Betty Ford Alpine Gardens

and Denver Botanic Gardens Expedition to Chile February 2001 Nicola Ripley (BFAG) and Panayoti Kelaidis (DBG)

Funded by NARGS (North American Rock Garden Society) DBG and BFAG

The expeditalion goal was to study and photograph the high alpines of the Andes and collect seed from plants suitable for growing in Colorado, wherever possible. We also hoped to secure botanical relation ships between our two organizations and foster new relationships between botanists in North and South America. We anticipate that our photographs and collections will help to increase peoples understanding and appreciation of the spectacular flora of the Andes.

In order to get the most out of a short one-month, we chose the high Cordillera between Santiago in Chile and Bariloche in Argentina. One of the most important factors in our decision was the involvement of John and Anita Watson. Originating from the UK John is recognized as the leading authority on South American alpines; he authored a book with Anita on the alpine plants of Chile and wrote the South American sections of the Encyclopaedia of Alpines. Anita also is a respected botanist specializing in bromeliads, of which Chile has many.

In partnership with John and Anita we began our expedition at the ski area of Portillo, about 80 km north of Santiago, a major artery between Argentina and Chile and the site of the 1966 International Ski Championships. As the road winds steeply up a series of sharpening switchbacks we had many "firsts' - first Calceolaria in the wild, the very common yellow streamside plant Calceolaria biflora, first wild nasturtium Tropaeolum polyphyllum, first rosulate viola, Viola atropurpurea, and our first Alstromeria, the shell pink Alstromeria spathulata lining the shoreline of the intense blue lake, Laguna del Inca..

Our second port of call was the combined ski areas of Valle Nevado and La Parva. While Santiago baked at 95F in its pollution cloud, only about 50km away these ski areas are cool, clean, and deserted. The difference between here and the Fort Range of Colorado with its mass exodus to the mountains was incredible.

The only plausible explanation is the lack of signage in Santiago that will defeat all but the most persistent traveler.

Firsts on the high-level hiking route between Valle Nevado and La Parva were our first Nototriche compacta, a true alpine cushion only found at high elevations, and first real abundance of rosulate violas, very large specimens of Viola atropurpurea and Viola congesta. Highlights were carpets of the lovely orange nasturtium, Tropeolum nubigenum as we headed down into La Parva.

Back to Santiago, we headed south on the pan American Highway to Pasa de Vergara. John had not visited this area for many years, which heightened the anticipation. In this part of the Andes the climate is very similar to Colorado, with hot dry summers and a consistent winter snowpack. Treeline is somewhat lower at about 5,000 to 6,000feet.

As we waited for bulldozers to open the road from a recent landslide, we looked at a streamside site of Mimulus nyandeanus, formerly known as Mimulus 'Andean Nymph', a beautiful pale pink, mottled monkey flower discovered here and described by John many years ago and now commonly in cultivation. This was a beautiful spot, with bushes of wild Fuschia growing along the streamsides and three different species of Claceolaria.

When we were able to continue the road rose steeply, past the site of a popular mineral spa and then up through spectacular fields of Shizanthus grahamii. Towards the top of the pass at about 8,000 feet, a steep scree field caught our eye and revealed Tropaeolum leptophyllum, Tarasa humilis, Montiopsis tricolor and M. gayana. We collected seed of these brightly colored Montiopsis species, if we can grow them they will be stunning addition to the rock garden. The top of the pass and the Argentinean border turned out to be a beautiful lush meadow with grazing herds of cows and horses. Volcan Peteroa, sitting quietly at the top of the pass, apparently lunged into action shortly after we left according to the newspaper.

Maule was our next destination, another high pass, this time with a large artificial lake created for irrigation, Laguna del Maule. The scenery here was also quite different; only about 120km (80 miles) due south of the dry and stark valleys leading to Pasa de Vergara, Maule is lush and green, with Chilean Incense Cedar (Austocedrus chilensis) on the steep mountain slopes and the beautiful shrub Collettia in the understory. The volcanic nature of the geology was apparent with impressive columnar jointing and outcrops of black obsidian on the hillsides. The lake from a distance appeared to be a barren dry area but looking closer we found an unbelievable spectacle of Viola cotyledon growing like a ground cover on the hot scree alongside Oxalis adenophylla in full bloom. Proceeding around the lake we stopped at numerous wet seeps, carpeted with Calceolaria biflora, Pinguicula chilensis, Calandrinia affinis and C. cochaguensis. On screes above we photographed more rosulate violas, with beasutiful specimens of Viola glacialis and V. cotyledon. In fading light we continued on to the top of the pass where we were greeted by the incredible sight of Peak Campanario, in English, the Belltower. A fine end to the day.

Of course, car troubles are ubiquitous with plant expeditions and ours was no exception, with an overheated radiator in John's jeep. The delay meant a day sorting out seeds in Talca and an unexpected addition to the itinerary, a visit to Vilches National Park.

With another dramatic change in scenery, we started the steep long climb to the top of Vilches, through our first southern beech, (Nothofagus sp) forest. These magnificent trees are extremely important timber sources in South America. Although related to the beech (Fagus sp) of the northern hemisphere, they are found almost entirely in South America and Australia, reminiscent of a time when Antarctica, South America and Antarctica were joined. In fact this was a feature of the distribution of many of the South American genera.

