Pagina 66 - Juliana_Book_eng

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Rhodiola rosea L. – Roseroot
The genus Rhodiola acquired its name after the rhizome, which smells of roses.
Rhodiola is a diminutive of the Greek word rhodon, which means pomegranate
or rose.
In Slovenia, the roseroot can be found in the Karavanke Mts, Julian and
Kamniško-Savinjske Alps, and on Mt Porezen in the prealpine region. The
general distribution extends to the Pyrenees, Alps, Vosges, Sudeten,
Carpathians, Scandinavia, Ural, Himalayas, Japan, and the Arctic regions of
Asia and North America.
Rhododendron hirsutum L. – Hairy Alpenrose
“The most glorious jewel in the Dwarf Pine zone are the red glowing flowers
of the celebrated champion of our Alpine flora ... The flowering rhododendron
is the beauty of all beauties in the Alpine vegetation. The flaming redness of
the lush flowers glows far above the lively green leaves in a unattainably
effective colour contrast ...”. This is how the rhododendron was
enthusiastically described in 1918 by Ferdinand Seidl in his booklet The
Vegetation of Our Alps.
The Slovenian Alps are home to two rhododendron species. Much more
common is the hairy alpenrose, a low and densely leafy little bush with short
and richly ramified branches. The leaves are evergreen and hairy along the
margins. The corolla is jug- or bell-shaped, light red, hairy inside. The species
thrives in the dwarf pine zone and in open subalpine forests on calcareous soils. The general distribution extends into
the Eastern and Central Alps and the mountains of the Balkans. In Slovenia, it is most common in the Alps, but it can
be also found in valleys, where it has survived as an Ice Age relict.
As the hairy alpenrose is one of the Alpine plants that used to be a must in every bouquet of mountain flowers, the
collectors of folk names managed to obtain numerous terms for this plant all over Slovenia.
Rhododendron luteum Sweet – Common (Yellow) Azalea
Slovenia is home to three Rhododendron species. The hairy alpenrose
(Rhododendron hirsutum) and the rusty-leaved alpenrose (Rhododendron
ferrugineum) are red-flowered Alpine species. Much more unusual, however, is
the yellow azalea, about which our prominent botanist Tone Wraber wrote that
this is “in all respects a very noble plant.”
The yellow azalea is endowed with bright yellow and very fragrant flowers. It
is a usually more than one metre high bush, which sheds the leaves in autumn.
In our country it was found for the first time as late as after World War II,
attracting a lot of attention among botanists. Although the opinion prevailed
that it was native to Slovenia, it has not been clarified as yet whether it is a
relict from the Tertiary or had settled here only after the Ice Age.
The yellow azalea prospers in acidified deciduous forests in the vicinity of Ljubljana, Boštanj and Brusnice near Novo
mesto.
The general distribution extends in eastern Europe, Asia Minor and in the Caucasus. Of its localities in Asia Minor and
in the Caucasus we are reminded by its other name, ‘Pontic azalea’.
In the Juliana Botanical Garden it was planted for the first time by Prof Ciril Jeglič in the 1960s. Later on, however, the
bush fell to ruin. We planted it anew, and when almost dry it began to bud again and came into bloom.
Salvia glutinosa L. – Sticky Clary
This plant is a member of the family Lamiaceae, formerly Labiatae, named so
after the two-lipped corolla. The flowers are bilaterally symmetrical, and the
corolla is divided into an upper and lower lip.
The sticky sage derives its name after its sticky calyx and stem, which are
covered by thick glandular hairs. The corolla is pale yellow, the upper lip
hood- or sickle-shaped, the lower lip with reddish brown spots and stripes.
The species can be found in forests, on forest edges, amongst tall herbs and on
embankments from the lowlands to the montane belt all over Slovenia. Its
general distribution extends to central and southern Europe, reaching towards
the east as far as the Himalayas.