Onosma caucasica Caucasus Endemic
On a hillside route which our leaders had seen through binoculars but never travelled before, we saw some incredible plants at several stops. This one was growing close to where we parked the vans and was a good a specimen of Onosma as I had ever seen before. This was identified as Onosma caucasica by our botanist but I wondered what the etymology of Onosma was.
Would it be "drooping" I wondered - no that would normally be nutans, or yellow - again no that would usually be lutea. It turns out to be "Donkey Smell".
Caucasian Donkey Smell is a more beautiful plant than its name suggests and it is found in Russia, Armenia, Georgia and eastern Turkey i and around the Caucasus mountains.
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| Onosma caucasica No English name |
New Alpine route near Terbida, Russian Caucasus, 28th August 2016
Added on October 6th 2026