WILD FLOWERS OF THE ALGARVE
SOUTHERN PORTUGAL

The Grey-leafed Cistus continues to produce masses of pink blooms through the spring. Cistus crispus, a smaller bush with smaller pink flowers begins to bloom in Spring. It is more common in the Eastern part of the Barrocal. See all the Algarve Cistus here..

Grassy fields are a joy in the Algarve. Unlike other parts of Europe where herbicides have reduced the number of field flowers, here many flourish. Fields are yellow with a variety of daisies and the Common Poppy, Papaver rhoeas which brightens the fields with red patches

The Asperulas are small plants with whorls of narrow leaves. In the Algarve Asperula hirsuta produces terminal heads of 9-15 long tubular pink flowers.

The honeysuckle of Mediterranean gardens is Lonicera etrusca. This grows in the wild, scrambling with long stems over rocks and bushes. The flowers are very fragrant.

In other fields more and more gladioli are blooming and numerous strap like leaves hold the promise of more prolific displays. The Algarve is home to two species of wild gladiolii. The most common, Gladiolus italicus, grows throughout the Mediterranean. It is a medium to tall plant procucing a more or less two sided flowering spike of red-pink flowers. The anthers of these flowers are longer than the filaments. Gladiolus illyricus is a smaller plant whose anthers are shorter or equal in length to the filaments.

At the end of May the Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea), produces a mass of shocking pink flowers. The leaves are often dying when the flowers appear. The subspecies grandiflora is the one we see here.

Silene colorata is a very showy pink catchfly. The flowers produce lax clusters and bear deeply notched petals.

Early in April after good rains this figwort, (Scrophularia sambucifolia ) will grown in damp places. It has unusually large flowers for a figwort: up to 2 cm in length. Its reddish brown colour and yellow lip are also distinctive.