Spring Gentians

Spring Gentians are a common sight on alpine hillsides, with their five-petalled blooms with a white centre. Colours vary from pale blue to a vibrant deep blue. Bright green lance-shaped leaves are clustered around the base. A distinguishing feature is the calyx with narrow wings. They are commonly found in meadows, and on rocky terrain up to a height of around 3000 metres.

The specimen pictured was seen on 19 June 2006, on the ascent of Pimene, near Gavarnie in the Pyrenees. (Another trip to write up; another place to revisit!)

Saturday 24 June 2006 - Somewhere in the Pyrenees

Here's another dive into random pictures from 2006. Judging by some of the pictures taken on this day, I was somewhere near the Col du Tourmalet. The rack railway in the above image looks interesting.