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Flowers and Vegetation

Due to the different geographical and geological areas of the Cevennes, the flora is very diverse and many species are endemic to the region. The Causses are limestone, and the water drains away into underground grottos and rivers. The upland regions of the Mont Aigoual and Lozère are shist and granite, with plenty of water, where temperatures in winter and summer are extreme. The southern Cevennes has a Mediterranean climate.

The leafy Arre valley around Le Vigan is where spring arrives first, with flowers such as primroses, violets, periwinkles, snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils making their appearance long before the snow has left the upland heights of the Aigoual and Lozère – in June and July the slender catkins and white flowers of the chestnut trees which cover many of the hillsides are very attractive. This is an area with a southern flavour, and up to 500m the Mediterranean vegetation prospers. The air is alive with the smell of herbs such as thyme, and there are clumps of blue flax and aphyllanthes. There are various species of evergreen trees, such as the kermes oak (often called scrub oak, with prickly leaves), holm oaks, (which have glazed, water-retaining leaves), juniper bushes, boxwood and species of pine. Higher up are the chestnut forests (see Introduction, ‘The Chestnut Industry’).