuations in temperature day and night. Many of them even develop under the snow, hence the name "snowdrops". Real snowdrops with the generic name "Galanthus" in the Crimea are represented by an endemic species - snowdrop folded.

A characteristic feature of all early flowering plants is their increased demands for light and moisture. Therefore, it is no coincidence that our primroses bloom in the forest, when there are no leaves on the trees yet, and the light freely penetrates under their canopy. In addition, at this time the soil is still rich in moisture, which is very important for these fast-growing plants.

In Crimea, you can get acquainted with the world of primroses already in February, and sometimes even earlier. Under loose snow and withered last year's leaves, small plants with fully formed flowers and miniature leaves are hiding. They are ready at any moment to throw out flower stalks and defiantly announce the arrival of spring. The limiting factor is still low temperature. But it is worth warming the sun, and the "snowdrops" literally explode in their development. Among them are well-known coltsfoot And snowdrop, Crimean crocus And crocus Susianus, spring primrose, two-leaved blueberry, spring chistyak, Ankara colchicum, early types of violets and others.

A characteristic feature of early flowering plants is a small number of flowers. At tulips, snowdrops- 1-2, y blueberries- 2-3, less often there are several of them and they are collected in compact inflorescences - corydalis, goose bows. The number of flowers is limited to a small supply nutrients in underground organs, as well as the timing of plant development. But the flowers of ephemeroids are almost always large, up to several centimeters in diameter, and bright: yellow, purple, pink. Such flowers are clearly visible at a great distance. This is a device to attract pollinating insects. It is known that color perception in insects is special. They perceive color in the ultraviolet range of radiation. Yellow and purple flowers reflect up to 40 percent of ultraviolet rays and are clearly visible to insects, but the red color is almost black for them. less attractive and White color. The flowers of some ephemeroids have additional decorations in the form of stripes, patterns, dashes. This is nothing more than a kind of signboards and landmarks for insects, showing the way to the nectaries.

What tricks do plants not go to "add brightness"! For example, at lungwort on the same stem are dark pink and cornflower blue flowers. Moreover, buds and younger flowers have a pink color, and older, fading ones have a blue color. Each flower changes color throughout its life. And this is explained by the properties of the anthocyanin contained in the petals of the lungwort - a special coloring matter. It is he who causes a change in the color of the petals, laid down by biological necessity: due to its variegation, its raspberry-blue inflorescences with flowers of different colors are especially clearly visible to pollinating insects in a light spring forest.

early flowering herbaceous plants"adapted" insects and for the distribution of seeds, primarily ants. On the fruits or seeds of these plants, special, oil-rich fleshy appendages are formed - elaiosomes that attract ants, which become "gardeners" for primroses.

The Crimean spring is insidious, and sudden snowfalls and night frosts are not uncommon for it. Therefore, early flowering plants had to learn how to deal with these troubles. For example, buds and stems sleep-herbs- one of the most beautiful plants of our forests - pubescent with numerous long protruding hairs. This shaggy "fur coat" protects the buds from the spring cold.

The cell juice of primroses acts as a non-freezing antifreeze, well known to all motorists. If at the beginning of April frosts suddenly hit and snow falls, then, once in the forest, you can see that the young, hornbeam and aspen leaves that have just begun to open, seized by frost, turn brown and wrinkled. But fragile corydalis or awesome kossky cyclamen continue to bloom as if nothing had happened. It is impossible to notice the slightest trace of frost on these tender plants!

After flowering, primroses have a deep summer dormancy associated with the lack of sufficient lighting and moisture in the forest. In the second half of summer, vegetative and generative organs are laid. In autumn, a second deep rest sets in, holding back their development on favorable autumn days, when it is again light in the forest (leaves have fallen) and humid (autumn rains are falling), and soil, air and water temperatures are still relatively high. But winter is ahead! Freezes can come on suddenly. Natural selection secured a second warning peace at the "snowdrops". In mid-December, it ends and there is a forced rest associated with the absence necessary conditions development. If in December-January sprouts, corydalis, tulips are placed in room conditions they will bloom beautifully.

Among the early-flowering plants, in addition to perennials, there are also annuals, the so-called ephemera . These are small (3-10 centimeters) plants, barely distinguishable among the growing greenery. Whole life cycle(from seed to seed) passes in a few days, less often - 2-4 weeks. At the end of April, when the tufts of cereals grow, they dry up and cannot be found. Some ephemera like stonefly spring forms in early spring whole flowering aspects.

