Thursday 24 October 2013

Plants and Flowers of Tristan...

Here are a few photos of the many shrubs, small plants, and flowers that grow on the slopes of Tristan da Cunha. I'm not a horticulturist and so I don't know the scientific names, but I hope you enjoy this small selection of photos!

Daisy-like flower on Pig Bite.
Cute little purple flowers near the Settlement.
Pretty pink flower on the way to the Potato Patches.
Tiny mushrooms pushing through the soil.
Very cool plant - like many inverted bells.
Many small ferns push through the grass.
This plant is abundant on Pig Bite. I believe it is the Island Berry plant.

3 comments:

Sunset Surf Lodge said...

I've enjoyed your photos of Tristan Da Cuhna. When the islanders were evacuated to England in 1961 my parents travelled on the same ship, from Las Palmas to Southampton and my mother used took cine camera pictures of some of the islanders. The islanders told her how they had to take to their fishing boats when the volcano erupted and stay out at sea till they were rescued and brought to South Africa, then to England. The film still survives among our family 8mm collection, a bit blurred because the film of that era deteriorated, but still an interesting of some islanders on their voyage. I imagine the lives of the islanders have changed greatly since those days, for the better.

Murray Tristan Crawford said...

Thanks for your comment. That's very interesting, and I'm sure the video must be quite amazing to watch.

When the volcano erupted they went across to neighbouring Nightingale Island (some 20 miles across the open sea) and from there were picked up by a passing ship that brought them to Cape Town.

Their time in the UK certainly changed the lives of the islanders, and since then they have many modern amenities. But traditional fare such as working the potato patches, fishing, spinning and knitting wool, etc, survive today. Tristan is still the remotest inhabited island though - and from what we saw, the islanders love their peaceful home! :-)

Sunset Surf Lodge said...

Thank you for the update on the life is the islanders. It looks like a very beautiful place.