Veiðivötn, Fishing Lakes, are a cluster lakes in the Southern Interior. The lakes are renowned for trout fishing. The area is worth visiting for its magnificent scenery and birdlife. Click to see the slideshow.
Category Archives: Vegetation
Vegetation, plants, flowers
Wild mushrooms
These wild mushrooms, know as Greville’s Bolete or Larch Bolete, are found in forests, near larch trees. We pick them at this time of year, wipe the top and fry them in butter before they go to the freezer.
During winter we use them for soups and sauces. They are mild in flavour but it is worth the while because mushroom hunting is such a nice hobby.
The controversial lupin
The Nootka lupin (Lupinus nootkatensis) is very apparent in the Icelandic landscape at this time of year. Lupin seeds were first imported to Iceland in 1945 and used for land reclamation in desert areas all over the country, – with great results.
The lupin grows in fields in barren land and creates a fertile soil for other plants. In about 30 to 40 years it starts to give way to other plants and that is now happening in the oldest areas. The soil has proved good for forestry.
The lupin has from the start been controversial. Some Icelanders are against land reclamation and view this plant as an alien intruder. Others are concerned because the lupin might eliminate other fragile vegetation such as heather.
Yet another group welcomes this plant and its beautiful blue fields of flowers in the Icelandic landscape.
In Iceland the tradition has been to drive flocks of sheep into the interior where they are allowed to graze the whole summer long. The result of this has been massive land deterioration and erosion. The lupin only grows in areas that are protected against sheep grazing because the sheep love lupin. Therefore there is no need for concern in areas where sheep graze. The bottom line is that the lupin is effective if the aim is to reclaim land and eliminate erosion.