Speaking about the early-flowering plants of the Crimea, one cannot but recall the dogwood. Dogwood bushes bloom long before the leaves bloom, usually in February (and only in relatively cold winters, flowering occurs in March). Bright yellow flowers look very elegant in a transparent forest in spring! Dogwood flowers are pollinated by both wind and insects. Such an unusually early flowering of the fruit tree gave rise to the Crimean legend about the greedy shaitan who chose dogwood, hoping for a quick harvest. But he miscalculated: the dogwood bears fruit later than everyone else, in October-November.

Many spring plants are massively destroyed. Some are heavily collected as medicinal. Others have highly decorative properties and are exterminated for bouquets. Organized for sale exterminate snowdrops, sleep-grass, wild tulips, crocuses. Kos cyclamen is on the verge of complete extinction.

According to ecologists, about 15 million snowdrops were exported from Crimea to the Ukrainian capital every year during February-March! Of course, they are listed in the Red Books. But where are they, these Red Books? And here we are, ready even now - to nature. If a person, if we are with you, do not regret, do not help, do not feel the troubles of our plants, no Red Books will help the Crimea. With the loss of each species, we deprive not only ourselves, but also the children of our children. In Japan, children are taught from an early age: only a bad, cruel person can pick, throw away or trample a flower. Every spring, during the cherry blossom season, Japanese families go up to the mountains to admire the cherry blossoms. Let's admire the Crimean flowers, because you can only touch the beauty with your heart!

Crimean primroses are special. Many of them appear already at the end of winter, and such as snowdrops bloom in Yalta courtyards even before the New Year. So call them after this spring!

Do we know them well - Crimean primroses - can we distinguish and remember the names? Let's get acquainted with the main ones and slightly refresh our knowledge about these wonderful companions of spring.

Snowdrop

The scientific name of this, perhaps, the most popular and widespread Crimean primrose - "galanthus" involuntarily hints at its elegant form. However, in translation it means literally "milk", which, you see, is also not far from the truth. who would not recognize this snow-white lampshade of three petals.If you look closely, there are three more hiding under them.They are much smaller and form a semblance of a corolla with a pale green border.

Snowdrop can be found almost throughout the Crimea, but if you want to admire this primrose, you have a direct road to the forest, under the crowns of trees. Huge glades of snowdrops can be found in the area of the Angarsk Pass and on the southern slopes of the main ridge, in the Belogorsk district and near Sudak, but who climbed Mount Ayu-Dag in March knows that at the top it is almost completely covered with a continuous white carpet of huge snowdrops.

Snowdrop folded

Cyclamen

This flower is so small and fragile that the snowdrop next to it looks like a real giant! Cyclamen appears one of the first, sometimes long before the arrival of March. And he is not afraid of neither wind, nor frost, nor even snowdrifts. In the forest, under the crowns of trees, its tiny inflorescences look like thousands of sparks, like winter fireflies awakened from hibernation.

This flower has character and prefers to grow only in one place of the peninsula - the Kubalach tract, declared a reserve. The full name of the flower is Kos cyclamen, although some experts call it Kuznetsov's cyclamen and consider it a Crimean endemic.

Photographing cyclamen is not so easy. No matter how hard you try, sooner or later you have to lie down on the ground, wriggling like a snake, between the trees and the flowers themselves - God forbid, which one to take! And in response, they kindly pose, turning either into pale pink moths, then into an elegant pale purple star, or even into scarlet flames of a tiny fire. Huge drops of cold dew hanging on small silk petals further emphasize fabulous beauty and tenderness of these inflorescences.

Kossky cyclamen

Backache or Sleep-grass

From the first days of spring, the slopes of the mountains and foothills of Crimea are decorated with families of fluffy purple buds resembling small tulips. This is a dream-grass or backache - one of the most beautiful and unusual primroses. At the beginning, small shaggy lumps that do not look like flowers come out of the ground covered with last year's grass, and soon thin leaves-blades of grass stretch upwards. Behind them, beautiful tender buds open.

As the old legend says, the devil expelled from Paradise hid under the broad leaves of sleep-grass. In order to deprive the adversary of the opportunity to hide, Archangel Michael threw lightning at the flower, which cut the leaves of the flower into long panicles. And so the second name appeared - backache. This flower, unlike the previous ones, loves the sun and open space.

Sometimes sleep-grass confuses the seasons. In late autumn, a solitary blue bell will suddenly bloom somewhere in the steppe expanse of the Crimean foothills. To everyone's delight, of course.

Backache or Sleep-grass

Crocus or Saffron

Among the very first, as well as the most elegant primroses, crocus takes its rightful place. Like some of its other early neighbors, the crocus sometimes has to fight its way through the snow. But how unusual, and at the same time elegant, its bright buds look on a white background.

