Ilex aquifolium

Family: Aquifoliaceae

  How well do you know this famous tree? Everyone associates the holly with Christmas. Why? 
The holly is a remnant of the Laurissilva, a sub-tropical type of Forest which used to cover Europe before the last glaciation. It evolved so well to resist the cold that we now link it to winter. It bears red fruits in November and December, being valuable and rare food for many wild animals.
This species has separated male and female individuals, so not every tree will have fruits (the males don’t produce fruits!)

   So, why is Holly associated with Christmas?

 It’s actually a very old tradition, older than Christianity. Pagan Europeans celebrated the winter solstice, viewed as the birth of summer (and not Christ!) since days start to grow from that date. Holly was a sacred plant for them, especially in the winter when almost every other plant seems to faint.  

Crocus carpetanus

Family: Iridaceae

February
 It’s cold in Gerês, it is still winter. Things are only slowly starting to warm and you see this tiny, delicate violet flower.

This is one of the first flowers to bloom in the year, just before the spring, sometimes even emerging from the defrosting ice. It was seen by ancient people as the announcement of Spring. It survives the winter as an undersoil bulb (like onions) losing its aerial parts.

 It grows in altitude on sunny hills and cultivated terrains and it continues to bloom in March and April.
 The strategy of such an early blossom is to avoid the intense competition with other vegetation in the Spring.

Curiosities: The name carpetanus stands for its presence in the Carpetanian mountains in Spain, home to the ancient Carpetani people which where conquered by the Romans.