Mediterranean Wild Flowers

As many of you know I have a passion for the flora of the Mediterranean area. Our nearest example to this type of flora in Ontario is the Mediterranean House at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton. Plants in the greenhouse at RBG will flower the same time as they do in Portugal since RBG and Portugal are on similar lines of latitude and hence have similar light levels which help initiate flowering. Of course, in Hamilton we have to provide supplemental heating, but if you went to the Mediterranean House in March you would notice that for a greenhouse the temperature is quite cool, however the same plants there will be in flower at the same time as those in Lisboa, Portugal. Throughout this section of the blog you will see many unusual plants that were in flower at the end of March, many of which are in cultivation as garden plants and several that are quite rare including several species of terrestrial orchids.



Cistus landanifer, a common shrub found on dry scrub growing alongside many other species of Cistus, Cytissus and Halimum.

A coastal plant, Silene littorea found growing on the edge of a cliff.

A typical beach habitat, found here would be plants like Cistus and Carpobrotus.

Carpobrotus acinaciformis otherwise commonly know as the Hottentot Fig was introduced from South Africa, both it and the yellow flowered species C. edulis are invasive species and rapidly colonise sand dunes. They were thought to be originally grown for their fruit which resembles a fig(does not taste very nice) and their attractive flower.

The dunes in bloom with Carpobrotus acinaciformis.

Lavandula stoechas, Spanish Lavender in bloom, the pines in the background are Pinus pinea, from which pine nuts are harvested.

More Pinus pinea, typified by its flat crown.

I get quite excited about bulbs and got to see many rare species in bloom, this Narcissus bulbicodium I once tried to grow in the Cuddy Garden with little success.

Tulipa orphanindea found growing on limestone cliffs at about 900m above sea level.

I managed to find two Fritilaria lusitanica in flower, this plant is extremely rare and was found growing in dry scrub. It has never been found by previous botanists in the area we visited. Difficult to find, I found both specimens growing under the branches of Cistus sp.

One of the many orchid species found, in one isolated spot beside a road, Orchis papilionaceae.

A common Euphorbia characias in bloom, like the poinsettia the outer petals (green and brown) of what appear to be the bloom are in facts bracts, which are modified leaves.

Ophrys cretica, a terrestrial orchid.

Ophrys speculum, the flower looks like a female bee. A passing male bee will try to mate with the flower and hence in the process cause the polina to become stuck to its body. It will hopefully visit another bee orchid and release the polina on it thus ensuring pollination. The orchid does not produce nectar thus the bee receives no reward other than a few brief moments of excited anticipation followed by frustration. After several visits to such plants the bees become discouraged (fast learners) and will not visit other bee orchids. Thus the bee orchid must rely of a bunch on naive bees for each pollination.

One of my favourite plants on this trip, Astragalus lusitanicus, I hopefully will see this grown as a garden plant (annual in our climate) when I return.

Ophrys lutea, the yellow bee orchid.

Cistus ladanifer with a sunbathing scarab beetle.