A rather belated entry recalling the wonderful wildflowers we enjoyed on the 3 Rivers Expedition this June. This is only a small sample, including those I’ve managed to identify plus one or two I would very much like others to help out with…

These Rhododendron achroanthum flourish in great numbers around Bigu Heaven Lake.

And while I have your attention, please forgive a little advertising for one upcoming event:

Now back to the flowers:

Rhododendrons were the most common and striking floral feature of this trek. These Rhododendron phaecochrysum overlooked the Xiao Zhongdian valley where our journey began.

Iris bulleyana brightened up our camp toilet.

This Lilium duchartrei grew at around 3,700 meters on the west side of the Baima mountain range.

Allium beesianum.

These Rhododendron floccigerum were among seven varieties of rhododendron spotted around a single lunch site on the Baima range.

My flower book tells me that the Nomocharis forrestii grows in this region; I’m sure this is a Nomocharis, but I’m not convinced it’s a forrestii… 

Phytolacca polyandra, which I also saw a couple of days ago flowering happily in the botanical garden in Copenhagen.

Thanks to Gordon Wallace for identifying this one, a version of which also grows in his back garden in Virginia. Gordon’s is a Japanese Dogwood; I’m assuming this is a Chinese Dogwood, or Cornus kousa var. chinensis.

Meconopsis integrifolia.

Close to the top of the range separating the Mekong and Salween rivers, these are Rhododendron hippophaeoides, the red Rhododendron floccigerum again, and the almost-black Lilium souliei towards the upper-right of the photograph.

Polygonum macrophyllum.

These Rhododendron wardii were all around our campsite high on the Baima range.

Although these were perhaps the commonest flower on our journey, I can’t discover their name.

A kind of primula, very similar to the Primula sikkimensis.

Rhododendron uvarifolium. Possibly. 

Caltha palustris, more popularly known as Marsh Marigold.

Philadelphus delavayi, otherwise known as the Mock Orange.

And finally, this lovely Daylily, which I suspect is non-native, livened up a garden just a couple of hundred meters from the Salween River.