Usually crocus has two main colors with a lot of shades in each - from pale yellow to dark orange and from pale blue to deep purple, however, with luck, you can also find a pure white flower. At the same time, no matter what color the flower is, its stamens will always be yellow.

It is thanks to the stamens, of which there are only three in each flower, that the crocus has become popular all over the world, and in some countries it is specially grown on an industrial scale. Saffron is not only its second name, but also the most expensive spice in the world, which is the very dried crocus stamens. Saffron is also called the "golden spice" due to its color and value.

Crocus or Saffron

Primula or Primrose spring

Primula also sometimes appears from under the snow, but its flowering lasts longer, in the mountains these flowers can be found until the end of May, and among the traditionally yellow inflorescences purple and white occasionally come across. Primula is found in different places on our peninsula, but prefers forests where there is no direct sunlight.

As soon as this plant was not called in ancient times: God's hands, ears, lambs, golden keys. According to an old legend, the Apostle Peter once fell asleep and dropped the keys to Paradise from heaven onto the sinful earth. Having fallen, they immediately sprouted with bright golden flowers, and soon settled throughout the earth.

Unlike many other spring flowers, primrose is not only healing, but also edible. Wild rabbits, hares and smaller rodents are happy to eat the leaves of this flower, replenishing the vitamins lost during the winter.

Primrose

Scilla

In the spring Crimean forest, dark blue inflorescences of the blueberry on red-brown stems are clearly visible from afar. Its flowers are unusually elegant, have a delicate aroma of honey, and unopened buds resemble precious sapphires, cut by a skilled jeweler.

Scilla gets along well with snowdrops and sometimes dilutes their snow-white fields with its bright blue islands. Real luck if you manage to meet a blueberry with pale pink flowers.

Modern science attributes the blueberry to the asparagus family, but earlier it was boldly attributed either to one of the types of hyacinth, or to lily plants, and it really looks like both!

Scilla

Adonis or Adonis spring

According to an old legend, the beautiful Adonis was the son of Cypress and Myrrha. Even the goddess of love Aphrodite lost her head when she saw the young man. Without hesitation, Aphrodite kidnapped Adonis, making him her lover. This did not please the jealous war god Ares. Having desired Aphrodite, he turned into a huge ferocious boar and mortally wounded Adonis. Mourning her beloved, Aphrodite decided to keep the memory of him, turning the body of the young man into beautiful spring flowers.

This flower loves the sun like no other, he himself, like a small sun, burns with a bright golden-yellow inflorescence, decorating the open slopes of the Crimean foothills. It is not for nothing that among the people it has long received a second, more appropriate name - Adonis.

Adonis or Adonis spring

Violet

This word alone immediately brings to mind a cute image of a miniature flower with a delicate aroma. The very scientific name of one of the types of violets - Viola odorata - translated from Latin means "fragrant viola".

The traditional color of violet is purple, however different types have different colors. In the Crimea, there is also yellow, white, and even a tricolor violet comes across high in the mountains, no worse " pansies decorating city flower beds.

Violet is one of the most popular garden and indoor plants. What shapes and colors you will not see in our front gardens and on window sills.

In total, there are more than five hundred species of this plant, the progenitor of which is a modest purple flower that meets us in the spring in the forest.

Violet

Iris dwarf

When you first see wild irises, it's hard not to be surprised by comparing them with garden irises. And the leaves are similar, and the inflorescences are one to one, only the size is several times smaller, as if in front of you is a miniature copy. Therefore, the name is appropriate - dwarf.

Images of iris flowers were found on a fresco that is 4,000 years old. The name that we know today was given to him by Hippocrates in the 4th century BC. e., naming the iris in honor of the goddess Irida, who descended to earth along the rainbow. Translated from the Greek "iris" is a rainbow.

In Rus', iris was called iris. Iris bloom in early April, preferring high mountain plateaus and small plateaus, illuminated by the sun. Their coloring is varied in shades, but does not go beyond the limits of yellow, blue and purple.

Iris

Peony

In April, when spring in the Crimea is in full swing, and sometimes it gets a little hot, peonies bloom - bright and plentiful, sometimes occupying an area of hundreds square meters. There are especially large fields of peonies on the Karabi-yayla mountain plateau, at an altitude of about a kilometer above sea level, and a wide beam that cuts the Ak-kaya rock in the Belogorsk region has been called Krasnaya since time immemorial, so many peonies bloom on its slopes.

