Endemism in Crete reaches a percentage that varies from 10 to 50% of species, with the low percentage constantly increasing from year to year.
What does endemism mean, however? It means that there are exclusively specific organisms in a certain area, which implies a greater responsibility for their maintenance.
In absolute numbers, one can find 623 species of plants in Crete, with the native ones reaching 1742 and the imported 140, according to a relevant study.
2 of the 623 species are endemic to Crete, while 159 of the 1742 are also considered endemic.
The reasons that Crete is basically a micro-world of flora is its geographic isolation, the existence of many different biomes, the fact that glaciers never reached Crete, and because it serves as a crossroads between three continents; Europe, Asia and Africa.
Areas such as the White Mountains and some islets are home to many endemic species, essentially serving as an "invitation" for botanists from around the world to study them.
It is even honored with a celebration in the village of Fournes each May. It is one of the most picturesque orange-villages of the Municipality of Platanias in the Valley of Keritis. Flower water is made from the distillation of aromatic plants and flowers through steam. In the case of Cretan flower water, it is […]
Gastronomy does not begin on the plate.It begins in the land. In the plants that take root in a place, in the herbs that grow with the rhythm of the seasons, in the fruits that ripen under the sun, and in the people who know how to read the landscape and transform it into food, […]
Some flavours do not begin on the plate.They begin with an aroma. With a leaf rubbed gently between the fingers. With a herb growing under the sun. With an infusion warming the hands and awakening the memory of a place. In Crete, herbs are not simply plants. They are part of everyday life, gastronomy, hospitality […]
The geographical position of Crete in the Mediterranean is such that it can be described as strategic. Serving as a crossroads between three continents, besides its huge geopolitical importance that it holds, Crete’s position is also associated with the development of its climate and thus with its biodiversity (flora and fauna). A place of intense […]
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