Plants at the Trigono Groves
The sites of Trigono Lamda offer a range of habitats for wild plants to grow on. Petra, the land above the lemon grove, has dry, rocky, slopes typical of a type of terrain known as Garrigue. The higher areas, which are fairly close to the sea, are stony and some plants that grow there maybe be found on a land type known as phrygana. Both of these types are associated with drought tolerant plants.
Lamda snd Delta olive groves are also on hillsides but further inland, where the terrain is less rocky, with heavy clay soil ideal for meadow flowers.
The Lemon Grove and Trigono Grove offer a combination of shade and sun and is home to many biennials, while the triangle offers a steep bank and untilled ground for perennials.
Protecting wild plants
Some plants take many years to colonise an area and one upheaval will set back their re-growth considerably. There is therefore a need to balance carefully between tilling, clearing and hedging to ensure trees receive light and air, without ruining the conditions for slow growing plants. Timing is important; To till before annuals have flowered may seem a good idea from the agricultural tidiness point of view, but at Trigono-Lamda the aim is to allow some seed to fall for the following year's plants. Even so, some major work at the groves has at least a temporary adverse effect on some plants.
Autumn and Winter Plants
Autumn is associated with harvest and therefore fruits rather than flowers. However, following the summer drought - a dormant period for bulbs and corms, one of the first flowers to show along roadsisde banks is the Cyclamen. The pink flowers appear before the heart-shaped leaves from September to November. There is an autumn flowering Orchid, "Spiranthes spiralis", Common name: Autumn lady's tresses. It has a rosette of leaves around the base of the plant in Spring with small, white flowers in Autumn, arranged in a spiral on the stem. Located in forests and groves, but quite rare.
Compared with Northern European countries, winter is short on the Peloponnese and it hardly seems that leaves have turned red before spring its on its way.
Uginea maratima, Common name: Sea Squill, flowers from August to October. It has tiny white flowers on a tall, thick, reddish stem arising from a large bulb. (Note: poisonous but used medically). It is Widespread in stony locations. It's a strangely spectacular sight as you travel by bus through the Peloponnese and the light catches the plants. The large bulb is often brought indoors at New year as a good luck charm.
Smilax aspera, Common name: Common smilax, has lance/heartshaped leaves on a thorny, square-section stem. Flowers (August - November) are small pale pink/yellow/green, followed by red berries. It is found in hedgerows and undergrowth and grows on the borders of the lemon grove and Petraforos, where it's spines make it awkward to remove.
Scilla autumnalis, Common name: Autumn squill, flowers September - October
Colchicum pusillum, (also similar: C cupani) has lanceolate leaves and small flowers in shades of pink, with yellow anthers. It is much daintier than other Colchicums and is found in open stony locations including the lanes around the lemon grove and Trigono. It flowers from October-December
Oxalis pes-caprae; Common name: Bermuda Buttercup, has heart shaped leaves (hence the name pes-caprae which means goat's hoof). The flowers are bright yellow and the plant is widespread in fields and groves, flowering from December to February. It grows at the Trigono grove.
Arisarum vulgarae (Family - Araceae) common name: Friar's cowl. The plant has heart shaped leaves and flowers are cylindrical, cream-green with red-brown stripes. It is found in Stony, shady locations and grows at the Trigono grove from November- February