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My PlantArea is located in the Mediterranean region. Within the European Union, the Mediterranean Region encompasses seven Member States (France, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Greece, Malta, Cyprus). The climate is characterized by hot dry summers and humid, cool winters but it can also be with sudden torrential downpours or bouts of high winds occurring at various times of the year. Mediterranean Region offers an ever changing landscape of high mountains, rocky shores, impenetrable scrub, semi-arid steppes, coastal wetlands, sandy beaches and a myriad islands of various shapes and sizes dotted amidst the clear blue sea. The rate of endemism is exceptionally high both on land and in the sea. Of the 25,000 flowering plants identified so far–representing around 10% of all known plants on earth – more than half are endemic to the region. The Mediterranean is considered one of the top biodiversity hotspots in the world.
Source: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/platform/knowledge_base/135_mediterranean_region_en.htm

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Environmental adaptation and tolerance of plants

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Environmental adaptation and tolerance of plants

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Stress factor: Cold and freezing conditions--> Mount Olympus in its upper vegetation zone has shrubs, grasses, chasmophytes and wildflowers, which are adapted to this cold environment.
These plants resist local low temperature extremes. Furthermore, freezing resistance is not constant for a given plant, but it varies, driven by seasonality and by short-term acclimation. The short growing season will force plants to limit the formation of new cells and tissues, increasing the storage of non-structural carbohydrate compounds mainly in root tissues (Pluess & Stocklin, 2005). Thus plants in cold environments have short stature.

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Alexander von Humboldt was born on September 14, 1769, in Berlin. He was naturalist and explorer, who was an important figure in the classical period of physical geography and biogeography! Between 1799 and 1804, Humboldt travelled extensively in the Central and South America.
He wrote Kosmos, one of the most ambitious scientific works ever published. Four volumes appeared during his lifetime. Kosmos gives a generally comprehensible account of the structure of the universe as then known. Toward the end of the 18th century, Alexander von Humboldt, suggested that the lands bordering the Atlantic Ocean had once been joined.
Sources: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-von-Humboldt 2019

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Achillea ambrosiaca (Boiss. & Heldr.): Endemic of Olympus.
Perennial plant, with a slightly woody base and several rising flowering shoots, height 5-20 cm.
Its leaves are fleece with white or gray coat.
Flowers are white to pale purple and form complex inflorescences.
Biotope: rocky and rocky calcareous sites, at altitudes from 2100 to 2850 meters,
It flowers from July to September.
Source: www.greekflora.gr

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1. Olympus' Tsipouro
2. In Greece the main tree species for Christmas decorations is Abies cephalonica or Abies alba.
3. Biological apple trees, yellow potatos
4. Oregano is native to temperate Western and Southwestern Eurasia and the Mediterranean region
Turmeric is native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia

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The peaks of mount Olympus during the winter(some peaks also in summer months) are covered by snow. Due to warmer conditions and more intense solar radiation, mount Olympus experiences quicker and earlier snow melting. In the future, that could  bring  change in the topography and vegetation structure of Mount Olympus

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Maximum Temperature trend in Athens, Greece

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3. Replacing fossil fuels with biofuels is highly controversial since it solves one problem but creates new ones.

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2. Tropical Andean trees migrate to higher altitudes where the air is cool enough to support their existence. Due to the fast climatic change they have to move faster in order to remain in equilibrium with their preferred temperatures.

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Common name: Flowering oregano
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
Clade:Angiosperms
Clade:Eudicots
Clade:Asterids
Order:Lamiales
Family:Lamiaceae
Genus:Origanum
Species:O. vulgare

Oregano is a perennial herb, growing from 20–80 cm (7.9–31.5 in) tall, with opposite leaves 1–4 cm (0.39–1.57 in) long. The flowers are purple, 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long, produced in erect spikes.
The word oregano is derived from Spanish orégano, from Latin orīganum, from Greek ὀρίγανον (orī́ganon).This is a compound of όρος (óros), "mountain", and γάνος (gános), "brightness", whence "brightness of the mountain"

Oregano is a culinary herb, used for the flavor of its leaves, which can be more flavorful when dried than fresh. It has an aromatic, warm, and slightly bitter taste, which can vary in intensity.Among the chemical compounds contributing to the flavour are carvacrol, thymol, limonene, pinene, ocimene, and caryophyllene.
Oregano oil has been used in folk medicine since ancient times.Oregano essential oil is extracted from the leaves of the oregano plant. Although oregano or its oil may be used as a dietary supplement, there is no clinical evidence to indicate that either has any effect on human health.

