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.

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.

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.

Lamium purpureum

Family: Lamiaceae

  In Gerês you can easily feel the thrill for adventure but if you pause a little you can see its humble rural side. The purple dead-nettle is not as scary as its name suggests. The name serves to differentiate it from the stinging nettle: “A dead nettle doesn’t sting”. It thrives the most in rural environments.

  Not many people know this, but young dead-nettles are edible (the leaves and flowers), although not particularly tasty.