This spring I went for a walk to the Pouzdranska steppe which is a very special place south of Brno I discovered only this spring. It was april or may and the surrounding decidous forests were shining with the sharp leafy green that enlivens the landscape after the monotonous grey-white-bluish colour of winter. When walking among the wineyards which spread on the surrounding hills and below the steppe I spotted this red blossom on the south side of a small hill warming itself, gracing an edge of a field. Thanks to my early spring enthusiasm about plants and flowers, I was carrying with me an encyclopaedia called Nase kvetiny by Milos Deyl and Kvetoslav Hisek which I consuled upont discovering the plant. Summer pheasant's eye (Adonis aestivalis L., Hlavacek letni - the red plant in the right top corner of the blog) is an annual weed growing on calcareous soil in warm areas. In the Czech republic it is a critically endangered species.If you wish to see this beautiful plant before it disappears for good (that's rather a pesimistic approach) I highly recommend you make a trip to the Pouzdranska steppe. The steppe is a unique place for various reasons. V Grulich, one of the authors of a chapter 9 called "Significant Localities" in a publication called Pannonian Steppe Grasslands In Moravia (http://steppe.at/downloads/Tschechien_nurText.pdf) describes the steppe in these words:
Pouzdřany Steppe (Pouzdřanská step)
One of the most famous localities of thermophilic steppe vegetation extends on the slopes of the Strážná hill above Pouzdřany. The dominant vegetation type here is the continuous cover of the Stipa pulcherrima feather grass, with numerous populations of Tatarian sea kale (Crambe tataria). The core of Pouzdřany Steppe is probably created by a primary non-forest land, which was, however, extended to its present area in the past, after the adjacent thermophilic oak woods were cut down. Until the half of the 20th century the area was used for grazing and growing fruit trees, grape-vine and licorice cultures, the upper edge was traditionally occupied by fields. Significant factors influencing this locality in the long-term were fires and the periodically growing and shrinking colonies of wild rabbits. Due to its accessibility, the locality was a favourite of naturalists from Brno, thus it was thoroughly researched both botanically and entomologically. From the point of view of botany, there seem to be no qualitative changes, but the entomologists report species losses. Management here is, however, still experimental - some time ago, a radical action against acacias was necessary, at present sheep grazing has been under way for a number of seasons. Its influence on the biotopes will have to be regularly evaluated.
The Pouzdřany Steppe National Nature Reserve has been protected since 1956 and its area is 47 ha.
Interestingly enough, a famous Czech poet and one of my favourites, Jan Skacel, wrote a poem about the Pouzdranska steppe. It is called Třmeny. It reads:
Třmeny
V září, když kořen v zemi uhnije
a podzim píská na psí kost,
po stepi vítr žene katránový keř.
Uťatá hlava letí po větru
a je mi úzko, je mi skoro k pláči,
najednou nevím,
jestli k smrti stačí
odhodit křivou šavli,
volat: Neudeř!
V září a v podzimním větru
po stepi běží,
běží na obzoru
kutálen větrem katránový keř.
Blízko je k vraždám, k stínání a zlu,
je blízko k tatarskému koni,
tma roste z trav a z osin kavylu,
mosazné plíšky na postroji zvoní,
udidlo koňskou tlamu rve...
V září a v podzimním větru
po stepi beží,
po pouzdřanské stepi,
kutálen větrem katránový keř.
If you wonder what a Katranovy ker is - the proper name in Czech is Katran tatarsky (Crambe aspera) - and how it can roll on the steppe, the explanation is very simple. This plant is used in some parts of the wrold as a vegetable, in other parts, it is the root that can be found on a plate. But once the plant is past blossoming the part of the plant that is above the ground dries, breaks off and is carried away by the wind on the steppe. Thanks to is shape it really is rolling and uses this movement for spreading seeds (www.botany.cz).
V září, když kořen v zemi uhnije
a podzim píská na psí kost,
po stepi vítr žene katránový keř.
Uťatá hlava letí po větru
a je mi úzko, je mi skoro k pláči,
najednou nevím,
jestli k smrti stačí
odhodit křivou šavli,
volat: Neudeř!
V září a v podzimním větru
po stepi běží,
běží na obzoru
kutálen větrem katránový keř.
Blízko je k vraždám, k stínání a zlu,
je blízko k tatarskému koni,
tma roste z trav a z osin kavylu,
mosazné plíšky na postroji zvoní,
udidlo koňskou tlamu rve...
V září a v podzimním větru
po stepi beží,
po pouzdřanské stepi,
kutálen větrem katránový keř.
If you wonder what a Katranovy ker is - the proper name in Czech is Katran tatarsky (Crambe aspera) - and how it can roll on the steppe, the explanation is very simple. This plant is used in some parts of the wrold as a vegetable, in other parts, it is the root that can be found on a plate. But once the plant is past blossoming the part of the plant that is above the ground dries, breaks off and is carried away by the wind on the steppe. Thanks to is shape it really is rolling and uses this movement for spreading seeds (www.botany.cz).
The pouzdranska steppe belongs to one of the many gardens of my life. It's going to be one of the first places I visit in the spring, and I will again lie down under the beech tree warming myself on the spring sun like a lizard reading Jan Skacel, listening to the birds singing. I will follow Jan Skacel's steps and the steps of many other people who have fallen in love with the place....
