Valldemossa

Hypericum balearicum is a species endemic to the Balearic Islands and is in the Guttiferae. I saw it all over the place on this hike but this one was the only one I saw flowering because they typically flower between March and July.  

The flower of Hypericum balearicum.

This is madroño (Arbutus unedo) and I saw two large, almost tree-like, specimens on this hike around Valldemossa. 

The fruit of the madroño. It was quite sweet but a little granular like a pear. 

Juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus) was quite common and very bushy. This one was the only male plant that I saw. 

Moss = musgo in Spanish. 

What a cute little Cladonia lichen!

Check out the apothecia on this bad boy!

Puffball or primordia?

Ephedra fragilis

Ephedra in its natural habitat. 

Tiny!

Tinier!

This was more than just mold, it was definitely some kind of dense fungus in a non-mushroom form, probably an Ascomycete.  It was growing on fallen leaves, dirt and rocks. 

Some very slimy Basidios.  

Russula?

Check out those lamellae!

This fruticose lichen has very spiky apothecia. 

Now is the time for mushrooms with all the rainfall we have been getting. 

Some decomposing mushrooms. 

Mushrooms pre-decomposition. 

Some puffball mushrooms. 

The water droplets on the spore mass inside the puffball look so cool!

Checking out an aeroid species with beautiful leaves.  

These white mushrooms were all over the place. 

Can't wait to see what flowers these beautiful leaves come up with. 

A tiny little wood-rotter. 

The dried up inflorescence of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare).

La Trapa

We went on a hike in La Trapa in the northern part part of Mallorca near the tiny town of Sant Elm in the Tramuntana mountain range. 

Merendera filifolia

I had never seen anything like these specimens of the Lilliaceae that grow directly out of the ground! When I saw one for the first time I thought someone had picked the flower and stuck it in the ground. And then I saw them everywhere!

Viola arborescens is a very distinctive violet because the leaves are not heart-shaped.

Arisarum vulgare was abundant all along the trail at all elevations. The common name for A. vulgare here in Mallorca is frailillo. This name means "little friar" because the leaf surrounding the inflorescence looks like the hood of a friar and the inflorescence itself looks like the friar's big nose.

This really is a gorgeous specimen of the Araceae. And to think, in November! The flowering time is apparently December to March and they are very common here.

A pretty wide variety of colors on these guys. Unfortunately my camera wouldn't focus.

Me botanizing.

See the little purple heads of the Arisarum vulgare flowers poking up above the bright green foliage?

Leafy liverwort or some kind of Lycophyta?

Wild rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) or Romero, as it is called in Spanish is also very abundant on the island.

Some kind of poroid Basidiomycete that was absolutely everywhere in the lower elevation parts of the hike. 

You can somewhat see the poroid hymenophore in this picture.

I wish I had gotten a chance to look at these mushrooms more closely but they were not that common and the group we were with was keeping up quite a fast pace.

What stunning color. I wish I had an amazing website at my fingertips for fungus like I do for flowers with the Virtual Herbarium.

Crocus cambessedesii is called Safrá and is an endemic species of Mallorca and Menorca. It flowers from September to December in rocky areas. The leaves pop out after the plant is done flowering.

The heart shaped leaves in this picture are from the frailillo. 

The climate here is pretty arid, with lots of Pino Carrasco (Pinus halepensis) everywhere.

Heather (Erica multiflora) was also very abundant and very much in flower. 

I will definitely be returning to La Trapa more towards the springtime to check out what plants are starting to flower!