Tapaculos

I did a hike recently with a friend from Puerto de Navacerrada to Cercedilla in the mountains just north of Madrid – it was a lovely autumn day and wonderful to be outside, away from the city.

My natural history lessons for the day?  Rose hips and autumn crocus.

• Rose hips – In Spain, rose hips are called (colloquially) “tapaculos“.  The “tapa” refers to covering or a lid, and “culo” refers to…your backside!  This nickname comes from the fact that the tiny hairs in the rose hips can cause stomach irritation and distress…and you get the point.  When you eat tapaculos, make sure to remove the seeds and hairs!!!

Tapaculos or rose hips – very tasty, but make sure to remove the seeds and hairs unless you are conducting an experiment to find out why the Spaniards call them “tapaculos”.

• Autumn crocus – The famous paella ingredient, saffron, comes from the dried stigma of the Crocus sativus flower that blooms in the fall.  On my hike, I saw a number of autumn-blooming crocus that although were not THE saffron crocus, were lovely in their own diminutive, fragile and almost hidden beauty.

An autumn-blooming crocus, similar to the famous saffron-producing Crocus sativus.