The narrow-leaved peony grows - and we are talking about it - exclusively under the sun, without fear of its burning rays, but its fellow - Crimean peony - on the contrary, never leaves the shade of trees, and feels great in the thickets of the Crimean forest.

The Crimean peony is much larger than its narrow-leaved relative, but does not grow as abundantly as that one, preferring to disperse evenly throughout the forest. It sometimes happens that both species are adjacent to each other at a distance of several meters, separated only by the border between the forest and open space.

Fine-leaved peony

Tulip Schrenk

At the end of March, tulips bloom on the southern coast of the Kerch Peninsula, and not just bloom, but cover square kilometers of fields with a motley carpet, striking with the scale and color variety of anyone who comes here for the first time. No one knows how long they grow here, but there is an assumption that even the inhabitants of the ancient Greek cities scattered along the Kerch coast traded flower bulbs with the Mediterranean countries. Perhaps it was from here that they first came to Turkey, and then to Holland.

Despite the fact that these tulips are considered wild, they are in no way inferior to garden tulips in beauty. Small in stature, more modest in shapes and colors, but just as graceful and proud. Red, yellow, white - millions of bright lights scattered across the expanses of the Kerch steppe. Nowhere else in the Crimea there are so many wild tulips growing in one huge field.

Spring in the Crimean mountains. One of the most interesting and impressive periods of the year.
When you start climbing, you have absolutely no idea what awaits you at the top.
It can be as hot as at the foot. Or maybe a dank wind and night frosts.
There may be a gray landscape and heavy gray clouds overhead. Or maybe a dawn of incredible beauty.
But the most beautiful thing in the spring in the mountains are wild flowers.
Behind them, you climb all these hundreds of meters and walk kilometers along the ridges and slopes.
And then emotions. Here it is - the first bud of sleep-grass today. You drop to your knees and take the first picture.
You raise your eyes. And there are dozens and hundreds of them around.
And on the right, the adonis buds turn yellow and in the beam, among the bushes, you notice the islets of primrose ...
Spring in the mountains...

2. Wild adonis on the slopes of Mount Ai-Petri in the light of the April sun setting behind the mountain Dome

3. Spring adonis or adonis is listed in the Red Book of Ukraine. Adonis is one of the best medicinal plants used in violation of cardiac activity, which led to a significant decrease in its population and almost to extinction in Ukraine.
Insignificant populations of spring Adonis are found in the forest-steppe regions of Russia and Ukraine, some regions of Central Asia and in the Crimea.

4. Other names for this plant: yellow-thousand, yellow flower, field dill, hare poppy, swimsuit, mohnatik, hair grass, consumable, starodubka, Montenegrin.

5. Adonis bud

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8. Grassy slopes strewn with yellow adonis buds

9. In the beams, hollows, shady areas and among the bushes at this time you can find whole fields of primrose.

10. The second name of primrose is primrose. It blooms in the spring one of the first. Often long before the snow has completely melted.

11. Here, in the mountains, primrose stems are quite low. Often the flowers lie almost on the ground.

12. By the way, it’s interesting that bees don’t really like primrose because of the long flower tube, so honey from primrose is extremely rare.

13. Several times on the slopes I came across areas with bright blue small flowers of Denhardt violet. This is a fairly common plant for the mountainous Crimea.

14. And, of course, sleep grass. Nowhere in the Crimea have I seen such a rich abundance of these flowers as in some areas of Ai-Petri Yayla and Yalta Yayla.
According to the rescuers, with whom I spend the night when I go to Ai-Petri, this year some unknown people literally mow the grass. Apparently again, for use as a medicinal plant.
So far, sleep-grass has not been listed in the Red Book, but something tells me that with such an approach, the fate of spring adonis will soon await it ..

15. It is for the above reasons that I will not indicate the exact coordinates of those glades where sleep-grass grows in large numbers. It's good that some of them are also quite difficult to access.

16. Hundreds of shaggy purple buds on the slopes of Ai-Petri.

17. Parents look after their children, standing back to back..

18. On Ai-Petri, fogs are very frequent guests. By and large, these are not even fogs, but just clouds that sit on the tops of mountains.

19. Glades of sleep-grass on foggy slopes

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22. And down there, the Black Sea

23. It would seem that all living things should have the instinct of self-preservation and the desire to live in the most favorable conditions. But sleep-grass for some reason tries to find a place for itself on the slopes where strong winds blow

24. Here and the wind, and fog, and constant scree of stones.

25. Like gladiators who defend themselves by standing back to back.

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29. Evening, sunset... Flower idyll ends... Or just begins...