Nature in Greece | Mountains, lakes, forests, fauna and flora
Today’s colour in Zagori is red!
It is the beginning of October and foliage is on it’s way. Some hints are these red forest fruit and leaves. Crabapples Rosa canina or dog roses Crataegus or Howthorn Unknown (to me) red wild mushroom
Amanita caesarea
Amanita caesarea, commonly known in English as Caesar’s mushroom, is a highly regarded edible mushroom in the genus Amanita, native to Zagori, Greece. This mushroom was a favorite of early rulers of the Roman Empire hence it’s name Caesarea. It was known to and valued…
Autumn mushrooms
Autumn is the best time to go hunting for mushrooms. The past few weeks were quite rainy for the season so when the temperature rose a bit and the sun shone the magic world of the fungi made it’s glorious appearance in the forests…
Bears in Pindos, Greece
Brown bear distribution range in Greece comprises 2 distinct nuclei of unequal size, covering a total of about 11,000 km², and seems to have stabilized for the last 20 years after dramatic regression in the 19th century. The study area for the ecological analysis…
Wildflower photos
Greece constitutes the lower edge of the Balkan Peninsula and is characterized both by its mountainous relief and its multitude of islands. Its modern form evolved over the last 10 million years with the sinking of some parts of Aegaeis and the uplifting of others…
Foliage in the mountains of Zagori
The melting of hues from green, to yellow, to burnt orange and reds begins as early as mid-October in the region of Central Zagori in Epirus. The actual process of change in the forests of Zagori begins in October and as the warm weather wanes the…
Crocus (saffron)
Greek: κρόκος Crocus is a genus in the family Iridaceae. Saffron Crocus bears up to four flowers, each with three vivid crimson stigmas, which are the distal end of a carpel. Together with the styles, or stalks that connect the stigmas to their host plant,…
Crabapples
Greek: άγρια μήλα The crab apple was the most important ancestor of the cultivated apple, over 6,000 varieties having been bred over the ages (over two-thirds now extinct). The timber of the crab apple is uniform in texture and if dried slowly, is excellent…
Greek mountain oregano
Greek: ρίγανη Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum (Greek oregano) is related to the herb marjoram, oregano also being known as wild marjoram. It is a perennial, although it is grown as an annual in colder climates, as it often does not survive the winter months. It…
