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Flowers & Bushes
Cliff
Rose (Cistus monspeliensis)
Description: 50cm, bushy, white flowers, green leaves sometimes with white spot
Environment: On rocky fields with bushes, chalk ground
Blossoms: March-June, one flower blossoms a day
Interesting fact: Used in incense. In older days goats were let into the bushed
and the flowers stuck onto them and then they were picked off the animals. Today
pieces of cloth and leather are dragged through the fields.
High
Chaparral (Euphorbia pulcherrima)
Description: Huge red leaves that are often thought to be the actual flowers,
which are small.
Origin: Mexico, brought to Europe by the Spanish.
Interesting fact: If you tear a leaf a white, milky fluid spills out which can
irritate your eyes. Very poisonous for cats!
Bougainvillea
(Bougainvillea spectabilis)
Description: Bright white, yellow, orange or purple red leaves, small white
flowers
Environment: Often planted by houses.
Blossoms: at night
Origin: Brazil
Interesting fact: Named after admiral Louis de Bougainville who explored South
America. The plant was discovered and named by his botanist in 1768.
Christ's
Thorn (Paliurus spinachristi)
Description: bush with lots of thorns, two different sized horns by each leaf's
base
Environment: Dry ground
Interesting fact: Named after the wreath of Christ, which according to one tradition
was made by this plant.
Crocus
(Crocus flavus)
Description: 8cm, orange red or yellow flowers
Environment: barren ground
Blossoms: April-May
Hyacinth
(Muscari comosum)
Description: 60cm, blue-violet flowers
Environment: fruit gardens or rocky ground
Blossoms: April-May
Interesting fact: Named after Hyacinthus.
Roman
Orchid (Dactylorhiza romana)
Description: 55cm
Environment: sandy or rocky ground
Blossoms: April-May
Orchid
(Ophrys speculum)
Description: 15cm, flower like insect
Environment: grass, chalky ground
Blossoms: April-May
Interesting fact: of the 20 000 species this kind has developed to look like
the insects that spread their pollen. Even more specific: the flower insect
looks like a female, so the males try to mate them and so the spores stick onto
their bodies.
Daffodil
(Asphodelus microcarpus)
Description: 1,5m, white flowers
Environment: barren, dry ground
Interesting fact: The ancient Greeks saw this flower as a symbol of death, and
they thought Hades was covered with daffodils. According to Theophrastus this
was a delicacy to be fried. During the World War I it was used as an emergency
provision.