Drosera spatulata in Taipei

[numpty]

A day trip into YangMing Shan National Park, in the north of Taipei. Rubbish weather, though the roiling cloud gave a nice atmosphere to counterbalance the chilling effect of the wind and rain. At 11,456 hectares it's Taiwan's smallest national park, but still encompasses quite a variety of terrain, including volcanic fumaroles, sub-tropical monsoon forest, temperate evergreen forest and fields of silver-grass (coming into flower about now). The views are great ... when you can see them.

Location, somewhere between 700 and 800m asl.

Volcanic activity has turned the soil highly acidic, making it suitable for a few hardy plants, of which D. spatulata is one. This should have a nice purplish/pinkish flower, but not today. The leaves might at times be a bit redder, but it's been a gloomy month or two. Shaky pics ... just waving the camera in the rain.

And a couple of in-focus shots to justify my having lugged the tripod up.

And a quick look at Menghuan Pond. There may well be some Utrics hereabouts, but I could barely even see the water and anyway, access to this lake is restricted to researchers. It's the only known habitat of Isoetes taiwanensis.

[numpty]

Just an update from May for this location. Spells of nice, sunny weather have reddened the plants and brought forth the flowers.

And some of the local reptiles enjoying the sun too.

[jimscott]

What is that reptile.... a skink?

[numpty]

What is that reptile.... a skink?

'Tis indeed. The elegant five-lined skink, Eumeces elegans, which to my surprise looks a lot like the American five-lined blue-tailed skink, Eumeces fasciatus.

[Carlos Rohrbacher]

I liked this blue lizard, the snake and sundews, thanks for sharing.