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

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.

Salix atrocinerea

Detail of a flower and

young leaves

Family: Salicaceae

  In winters end, the Rusty Sallow is the first deciduous tree to paint the landscape in green. The flowers come first, with a tannish green colour. Then come the leaves, bearing a sharp light green.

  This sallow is a riparian tree, which means it can be found mostly in riverbeds and pools, being very important to stabilize the rivers and their margins. It is also normally one of the first species to colonize degraded or humanized habitats.  Needless to say, it provides food for a lot of insects that are eaten by larger animals.

  It contains salicine, which is the basic component for the aspirin. The salix bark was already used to deal with headaches before the pill was invented.

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.