Andalucia has a magnificent variety of flora and fauna, thanks
to its location between the African and European continents and
between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic oceans. Not only that,
but its topology and geology all contribute to the fact that it
has the highest number of species of flora and trees in Europe.
Most of the Andalusian forests are on the Mediterranean, rather
than Atlantic coast and include cork and evergreen oak, with undergrowth
rich in species such as myrtle, bramble, rosemary, and arbutus,
among others. The main characteristic of the Mediterranean climate
is dryness in summer with irregular rainfall during the rest of
the year. The vegetation has had to adapt to these conditions, so
the typical forests are evergreen, with cork oaks for example. If
you were to climb a mountain, you would see the vegetation change,
from deciduous to coniferous leaves and in the highest regions,
very thorny, bushy vegetation.
One of the botanical stars is the "pinsapo" (Abeis pinsapo) or
Spanish fir. This tree, a heritage
from the glacial past, has survived until today, along with gall-oaks,
pines, evergreens and cork oaks.
Along river valleys there is a rich variety of deciduous trees
such as the polar (álamo), ash (fresno), willow (sauce), maple (arce),
elm (olmo) and alder (aliso), as well as reeds (juncos) and bullrushes
(eneas).
In areas such as the Sierra Morena and Parque Natural Los Alcornocales
there are extensive woods where two types of useful oak - the cork
oak and the holm or ilex oak. Every nine years the cork oak's thick
outer bark is stripped. The holm oak can be pruned about every four
years and the off-cuts used for charcoal. Meanwhile livestock can
graze the pastures and during the autumn, pigs are turned out to
gorge on the fallen acorns - a diet considered to produce the best
ham of all.
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