Arlberg in bloom
Flora in the St. Anton am Arlberg region
Summer is short but intense for Arlberg’s vegetation. At alpine altitudes, wildflowers bloom in extraordinary colours and mountain herbs exhibit particularly stimulating effects.
The Arlberg blooms in early summer: as soon as the snow recedes, a vast alpine garden emerges with an amazing variety of mountain flowers, some of which are rare – an alpinum in a class of its own! The most eager early bloomer is the alpine snowbell or Soldanella, a primrose plant with delicate purple flowers. From April onwards, it often flowers in fields of residual snow, exemplifying an intrepid nature that does not let inhospitable conditions slow it down. You could almost call it, “Soldanella, the speedy snowbell.”
Lilies and wild orchids
Somewhat later, other mountain flowers are unable to resist the warming sun and bring beguiling bloom into being: gentians, daffodils, anemones, columbines, bellflowers, hawkweed, fire lilies, Turk's cap, the rare edelweiss, alpine roses and around 25 different species of orchids such as lady's slipper and the black vanilla orchid (Gymnadenia nigra), a perennial species indicative of rough grasslands. It attracts insects with its vanilla scent, but is well protected from grazing cattle, which avoid the intense smell.
Wonders by the wayside
The black vanilla orchid with its chocolate brown head is one of the favourite flowers of Strengen-born hiking and nature guide, Geli Häusl, who draws her guests' attention to little wonders by the wayside. She has the trained eye necessary for detecting unassuming plants that only reveal their magic at second glance. Geli likes to take her guests from Kapall to the Leutkircher Hütte, where this highly protected orchid species can be found from the end of June to August. The Alpine Rose Trail to the Rendlalm is another highlight, when the mountain slopes are ablaze in colourful bloom in June and July. Geli Häusl: "It is also interesting from a geological point of view, because the rusty leaved alpine rose (with rust-coloured leaf underside) grows in the crystalline rock on Mount Rendl, while the hairy alpine rose (with green leaf underside) thrives on the Lechtal Alps.”
Effective spicy herbs
Excursions with Geli Häusl, who is also a nature guide at the "Mountain Yoga Festival St. Anton", are a sensory, often surprising experience. A careful eye is just as integral to these excursions as smelling and tasting. After all, many wild medicinal and aromatic herbs grow on the Arlberg, such as arnica, yarrow, masterwort, thyme or sage. What does Geli Häusl do when the Arlberg summer ends? She opens her one-woman ski school extern and takes her guests on various tours to show them wondrous ice formations shaped by wind and weather.
