Olive groves are tilled and bare during these summer months but drought-tolerant plants thrive, along with garden plants which are watered by their owners. Here we concentrate on the wild plants that can survive the summer heat and are found around Methoni and the Trigono Groves
Verbascum macrurum
(Family: Scrophulariaceae)Common name: Verbascum macrurum
Leaf type: grey-green, downy, below the flower stem
Flower: an inflorescence of densely packed yellow flowers forming a downy spire.
Location: dry and stony - found alongside the main Methoni-Foinikounta road and elsewhere on similarat dry, stony ground.
Flowering period: April - August
Vitex agnus castus
(Family - Verbenaceae)Common name: Chaste tree (agnos is Greek for chaste)
Leaf type: composite, lanceolate, leathery
Flower: bluish lilac/white, in whorls forming a slender spike
Location: By ravines and gorges, found by the deep stream at Lamda olive grove.
Flowering period: May - October
Galactites tomentosa
(Family - Compositae)Common name: Galactites
Leaf type: Deeply divided, spiny tipped, stalkless
Flower: pink and white florets form a delicate brush-like head.
Location: Roadsides and un-tilled areas of fields. Found at the edges of the Trigono groves.
Flowering period: April - August
Daucus carota
(family - umbelliferae)Common name: Wild carrot
Leaf type: deeply divided giving a feathery appearance.
Flower: white or lilac with purple centre, tiny flowers grouped on on "rays" to form an "umbel" which closes after flowering (think of unbrellas) forming an attractive ball
Location: Found in fields and on road-sides - common near the Lemon grove and Trigono grove and note that it is an ancestor of the carrot we eat.
Flowering period: March - September
Limonium sinuatum
(family - Plumbaginaceae)Common name: Winged sea lavender
Leaf type: small, winged, grey/green, mainly at the base of the plant.
Flower: white with blue-violet calyx, the flowers appear papery and last without water in a vase. The stem has a ridge (or wing) along the edge
Location: Found in seaside locations, common by paths close to the sea. Not found at the Trigono groves.
Flowering period: May - September
Silybum marianum
(family - Compositae)Common name: Holy thistle or milk thistle
Leaf type: spiky and udulating, forming large rosettes close to the ground from which the flower grows.
Flower: tubular pink florets form a silky head above the spiny bracts.
Location: Found in fields and roadsides. common near the Lemon grove and at Trigono grove. Flowering period: April - July
Other Summer plants
As summer progresses only the hardiest, drought resistant plants can survive in the wild. It is interesting to note that leaf forms for such plants are tough and leathery, downy, prickly or reduced. Transpiration (loss of water) from the plant is thus minimised. One of the wonderful things about studying plants is to observe the way they have adapted to differing weather conditions - after all they cannot move, as animals can, to find their preferred location.
Links to other sites
Botany is a fascinating subject and the Peloponnese is one fo the world's most valuable haunts for botanists and plant-lovers. At Trigono-Lamda we attempt to photograph plants in situ and not disturb them. We are not experts but take great pleasure in being able to direct you to some practical and some very beautiful sites:
www.mediterraneo.gr - Publishers of "Wild flowers in Greece": ISBN: 960-8227-74-7
www.theoi.com - Plants in Greek Mythology
www.theseedsite.co.uk - Taxonomy (and common names) of plant families