Reunion Island and Jardin des Parfums et des Epices

  

by Diana Studer

- gardening for biodiversity

 in Cape Town, South Africa

 

Splendid birthday 5

 

We arrived at Reunion Island at sunrise (in November 2023). To see this, I will be up early. Our tugs were Volcan! and Bougainville (the man for whom Bougainvillea was named - French admiral and explorer contemporary with James Cook)

 

Sunrise arrival at Reunion

Along the shore an unexpected elevated freeway in 'tropical France'. Concrete block number 13 along the breakwater, so they can monitor storm movement. Ship shuttle then local bus to a large and very French shopping mall - with prices also in familiar Swiss francs. Temple Mariamen bus stop unmissable! Shuttle again to get free WiFi - and a nasty scrum at the bus, as one impatient thug insisted on shoving his way on while the crammed bus was offloading. Not nearly enough shuttle buses for such a humungous ship.

 

Bus stop at the mall in Reunion

Next day our journey round the island. To (St Denis) St Dni for locals, on that elevated freeway - recently built against rockfalls on the old road. Bagasse (sugarcane waste) is burnt for power, with solar and wind turbines.

Notre Dame des Laves church in St Rose was our first stop. The church split the lava flow in April 1977, and stands as a memorial and active Catholic church.

 

St Rose church

Madonna of the Lava - Notre Dame des Laves - La Metisse 77 sculpted from basalt with tears running down her cheeks - she has ferns growing in her hair. Seems a brutal habitat for ferns, but spores blowing in the wind, and the dark lava catches dew near the sea?

 

Madonna of the Lava

At the foot of the lava flow in 2007. Lichen which can colonise lava. Sword fern and polypody also thriving here.

 

Foot of the lava flow in 2007

Lunch at Le Cap Mechant where I saw tropicbirds with long white tails.

 

Tropicbird

And plants I had only seen on iNaturalist before. Scaevola taccada fan flower growing on lava at the sea shore. That wicked cape below a gentle lawn of indigenous Manila grass, seeds blown in on the wind and thriving on lava in moisture from sea spray! Screw pine Pandanus utilis - named for the leaf scars which spiral up the stem like the thread of a screw.

 

Le Cap Mechant

Jardin des Parfums et des Epices

 

Garden of Perfumes and Spices. Who knew - cinnamon leaves are also fragrant. Vanilla orchid is a climber with pods - brought Bourbon vanilla pods back for my sabbatiCAT niece. Between that local garden guide and iNat I hope to name my pictures. Dendrobium fimbriatum - the lip is fimbriate, divided into narrow lobes.

 

Bourbon vanilla

Ornamental pink bananas (can eat but beware of seeds) and pink pineapple. Coco pod for chocolate fans.

 

Pink bananas

Four gingers. Chunky yellow bud shampoo ginger. Spiral ginger with the stem spiralling up. Smaller Alpinia purpurata. Flamboyant red torch ginger with emerging orange flowers.

 

Four gingers

Two epiphytes. Lush shell pink bracts Medinilla magnifica. Cinderella sister Medinilla speciosa.

Commonorgarden Anthurium

 

Rosie and friends

String of stars Heliotropium. Jack fruit has lots of edible uses. Euphorbia with thorny stem. Large epiphytic fern is Asplenium. Five fingers in arum family. Red Flaming Sword bromeliad.

 

Jack fruit

Four Heliconia. Primary red yellow and blue. Orange zigzag with blue tips - parrot's beak. Chunky red has 'strelitzia' leaves. Slender orange.

 

Four Heliconia

Curved blue trumpet with orange throat Thunbergia. White flowers emerge on golden shrimp plant (from Peru). Yellow flowers down below tall leaves for Calathea (related to gingers and bananas) prayer plant (leaves fold closed overnight). Red 'bouquet' of Ixora

 

Golden shrimp plant

A long day, including rush hour traffic, but we caught our ship, just in time for dinner and departure. About 200 kilometres. There ends a Splendid birthday.

 

1 Our ship and Trieste

2 Cruising around Greece

3 Suez Canal to the Red Sea

4 Mauritius and Pamplemousses garden

 

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Pictures by Diana Studer

of Elephant's Eye on False Bay

 

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