We were lucky enough to spend last weekend at the holiday house of some friends at the
Plaine des Palmistes, a small town of 4000 inhabitants in
Reunion's interior at about 1000m altitude.
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| large cross on the hillside, Bras des Calumets |
At 1100-1200m we were actually a little higher than the main village, as we were in a hamlet called Bras des Calumets (which is actually not far from the start of
my recent Piton Texor hike).
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| tree fern frond |
The house we stayed in is surrounded by over 4500 m2 of land which is covered by lots of fruit trees and also some tea bushes.
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| tea flower (camellia sinensis) |
Although I've had the chance to see tea cultivation in many parts of the world*, and have occasionally seen tea flowers, this was the first time I'd seen the seed pod of the tea bush.
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| the distinctively shaped tea seed pod |
There was a period during its history when Reunion grew tea (1729-1960s), and occasionally small plantations can still be found dotted around the island, but I believe a combination of factors (cyclones and lack of profitability) put paid to it as a viable option for the island's agricultural future.
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| honeysuckle |
There were a great many
goyavier (
strawberry guava) bushes as well, some of them obviously planted by the previous owners to make an orchard. It didn't take long to fill a pail to the brim with juicy red fruit.
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| Goyavier bush (strawberry guava; psidium cattleianum) |
There were also some of the rarer lemon guava (goyavier blanc), not to be confused with the larger common guava.
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| lemon guava (psidium littorale var. littorale) |
There were also many citrus trees - lemons and mandarin oranges. They prefer these higher altitudes to the coast.
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| lemons |
There were quite a few ginger lilies, but as this is not their season they were not flowering (see
here for pictures of them flowering).
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| out-of-season Ginger lilies (hedychium gardnerianum) |
Lots of brightly-coloured
Torch lilies also grow in profusion in the garden.
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| Torch lilies (Kniphofia) |
Usnea lichen grows well at this altitude too. It's very sensitive to air pollution, and under bad conditions it may grow no more than a few millimetres, if at all. Where the air is unpolluted, it can grow very long, like in the photo.
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| long strands of Usnea lichen |
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| geranium |
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| big toad |
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| Hydrangea (aka hortensia) |
I've always been fascinated by the
water-repellent leaves of the
taro plants (see
here for a better photo of this 'lotus effect'). Our friends have planted several in their kitchen garden. A
Reunion Creole proverb says "
Comme (goutte d') eau sur feuille de songe", literally "like (a drop) of water on a taro leaf", meaning "it doesn't bother me".
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| Taro (colocasia esculenta) |
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| slug on toadstool |
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