Plants & their Uses

Plants & their Uses

The region is well known for its montane mediterranean flora, with a bountiful bouquet of aromatic species.

To withstand the summer drought, the Spanish populations of many European annual plants have adopted an interesting growth form: it is common to see small, woody, bushy and sturdy plants of thyme, lavender, other aromatics of the family Lamiaceae (formerly Labiatae) as well as, for example, flax (familiy Linaceae) and cornflowers (Centaurea spp., family Asteraceae, formerly Compositae).

Although springtime (mid-April to mid-June) remains the best period overall for learning the flora, and for collecting wild food plants (see also the section on Gardening) there are plenty of medicinal and other useful plants to discover in summer - lavender, chicory, poppies, mullein (Verbascum spp., family Scrophulariaceae).

Such floral richness is possible thanks to the very rare use in the region of herbicides and pesticides, and token use of artificial fertilisers: wild flowers and fruits, and honey from the local hives, are safe and sound. In the autumn, we run workshops on making drinks and preserves from berries and fruits.

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