After a tough climb of over five hours we reached a fascinating section of krummholz Nothofagus at tree line, here about 6,000feet and then the alpine screes above. Carpeted in the dwarf yellow Alstromoeria (A. pseudospathulata) the screes were stunning with the surprising bonus of a beautiful orange orchid, (Chloraea nudilabea)

The next port of call was Volcan Lliama, about 400km south on the Pan American Highway and certainly one of the highlights of the trip. The excitement mounted on the long drive down the highway as a string of classic cone shaped volcanoes began to appear to the east. Volcan Lliama appears just as a child would draw a volcano, with a perfect snow covered cone and steam rising from the top, its huge bulk dominating the landscape from many miles away. The slopes of the volcano are home to the strangely beautiful Monkey-Puzzle Tree or Chilean Pine (Araucaria araucana). Another important genus confined to S. America, Australia and islands of the South Pacific, this tree is protected in Chile.

We parked at the extent of the Araucaria and walked onto the barren slopes of the volcano covered with dry ash and a pumice-like rock. Soon the rock revealed Chaetenthera villosa, with its huge stemless, yellow flowers on balls of fuzzy silver hairs and a new rosulate viola, Viola flehemannii. That evening we camped on the slopes of the volcano and watched the sun go down behind the Araucaria, a truly memorable experience.

The next day found us travelling a rough road around the flanks of the Volcano, through Araucaria woods full of the tall yellow Alstroemeria aurea, which is successfully grown in cultivation. Heading east through Lonquimay and a bizarre train tunnel made into a road, our intention was to cross into Argentina at Pino Hachado. However, this was not to be; the Chilean customs officials did no like the paperwork we presented to take a Chilean rental car into Argentina and refused us passage. Panayoti's well developed goatee and our dirty clothes may not have helped, but the result was that, at this point, we parted company from the Watsons and proceeded south.

Determined not to be defeated Panayoti and I jumped back on the Pan American Highway and headed south 300km to Osorno, where we headed east towards Argentina to try our hand with a different set of border officials. Our plan worked and we were allowed into Argentina, and were soon on our way to Bariloche. At this latitude, the west (Chilean) side of the Andes is almost temperate rain forest, with huge tree ferns and native Chilean rhubarb, growing between numerous large lakes and is known as the 'Lake District'. On the adjacent east (Argentinean) side of the Andes are the dry steppes of Patagonia. With a cold, arid climate similar to Colorado, this was our next objective.

Dropping down from the high Andean pass of Paso Cardenal, we followed the shores of Lago Nahuelhuapi towards Bariloche. It was incredible scenery, with the long sinuous blue glacial lake, steeply sloping cliff sides and a backdrop of snowcapped peaks. Bariloche was quite a shock after the rural towns of Chile. Nestled against the shore of the lake, Bariloche is like Vail or Chamonix, with Swiss style houses, terrace cafes and a general air of affluence that we had not encountered in Chile.

Our destination however was not the lakeshore or the cafes, but Cerro Cathedral, an imposing mountain just outside Bariloche, which is an important ski destination in winter. This was important to us because cable cars that run in the summer whisked us from the valley floor in a matter of minutes and deposited us at about 7,000feet near the top of the mountain. Immortalized by Rolfe in his article 'One man one week, one mountain', our two man one day visit was also memorable. Like true alpinists we headed first for the top of the peak and were rewarded with stunning mountain and lake views in all directions. The tiny yellow Oxalis erythrorrhiza was in full bloom along with Loasa nana, purple Oxalis adenophylla, Ourisia racemosa, various Senecio and Perezia species and Naussavia pygmaea. Nestled amongst the rocks that form the 'Cathedral' was the delightful yellow Calceolaria lagunae-blancae, which given its high elevation habit and love of dry rocky places might be a good candidate for Vail. Nearby, we found another rosulate viola, Viola sacculus, with its stemless white flowers on the traditional congested leaf rosette. The highlight of the day came next with a late melting snow patch revealing Ranunculus semiverticillatus, in full bloom and just emerging from the cover of snow. This is a stunning buttercup with huge stemless white blooms over lacy foliage, endemic to this region of Patagonia. With time fast running out we got back on the first of the three chairlifts heading down the mountain. Nearing the bottom of the lift Panayoti spotted red against a small stream flowing under the lift. We jumped off to check it out and found the streamside lined with the bright scarlet Ourisia poeppigii.

Back on the road and heading north through Patagonia we traveled through beautiful desolate steppe landscapes dominated by the spiny Mulinum spinosum. The next town on our itinerary was San Martin de Los Andes, a Bavarian style, upscale version of Bariloche, with neatly trimmed rose gardens and beautifully mowed lawns, an Argentinean holiday destination. Again our thoughts were elsewhere on Cerro Chapelco, the nearby ski mountain. Similar in routine to Cerro Cathedral, with our remaining days rapidly vanishing, we took a chairlift to the rocky summit. Immediately off the lift we found carpets of our last rosulate viola (Viola dasyphylla), bringing the total to eight for the trip. The huge orange heads of Montiopsis skottsbergii looked surreal against the dark rock screes. Further along the ridge we found our favorite Calceolaria lagunae-blancae, the strange Combera paradoxa, and Ourisia fragrans. As the rocks got steeper and the drops off to the side got larger we struggled on until good sense got the better part of valor and we decided to return to level ground and be content with our day's findings.

This was to be our last destination on our expedition and what faced us now was the long haul up through Argentina, back across the border to Chile near the impressive Volcan Lanin and then about 900km back up to Los Andes via the, now familiar, Pan American Highway.

We feel extremely privileged to have visited such a spectacular part of the world with such a concentration of magnificent alpine plants. I would encourage anyone to visit this part of the Andes, although a good knowledge of Spanish is a must as is a good flora!