Chapter 3 Plants, Critters
January 31, 2020, a hike to the Cuevas de Nerja.
What? There are amphibians in Mediterranean Spain? Indeed, though it takes some looking for water and shady moist spots. This is likely (it lives with friends in a small cistern which stores water for a local market garden):
Iberian Water Frog - Pelophylax perezi
Further up highway N-340 (the Costa Del Sol non-express highway) is a very large steep gorge. From the bridge, we can see a small mixed farm, with every type of animal and crop well-mixed. These geese (below) are on this farm. While passing, we noticed a newborn kid (the original goat kind). The farmer picked it up and lured mom back to the stall with the kid in tow.
Our goal today is the Botanico Jardin at the Cuevas de Nerja. This Botanic Garden features the plant diversity of the Costa del Sol, one of the world's most diverse and numerous plant communities.
Starting at the "agricultural" portion of the garden, we come to a South American native that is a prominent and popular local fruit tree, the Chirimoyo,
Annona cherimola. I bought a few of these just after this educational sojourn and learned the correct eating etiquette. 1. Remove the hard black seeds! They are toxic. Don't eat the skin. Scoop out the flesh. Wow, what a taste sensation. I will let you try it and describe the blend of other fruits. Everyone describes it differently. They are available in local markets. Fruit and tree are shown below.
Below are the leaves of one of the Mediterranean's most important widespread small (15 m) trees: The Carob, Ceratonia siliqua a Fabaceae (legume family). Naturalized in the Western Mediterranean, the Carob is native to the Eastern Mediterranean. It was already widespread during the Roman Empire. The economic importance of Carob is well-known. Here are the facts:
The tree grows wild in The Sierras of Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama Natural Park. We found many on one of our guided excursions well into the park. Our guide explained another use of the beans during the Greek and Roman Empires. This is explained in the above Wikipedia link. For those who want to read on without the link, here is the explanation:
"The unit "carat", used for weighing precious metal and stones, also comes from κεράτιον, as alluding to an ancient practice of weighing gold and gemstones against the seeds of the carob tree by people in the Middle East. The system was eventually standardized, and one carat was fixed at 0.2 gram.
In late Roman times, the pure gold coin known as the solidus weighed 24 carat seeds (about 4.5 grams). As a result, the carat also became a measure of purity for gold. Thus, 24-carat gold means 100% pure, 12-carat gold means the alloy contains 50% gold."
For more on the carat and its etymology:
After returning, I intend to grow a few Carobs as house plants.
If you have seen any of my Nerja, Spain photos, you will have noticed that palm trees abound. There are many species of trees planted in gardens, parks and road sides. The only NATIVE palm locally is the Palmito, below. It doesn't get larger than this.
This attractive shrub beckons the eyes in both natural areas and gardens around Nerja. From afar, it looks like an Olive, until you notice the yellow flowers, and the leaves, which are not "quite right" to be an Olive. The Spaniards call it Olivilla (little olive),
Cneorum tricoccon.
Below (sign above) is Arto, perhaps my favourite local shrub!
Maytenus senegalensis. Referred to in Africa as "The Magical Plant", this locally common shrub:
"
Generally, the Maytenus senegalensis plant is traditionally used in folk medicine for the treatment of a number of diseases and disorders including arthritis, rheumatism, skin tumor, influenza, arthritis, bronchitis, diarrhea, dysentery, gastrointestinal diseases, hemorrhoids, impotence, inflammation, menstrual disorders, nausea, osteoarthritis, pain, rheumatism, tumors, virility, eye infections, nausea, snakebites, severe headache, and also as an aphrodisiac."
When I visited, the Arto was not flowering or fruiting. Look it up, please. Find examples in bloom/with fruit. Enjoy the spectacle.
There is much ecological interpretation within the Botanical Garden. The sign below "Between Habitats" explains the layers of different species with changes in altitude and orientation on the slopes of Maro Cerro Gordo National Park, where steep cliffs, just east of Nerja, reach the Mediterranean. The mix of habitats results in large scale diversification.
