After we had found Dionysia janthina, we decided to stay at the
entrance of this
gorge for the night. Next day we went further along the road to the town
of
Dehbala. Just before this town we saw another gorge entrance and decided
to
have a look. Not far from the entrance we found the first plants of
Dionysia curviflora, but most plants were past flowering. So we decided to
climb
up higher on the sidewall of this gorge, and here we found many plants
still in
flower. Of some of the plants the colour of the flowers already had faded,
others
were still quite fresh. This explains the variety of colours you can see
in the
pictures.
This dionysia was found on the 15th of April 2003,
at altitudes between
2300-2600m. All growing on the northwest side of the gorge, also this
gorge is
not actually part of Shir Kuh although very close to it. Because of the
problems
with our car, we were not able to visit the Shir Kuh range. Its a very
scenic
range, sometimes it looked like we were somewhere in the Alps. One day we
hope to return, and have a closer look!
This dionysia is one of the longest in cultivation, and today there are
various
forms available.
Its an easy species, and can be propagated by cuttings and seed.
