Iruelas is home to an interesting selection of
plant species. At the lowest part of a walk, we will find isolated
examples of holm oaks (Quercus ilex),
most of them in shrub form, although we can enjoy the sight of some
magnificent examples of hundred-year-old trees. More abundant are
juniper bushes (Juniperis oxycedrus) which
run to thickets.
As we walk upwards, the
undergrowth is made up of cistus (Cistus
ladanifer), rosemary (Rasmarinus
officinalis), lavender (Lavandula stoechas), broom
(Retama sphaerocarpa) and daphne
(Daphne gnidium).
The next
stage up will bring us examples of common oak, as well as
century-old Pyrennean oak (Quercus pyrenaica),
but it is a wide variety of pine trees which cover the greatest area
of the valley: (Pinus pinaster, Pinus nigra
and Pinus sylvestris).
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Amongst these woods we can also find chestnuts
(Castanea sativa) and elms
(Ulmus minor), which although not
going as far as to form their own individual groves, are well
represented in the valley.
In amongst
the pines, a whole series of low shrubs grows: varieties of broom
(Cytisus multiflorus, Genista florida),
and members of the liliaceous and phyllyrea families
(Ruscus aculeatus, Phyllyrea angustifolia), wild brambles
(Rubis ulmifolius), bracken (Pteridium
aquilinum)...
As we draw close to the
top of the valley, there are scattered examples of low-growing
juniper (Juniperus communis),
struggling against the vast expanses of broom (Citysus
purgans).
All along the river
beds there is also a great variety of trees: alders
(Alnus glutinosa), ash
(Fraxinus angustifolia), willow
(Salix spp.) and black poplar
(Populis nigra), and, to a lesser
extent, maples (Hacer monspessulanum),
alder blackthorn (Rhamnus frangula),
yew (Taxus baccata) and holly
(Ilex aquifolium). |
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