This plant is in my garden. It is native here: Grape Hyacinth,
Muscari neglectum blooming in January! It is as a member of the Lily family.
Below, another endemic native plant of the western Mediterranean (the Spanish sign above refers to Ibero-magrebi, where magrebi refers back to the Arab word "maghreb", which is "where the sun sets", meaning the West). This plant grows wild all over the mountain sides. It is a legume (Fabaceae), thus able to fix its own nitrogen in its roots. With its relative, the Spanish Broom,
Spartium junceum, the plant sports a mass of bright yellow flowers, dressing Andalucian hillsides in golden hues in February and March. The small leaves don't last long. Most of this plants photosynthesis is performed by the stiff green stems, which make this one tough plant! You learn quickly when hiking in the mountains to keep away from the broom plants.
Friends Paul and Cathy, who are biologists, wanted to see the forest bearing the largest of these trees, pictured below. Tejo is Yew, and the local Yew (below), though not common any longer, can grow into a very large, old tree. The Yew forest in the local National Parks lend their name to one of the parks and to the mountain range=Tejeda, or Yew Forest. One large Yew forest remains in Tejeda. It is difficult to access from Nerja, though.
Aromatic plants are plentiful in the mountains. Many of our common kitchen herbs originate from this region, and they flavour hikes into the national parks. Italian Curry is reminiscent of our Pimeapple Weed,
Matricaria discoidea ("our" because it has escaped from its Asian origins to become common in North American roadsides), and both are members of the Aster Family. Yes, it does give off a "curry-like" fragrance, though it is not related to any curry spices.
One of the common pine trees locally is Aleppo Pine, which is more at home in the Eastern Mediterranean, but was extensively planted here during massive reforestation projects,
This plant, Jara pringosa,
Cistus ladanifer, IS a wild native. It is a small shrub that flowers at the end of January. The flower below is shown full size, 5-8 cms. is average. What a natural beauty!
Below, in Spanish, Zahareña, Sideritis reverchonii, in English commonly known as Turkish Mountain Tea (along with several other Mediterranean species of the same Genus), a medicinal plant native to the 1000M elevation of the mountains of Southern Spain and it is endangered. Sideritis species are frequently used in folk medicine due to their antiinflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-spasmodic, anti-rheumatic, digestive and diuretic activities. Many such plants do yield substances of value for medicine. ALthough not the only rationale for conservation, medicinal properties do often turn out to be central to new treatments for diseases.
The leg-scratching Brooms are a common feature of both wild areas and gardens in south Spain. They paint the landscape in gold. Don't walk through them. If you do, you may need a package of bandages,
Yes there is a city in the USA which bears this name. Spaniards name places after trees: Alamo (Poplar/Cottonwood) and Fresno (Ash) being two examples.
Fraxinus angustifolia. This species is widespread in central and South Europe and North Africa, and not one Emerald Ash Borer to be seen. We saw it often in our hikes in ravines and canyons.
Subspecies of Wormwood,
Artemisia campestris, are found throughout the northern hemisphere, including a "canadensis" species. It is an inconspicous small-leaved shrub, and aromatic like so many of the plants locally. In many parts of the world, Artemisias are used in traditional medicine.
The plant genus Rhamnus causes heartburn to naturalists living in our region, as two exotic species have escaped from cultivation and they are highly invasive. The Mediterranean Buckthorn, though, is more suited to the dry mountainous regions of Andalucia, Spain. The berries are water filled, and are sought by birds and reptiles. They are poisonous ot mammals.
Zamarilla,
Teucrium eriocephalum, one of the Germanders (in English), like so many of the plants in this botanical gardenm is ONLY found in this region. Many of the local species which grow in the first 1000 meters of elevation in the dry slopes of Andalucia are threatened by development. Tejeda National Park and Cerro Maro Gordo are providing a welcome refuge for many of these species. We got to tour both parks with botanist Cathy Keddy. MOre on this in later editions.
When the Moors took over in the 8th century, they named the WEST part of the Southern Iberian Peninsula al-Gharb or "Algarve", and the EAST part al-undulus or "Andalucia".
Next: Chapter 4
Lunch in a House in the Mountains
