Ulex minor

Family: Fabaceae

The Gorse is a thorny shrub belonging to the same family as peas. The thorns are intended to dissuade herbivores from eating the plant. Those animals, in turn, target the young branches, which are less woody and therefore hurt less to eat.

This species is nitrogen-fixing, therefore turning soil more rich in nitrogen (vital for its fertility!). People used to burn them and spread their ash in agricultural fields.

This is a species that regrows easily from fire and it's considered to be important in regenerating the soils and ecosystems after disturbance, in what's know as ecological succession.

 During the hottest months of summer, you can hear small cracking sounds when you're close to these bushes. It is the pods cracking under the heat, releasing the seeds into the air.

Erica arborea

Familly: Ericaceae

 
A giant amongst its kind, the tree heather can be found in the western Mediterranean, but also in the Azores and even in some African mountain ranges, as in Ethiopia and Cameroon.

The tree heather's wood is very dense and fire resistant, and was valued to carve smoking pipes. In Gerês, nowadays, it grows in the arid mountain tops as well as in the lush valleys. The honey in this areas is very prized, you can feel the heather flavor and it's lovely!

 

 

Arbustus unedo

Arbutus unedo

Family: ERICACEAE

 The strawberry tree has this name in the English language due to lack of originality. In Portugal we call it Medronheiro; in Spain Madronheiro, in France Arbúsier. The fruits are not the regular strawberries you see in the market. They are also edible, red and yellow. They have a spherical shape and rough texture, almost resembling a litchi. The fruits may contain an alcoholic beverage, since their sugars start fermenting on the tree, when it's ripe. 

 This tree actually belongs to the heather family, as you might tell by the bell-shaped flowers. It's a remnant of the Laurissilva, the old kind of Forest that existed in Europe before the Glacial Ages.

 There are many known insect associations with this tree, notably butterfly larvae eating the leaves.

 The Portuguese people make a very strong fruit brandy called "águardente de Medronho": The Medronho firewater.

The white bell-shaped flowers of Arbutus unedo

Crocus serotinus

 These flowers will make you think it's Spring all over again!

This the second species of Crocus appearing throughout the year in Gerês, blooming in the end of September and in October, announcing the Fall and thus earning the name of Autumn saffron.

You can tell the difference between the two by looking to the female part of the flower, that is bigger and branched in this species.

 Despite it's name, it's unusable as a spice. The "saffron" spice comes from a very similar species (Crocus sativa) found in Greece and Southwest Asia. This one, C. serotinus, is found in western Iberia and Morocco, in the mountains.

 I have also found white flowers in this species, adding colour to the fields of flowers. 

Asphodelus lusitanicus

Family: Xanthorrhoeaceae

 You can find the Asphodelus in the mountains of the Nacional Park. It's an herbaceous evergreen plant that only develops a flowering stem in Spring. It's common in areas affected by fires.

This flower had a strong mithological meaning in Classic times. The Greeks though that one's soul would roam in Asphodel meadows after death. They planted them in graves, relating them to the passage to afterlife. 

 It is also in the Greeks that we find references to their edibility. The poor used to eat their roots (tubers). They must be cooked, though, otherwise they are slightly venomous. The flowering stem and seeds are also edible when cooked.

 Rabbits seem to avoid eating them.

Erica umbellata

Family: Ericaceae

This is an heath, belonging to the heather family. In April and May, you're able to see entirely pink cliffs or hills in Gerês, called heathlands. They gain this color due to the tiny urn shaped (urceolate) flowers  of this heath. Their power over the landscape comes from the sheer quantity of blossoms that each plant has.

 This is a very hardy plant, colonizing driest areas in the mountains, with poor and acid soils. They are also very resistant to fire and cold temperatures.

These flowers have a sweet scent that is very appreciated in honey.

SPRING!

  Here you go. Spring starts today. We've been seeing many flowers and blossoming life already, but today it's official! This is, in my opinion, the best time to visit Gerês. The lizards are crawling out of their hidings, their small hatchlings doing so for the first times in their lives. The Amphibians are now very aroused, being on their reproductive season, since its warm but there's still a lot of water for them.