Читать книгу The High Mountains of Crete. The White Mountains, Psiloritis and Lassithi Mountains онлайн

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Crete’s geological history and location in the eastern Mediterranean, equidistant from Europe, Asia and Africa, renders the island of great interest to botanists. Below 1000m (3280ft), varying between the south (earlier) and the north coasts, late April and early May are usually the best time for a profusion of spring flowers. In the high mountains carpets of crocii, chionodoxa, Cretan tulip and others bloom with the retreating snow. Autumn flowers appear in October, with the first rains of the seasonal change. The most commonly seen plants and trees are largely those that taste bad to goats. Cretan plants have adapted in various ways to survive the long dry summers. They may be geophytes (earth plants) with sustaining bulbs, corms, or tubers unsuited to well-watered ground, or sclerophylls (hard-leaved) shrubs or trees with long roots and drought-resistant leaves, or thorns. Deep gorges orientated north–south get shade for part of the day, and their sheer walls are a safe haven for many species of chasmophyte (gorge plants).