The flora of Crimea is very unusual and varied. There are 2,500 varieties of wild plants on the peninsula. This is an impressive number. It is necessary to note the uniqueness of the flora. There are 250 endemics here, that is, plants that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. In addition, Crimea is rich in relics - plants that have been preserved without any changes for millions of years.
Historical digression
Plants of the Crimea have been thoroughly studied. But, nevertheless, discoveries of new species are regularly made. And the reason for this is the uniqueness of the peninsula. As we have already noticed, the plants of the Crimea are very diverse. An interesting fact is that plants of very different origins coexist everywhere on the peninsula. Among them there are relics and endemics. In addition, there are a lot of related plants from completely different Black Sea regions: the Caucasus, the Balkans, Asia Minor. A similar phenomenon is connected with the history of Crimea.
BecauseInitially, it was a mountainous secluded peninsula, which over the course of thousands of years was joined and then separated by land isthmuses from the mainland (with the lands of the Caucasus, Asia Minor, the Balkans, the East European Plain). Therefore, the plants of the Crimea also changed. We should also not forget that more than a thousand species of exotic specimens have been brought by man over the thousands of years of the history of this land. So it turned out that the flora of the peninsula has acquired such a colorful and diverse look.
Vegetation belt change
Another feature of the Crimea is a very clear change of vegetation from north to south.
The northern part of the peninsula is hilly steppes. At present, most of them have long been plowed up, and therefore these lands have lost their natural appearance. Only those areas that are unsuitable for agriculture have preserved their original appearance. These are solonchaks, beams, ravines, rocky plains.
In the area of the foothills, the steppes change to forest-steppes. Here, in addition to steppe plants, such species as juniper, fluffy oak, shaggy pear, wild rose, hornbeam, etc. grow.
Further south, forest-steppes are gradually replaced by oak forests, which make up 60 percent of all forest plantations of the peninsula. In Crimea, they are sparse and light.
Oak forests give way to beech forests with height. 200-250-year-old trees amaze with their power and primordial gloomy beauty. It is always very gloomy here, there are not even undergrowth and grass cover, there is only a thick layerfallen leaves. At an altitude of about a thousand meters, huge mighty beeches give way to gnarled, stunted trees.
At the very top of the forest are replaced by flat tops, which are separated from each other by very deep passes. Outwardly, the yayla look like steppes. It is here that a quarter of all endemics of the peninsula are located.
Further, closer to the sea, there is a belt of beech-pine and pine forests, which consists of Crimean pine and Scotch pine. There are also oaks, beeches, hornbeams here. Natural pine forests are more pronounced on the South Shore, but not in the southeast.
South Shore
To the south, the shilyak belt begins, consisting of hornbeam, downy oak, juniper, small-fruited strawberry, pistachio and many other drought-resistant plants. In the southeast, the climate is very dry, so shibliaks are very rare.
But on the South Coast they are quite thick. In general, the vegetation of the South Coast is close to the Mediterranean, but very much changed by man. Most of the territory is occupied by he alth resorts, gardens, vineyards, roads. And also by human hands, extensive parks have been created here, in which species brought to the peninsula grow. Imagine that many plants of the southern coast of Crimea have been living here for about 200 years. Currently, all parks have become an integral part and attraction of the South Coast. Among them are the famous Alupka, Foros, Livadia, Massandra, Gurzuf parks. And what about the well-known Nikitsky Botanical Garden, which contains not onlyCrimean plants (photos are given in the article), but also many imported exotic varieties.
I must say that the parks themselves have long merged with evergreen natural thickets and form a single whole.
Reserves of Crimea
Plants of the Crimea are protected by laws. Four completely new nature reserves and sixteen sanctuaries have been created on the peninsula. Natural monuments, protected natural areas, protected parks are also under protection.
Next to the Nikitsky Botanical Garden is the Cape Martyan Nature Reserve. Also on the peninsula is the Y alta Reserve, the Karadag Reserve, which contains rare plants of the Crimea. This is only a small part of the reserved places of this region. All of them are unique and interesting in their own way, each has its own task of preserving relic and endemic plants. In our article we want to give a description of some of them.
