Rare flower comeback on Schiermonnikoog island

Translated from the Waddenvereniging in the Netherlands:

09/02/2011

Fast autumn gentian comeback

In the Lighthouse Valley on Schiermonnikoog this summer, thousands of autumn gentian flowers are flowering. The autumn gentian is threatened in the Netherlands and is increasingly rare on Schiermonnikoog as well. That those purple blue flowers reappeared in such big numbers was a big surprise.

The autumn gentian is one of the problem species of the island’s flora. Its traditional growth areas are increasingly getting overgrown by stiff grass and shrubs and new suitable habitats do not seem to arise. Only in the valley near the lighthouse in some years a few scores of gentian flowers appeared. The autumn gentian seemed on its way to disappear from the island.

However, this year suddenly turned out to be a top year for the plant. In the Lighthouse Valley there were suddenly thousands of gentian flowers. The comeback of the autumn gentian is difficult to explain. Perhaps the plant benefited from the hot dry spring.