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Siracusa: Via S. Sebastiano 43 Tel 0931-67710 www.apt-siracusa.it

Trapani: Piazza Saturno Tel 0923 29000 www.comune.trapani.it

Flowers and Trees

Visitors in spring will be overwhelmed by the multi-coloured masses of wild flowers in Sicily. A huge variety of native Mediterranean and introduced plants flourish on terrain that can be both harsh and extraordinarily lush. The range embraces delicate insect orchids, the unusual Orchis italica whose straggly pink petals resemble outstretched men, broom shrubs with explosive clusters of golden blooms, bright wild irises, rare white peonies, resplendent sun or rock roses (Cistus) and spiky pink-bloomed caper plants straggling over old masonry, not to mention a generous array of aromatic herbs, the likes of thyme, rosemary, sage, marjoram, oregano (‘splendour of the mountain’ in Greek) and pungent seaside wild fennel – a dream for any cook. In spring hillside fields are carpeted with carmine velvet crops of Hedysarum, like sainfoin, grown for forage.