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Phrygana

Phrygana (‘friggan-na’) includes heathland plants such as oregano, thyme and spiny spurge (the ‘wire-netting’ plant), and woody shrubs such as spiny broom, spiny burnet and Jerusalem sage. In late summer shepherds burn areas of phrygana to promote regeneration of plants palatable to sheep and goats. If this operation is unlucky, or misjudged, high winds spread the fire. On reaching a ridgetop this type of fire should go out, or at worst ‘jump’ to elsewhere rather than descend the other side of the ridge. Phrygana in flower causes hay fever in the spring. Pharmacies stock remedies for this allergy (called the ‘aller-yee-a’). Use your cotton scarf as a mask, particularly when passing Jerusalem sage. (If you take up the work of clearing footpaths, use a builder’s mask.) Fortunately, goats can at least nibble the pods of this tough plant, which chokes so many old trails.

Steppe

This is comprised of plants that grow, for example, on the exposed dry rocky terrain of the south coast escarpment, including white asphodel (spring), maritime squill (autumn) and the weird-looking dragon arum or stink lily. Steppe also includes the long-rooted, nutritious (for sheep) low-profile endemics of the Madares. Several species adapted to the shadeless, barren terrain, date from geo-historical times, indicating that the high mountains were never tree-covered.