WILD BEGONIA
I hadn't walked half a mile before finding my first begonia, a small, slender one with big flowers, shown in the picture. Apparently it's too dry in the valley for begonias, for I've not seen them there. Begonias like moisture, and up on that ridge among the clouds begonias have their moisture. Eight begonia species are listed for the Reserve. On the Internet I find descriptions and photos of seven of those eight but the one in my picture isn't any of those. What's in the picture is either the last one, Begonia franconis, or an unlisted species. |
We have wild begonias
here. Last Saturday I hitched a ride with Pancho, who was carrying supplies to ladies in a
highland village whose sowing cooperative is being helped by the reserve. Leaving Jalpan
we saw that surrounding mountaintops were all chopped off by clouds. Along muddy,
gravel-and-dirt roads we bounced and slid into those clouds and when we got to the ridge
top and I left the truck the cloud-fog was so dense we could see only a few truck-lengths
away. It was drizzling and 63°. During the rest of the day I hiked back into the lowlands
just for the pure pleasure of seeing the roadside flora up close, and of descending
through clouds into a lush, vibrantly green valley through which a little stream roared
carrying white water.