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Mediterranean maquis
Biodiversity of
Sicily is caused
by geological,
geomorphologic,
climatic
and
historical
processes and by
position in the
Mediterranean.
In the island has been identified the "hotspot"
(areas with high density of plant and animal
species).
These areas are divided into macrohabitat, the most
important are forest habitats (wild olive, oak,
cork oak, holly, beech, Carob) and coastal ones
An example of the Mediterranean maquis in Sicily is
given by the Sicani Mountains.
In the Sicani Mountains flows the river Sosio.
This area is dominated overall by:
HOLM OAK – LECCIO
DOWNY OAK – ROVERELLA
CORK OAK – SUGHERA
ARBUTUS - CORBEZZOLO
WILDE ROSE - ROSA CANINA
ASPARAGUS - ASPARAGO
PEONY - PEONIA
BLACKBERRY - MORA
Holm oak
This plant confirms the importance
of Mediterranean vegetation in
terms of surface and the role played
in the carbon storage. Quercus ilex
is a medium-size tree 20–27 m tall
with finely square-fissured blackish
bark and leathery evergreen leaves.
The old leaves fall 1–2 years after
new leaves emerge. The leaves are
dark green above and pale whitishgrey with dense short hairs below,
while those on the lower branches of young trees are often larger, and are toothed or
somewhat spiny as protection from grazing animals. The Holm Oak is one of the top
three trees used in the establishment of truffle orchards, or truffieres. The acorns, like
those of the Cork Oak, are edible (toasted or as a flour). Boiled in water, the acorns can
also be used as a medicinal treatment for injury infections.
Downy oak
Downy oak is a medium-sized
deciduous tree growing up to 20 m.
Forest-grown trees grow tall, while
open-growing trees develop a very
broad and irregular crown. They are
long-lived, to several hundred years,
and eventually grow into very stout
trees with trunks up to 2 m in
diameter. The bark very rough, light
grey and divided into small flakes. The
buds are small (3-6 mm) and blunt,
light brown.The leaves are leathery
usually 4-10 cm long and 3-6 cm wide, usually widest beyond the middle The leaves
group at the ends of twigs. The base of the leaf is heart shaped, widely rounded or
sometimes pointed. The leaves are persistent late into the autumn, remaining green up to
early winter. The Quercus pubescens acorns are light brown to yellow, usually thin and
pointed. The acorn cups are light grey to almost white, with pointed, overlapping scales,
covered with tomentum.
Cork oak
Cork Oak, is a medium-sized,
evergreen oak tree in the section
Quercus sect. It is the primary
source of cork for wine bottle
stoppers and other uses, such as
cork flooring. It grows to up to 20
m, although it is typically more
stunted in its native environment.
The acorns are 2 to 30 cm long, in
a deep cup fringed with elongated scales. The tree has a thick, insulating
bark that may have been the Cork Oak's evolutionary answer to forest
fires.
Arbutus
Arbutus unedo, commonly
called Strawberry Tree, is an
evergreen shrub or small tree in
the family Ericaceae, native to
the Mediterranean region. The
leaves are dark green and glossy,
5-10 cm long and 2-3 cm
broad, with a serrated margin.
The hermaphrodite flowers are white (rarely pale pink), bell-shaped, 4-6
mm diametre, produced panicles of 10-30 together in autumn. They are
pollinated by bees. The fruit is a red berry, 1-2 cm diametre, with a rough
surface, maturing 12 months at the same time as the next flowering.
Wilde rose
The dog rose is distributed in all
Sicily, especially in oak forests
with blackthorn and other
thorny shrubs making a thick
and impenetrable underwood. It
is a deciduous shrub normally
ranging in height from 1–5 m,
though sometimes it can
scramble higher into the crowns
of taller trees. Its stems are covered with small, sharp, hooked prickles,
which aid it in climbing. The leaves are pinnate, with 5-7 leaflets. The
flowers are usually pale pink, but can vary between a deep pink and
white. They are 4–6 cm diametre with five petals, and mature into an
oval 1.5–2 cm red-orange fruit, or hip.
Asparagus
Asparagus officinalis is a spring
vegetable, a flowering perennial and is
widely cultivated as a vegetable crop.
It is a herbaceous, plant growing to
100–150 centimetres tall, with stout
stems with much-branched feathery
foliage. The "leaves" are in fact needlelike cladodes to 6–32 millimetres.
The flowers are bell-shaped, greenishwhite to yellowish, with six petals
partially fused together at the base;
they are produced singly or in clusters
of 2–3 in the junctions of the branchlets. The fruit is a small red
berry 6–10 mm diametre, which is poisonous to humans.
Peony
Most peonies are herbaceous
perennial plants 0.5–1.5 metres
tall, but some resemble trees up
to 1.5–3 metres tall. They have
compound, deeply lobed leaves,
and large, often fragrant flowers,
ranging from red to white or
yellow, in late spring and early
Over 262 compounds have been obtained so far from the plants of
Paeoniaceae. These include monoterpenoid glucosides, flavonoids,
stannine, stilbenes, triterpenoids and steroids, paeonols, and phenols.
Blackberry
The flowers are produced in late
spring and early summer on
short racemes on the tips of the
flowering laterals. Each flower is
about 2–3 cm in diametre with
five white or pale pink petals. It
is often mixed with apples for
pies and crumbles. Good nectar
producers, blackberry shrubs
bearing flowers yield a medium to dark, fruity honey. The related but
smaller dewberry can be distinguished by the white, waxy coating on the
fruits, which also usually have fewer drupelets. It is in its own section
within the subgenus Rubus.