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Common name: ironwort, Greek mountain tea and shepherd's tea.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Sideritis
The genus is composed of short (8–50 cm), xerophytic subshrubs or herbs, annual or perennial, that grow at high altitudes (usually over 1000 m) with little or no soil, often on the surface of rocks. It is pubescent, either villous or coated by a fine, woolly layer of microscopic intertwined hairs.

In Greek "sideritis" can be literally translated as 'he who is made of iron'. That is why its scientific name is Sideritis scardina.
Ironwort: In ancient times Sideritis was a generic reference for plants capable of healing wounds caused by iron weapons during battles. However others hold that the name stems from the shape of the sepal which resembles the tip of a spear.

Mountain tea contains considerable amounts of flavanoids, antioxidant, tannins, iron, cobalt, zinc, potassium, magnesium, sodium and volatile oils.

The herbal tea is commonly prepared by decoction, by boiling the stems, leaves and flowers in a pot of water.

Source:http://www.mylona.gr/tea_information_greece.htm 2019

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Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece. It is located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, between the regional units of Pieria and Larissa. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks, deep gorges, and exceptional biodiversity. The highest peak, Mytikas rises to 2,920 metres.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Olympus 2019

Source: http://www.visitgreece.gr/el/mainland/villages_on_mt_olympus 2019

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Viola striis-notata

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Iris reichenbachii

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Zone of broad-leaved evergreens

The first zone of broad-leaved evergreens (Quercetalia ilicis) is found at an altitude of 300 to 500 meters. The area is dominated by shrubs and low-rising trees such as the holm oak (Quercus ilex), Greek strawberry tree (Arbutus adrachnae), kermes oak (Quercus coccifera), strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), prickly Juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus), etc. Characteristic deciduous species at this altitude include manna ash (Fraxinus ornus), Montpellier maple (Acer monspessulanum), Judas-tree (Cercis siliquastrum), European smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria)and others.

Forest of beech-fir and mountain conifers

Forest of beech-fir and mountain conifers (Fagetalia) stretch from 600 to 1400 meters, wherein black pines (Pinus nigra) dominate in pure stands. In smaller clusters and stands, one can encounter Bulgarian fir (Abies borissi-regis), European beech (Fagus sylvatica), wych elm (Ulmus glabra), yew (Taxus baccata), hazel (Coryllus avellana), Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas), cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera) and a variety of herbaceous plants.

Zone of cold-hardy conifers

At elevations between 1400 and 2500 m, the zone of cold-hardy conifers (Vaccinio-Picetalia) emerges. The predominant species of pine is the rare Bosnian pine (Pinus heldreichii), which makes its first appearance at 1100 m, gradually replacing black pine (Pinus nigra) and forming unmixed forests up to 2000 meters. Areas with Bosnian pine are usually dry with rocky slopes.

The non-forested high mountain meadows and grasslands

Above 2500 meters, which is also the highest treeline in the Balkans, there are the non-forested high mountain meadows and grasslands (Astragalo-Acantholimonetalia). On Mount Olympus, these meadows display a great diversity and their floral composition includes many rare wildflowers, most of which are endemic to Greece and the Balkan Peninsula.
Source: https://olympusfd.gr/en/vegetation-zones/ 2019

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Mount Olympus has more that 1700 species of plants. Of these, more than 160 plant taxa either belong to a protected status, are rare or endemics. Olympus is characterized by particularly high levels of endemism, as many endemic taxa of Olympus, Greece and the Balkans are found there. Specifically, 26 local endemic species have been recorded on Mount Olympus to date. These are essentially plants that are found only on Olympus and nowhere else in the world.
Some of the Endemic species: Achillea ambrosiaca, Alyssum handelii,Asperula muscosa,Aubrieta thessala,Campanula oreadum,Festuca olympica,Ligusticum olympicum, Melampyrum ciliatum, Minuartia setacea subsp. olympica, Potentilla deorum, Viola pseudograeca

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Riparian vegetation with Salix eleagnos along the Enipeas river.

Source:https://olympusfd.gr/en/vegetation-zones/ 2019

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Broad-leaved evergreen forest.

Source:https://olympusfd.gr/en/vegetation-zones/ 2019

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Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests

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Beech forest (Fagus sylvatica)

Source: https://olympusfd.gr/en/vegetation-zones/ 2019

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Orchis purpurea

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Jancaea heldreichii