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| G.asclepiadea |
In areas with more constant water supply, such as by the
sides of streams or under trees, there are a wide variety of herbaceous plants
and shrubs, many of which are known as ornamental garden plants or as culinary
or medicinal herbs. One of the most ornamental of those in flower at the time
of our visit is the Willow Gentian, Gentiana asclepiadea. This is a much taller
growing plant than the alpine gentians more familiar to most gardeners, and
reached around 70cm in some of the clumps we found – these were mostly by the
edge of streams. In cultivation they need humus-rich, moist soil in shade,
similar to their native habitat, which is primarily montane woodland across
Europe from the Alps eastwards. Although the usual form has deep blue flowers,
pale forms are also found – see the example below:
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| G.asclepiadea - pale form |
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| M.aquatica |
All around the Mediterranean various species of mint, their
cultivars and hybrids are used in cooking, herbal teas, and medicines, and we
found two species living in the same habitat as the Willow Gentian. One was the
creeping Corsican Mint Mentha requienii, which is used to flavour the liqueur crème
de menthe and in the UK is used as a ground cover, and the other was the much
taller Water Mint, M.aquatica. This is sometimes grown in water gardens, but
like all mint species it is quite invasive, and it also has a huge natural
range across Europe and North Africa into western Asia. It hybridises readily,
and many of these are grown in cultivation, most notably perhaps the hybrid
with M.spicata (Spearmint), which produces the hybrid M.x piperita –
peppermint.
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| D.viscosa with Clouded Yellow butterfly |
In dryer areas more drought-tolerant plants are found. Most
vividly along the sides of the roads were Ditricchia viscosa, Stink Aster,
which gets its name for pretty obvious reasons and also protects itself with
sticky leaves, which I presume cuts down on evaporation in hot sunshine.
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| S.brevifolium |
Also drought resistant are the Short-Leaved Stonecrop, Sedum
brevifolium, which we found in the centre of the island. At high elevations
plants face higher than average levels of UV, and many protect themselves with
pigments in the leaves, which is why this stonecrop is so red.
A great many other plants were in flower as well, despite
the time of year, but it would take too long to write about all of them, so
enjoy these below:
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| Wild Chicory |
Next time, I will finish off the shrubs and trees, then move
on to the animal life we saw.
(Photos are mine)
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