PlantsMap

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10 plants worth knowing

Greece

Greece, with its mountainous mainland and thousands of islands, has one of the richest floras in Europe – over 6,000 species, more than a tenth of them endemic. The coasts and islands are covered with maquis, phrygana and olive groves, while higher up grow forests of pine, fir and beech. Hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters mean that the greatest explosion of flowers comes in spring.

Hover over a plant to see on the map where it grows.

where it grows

  1. Olive 1

    crop · Sacred tree of Athena; the Olympic wreath

    Olive

    Olea europaea

    According to myth, Athena gave the olive to the Athenians, and winners at the ancient Olympic Games were crowned with wild olive.
  2. Oriental plane 2

    tree

    Oriental plane

    Platanus orientalis

    Hippocrates is said to have taught under a plane tree on Kos, and in almost every Greek village the square comes alive beneath a great plane.
  3. Greek fir 3

    tree

    Greek fir

    Abies cephalonica

    The endemic Greek fir forms dark forests on Mount Ainos on Kefalonia, the island that gave it its name.
  4. Dittany of Crete 4

    perennial

    Dittany of Crete

    Origanum dictamnus

    Cretan dittany, once gathered from perilous cliffs, was believed in antiquity to be a herb that could heal any wound.
  5. Mastic tree 5

    shrub

    Mastic tree

    Pistacia lentiscus

    Only in the south of Chios do mastic trees yield mastiha – a resin and chewing gum known since antiquity.
  6. Grapevine 6

    crop

    Grapevine

    Vitis vinifera

    The homeland of the cult of Dionysus has grown vines for millennia – from Santorini’s assyrtiko to agiorgitiko from Nemea and xinomavro from Naoussa.
  7. Oregano 7

    perennial

    Oregano

    Origanum vulgare

    Greek oregano, picked wild on mountain slopes and dried in bunches, seasons horiatiki salad, feta and grilled meats.
  8. Bay laurel 8

    tree

    Bay laurel

    Laurus nobilis

    In myth the nymph Daphne became a laurel while fleeing Apollo – laurel wreaths crowned the victors of the Pythian Games at Delphi.
  9. Aleppo pine 9

    tree

    Aleppo pine

    Pinus halepensis

    For centuries Greeks have flavoured retsina with Aleppo pine resin – a white wine with a distinctive resinous taste.
  10. Saffron crocus 10

    crop

    Saffron crocus

    Crocus sativus

    Kozani saffron has a protected designation of origin, and Bronze Age frescoes at Akrotiri on Santorini show women gathering saffron flowers.