Beech
Beech is a genus of the Beech family. Two species grow in Crimea: ordinary and eastern. Both of them have a regal appearance and play a great soil and water protection role. The tree lives from 250 to 350 years. It blooms for the first time at the age of 30, and maybe even at 60 or 80 years. It blooms in April with the simultaneous opening of the leaves. Nuts appear on the tree in autumn. They feed on squirrels, roe deer, wild boars, deer. Beech oil is very valuable, its properties are not inferior to olive oil.
Well, wood is out of the question. Due to its special property, it is used for the manufacture of barrels for expensive wines, parquet,musical instruments, yachts. In the distant past, trees in the Crimea were mercilessly cut down. And now they are under protection. The grove on Ai-Petri is generally a protected area.
Oak
Oak belongs to the Beech family. In total, there are approximately 450 varieties of this plant in the world. The bark and wood of the tree are highly prized. In Crimea, there is a rather rare fluffy oak that lives for more than a thousand years. Such a thousand-year-old plant is located near Foros. Its girth is five and a half meters. And in the Bakhchisarai region, a tree with a girth of eight meters was found. Back in 1820, a cork grove was laid in the Nikitsky Garden, which still feels great to this day. Garden scientists settled holm oaks throughout the South Coast. Now it is a plant of the Southern Crimea.
Small-fruited strawberry
Plants and animals of the Crimea are so diverse that they never cease to amaze. And the South Coast is a unique place, a piece of the subtropics, where very special plants grow, which, in principle, could not take root in these parts, but thanks to the unique microclimate created by the mountains, they feel great here.
One of these plants is the small-fruited strawberry. It is an evergreen tree with more than twenty species growing in North America and the Mediterranean. In Crimea, the plant is found only on the southern coast. It has been preserved in these places since the Tertiary period, and is currently listed in the Red Book. The tree reaches a height of six meters. Forit is characterized by a bizarrely curved trunk and winding tips of branches. On the tree, fruits are formed that are very similar to strawberries. They are quite edible. Since the plants have a decorative appearance, they are cultivated in the parks of the peninsula. And in the vicinity of Gaspra there are several trees, whose age, according to scientists, is approaching a thousand years.
Figs
Figs are also called fig trees. His homeland is the Mediterranean. I must say that this is an evergreen plant, there are more than 800 of its species. For a person, fruits are of particular value. They are eaten fresh, dried, and jam is made from them. In general, this is a very ancient plant on earth, it has been cultivated since time immemorial. However, it is not known exactly when and by whom this tree was brought to the Crimean peninsula. Currently, there are 300 species of figs in the famous Nikitsky Garden. The tree has a strong root system. There are no flowers familiar to us on the tree. But the fruit looks like a bag with seeds inside.
Cypress Evergreen
This is a coniferous evergreen tree. It came to the Crimea from Greece. It acclimatized here in antiquity. But it became widespread in the 18th century, when many plants were brought on the orders of Potemkin. The evergreen cypress has a pyramidal shape. Its needles are very soft to the touch. The cones are small and have a round shape, like a soccer ball. Cypress seeds are food for many birds: grosbeaks, woodpeckers, finches, robins. In addition, the tree is known for its medicinal properties.
Even the ancient Greeks noticed the positive effect of cypress on people with diseased lungs. Modern scientists have proven that the essential oils of the tree have the strongest bactericidal effect, which can suppress staphylococcus aureus, Koch's bacillus and other bacteria. For medicinal purposes, tree cones are also used. The wood is particularly durable, resistant to decay and has a wonderful aroma. She has been valued since time immemorial.
Orchid
Orchids are very common in the tropics. This species includes the well-known spice vanilla and a great variety of cultivated species in greenhouses. In the Crimea, there are 39 varieties of this plant, 20 of which can be found in Laspi. According to meteorologists, this is the warmest place in the entire South Coast. It is also jokingly called "Crimean Africa". It is for this reason that many endemic plants are found here.
The Red Book of Crimea. Plants included in it
Crimea is a completely unique place that has collected truly untold riches in the form of flora and fauna. Any tourist who has visited the peninsula for the first time never ceases to admire its beauties and amazing plants. And there really is something to see, something to admire. What is only the richest history of this region.
If we talk about the unique plants of the peninsula, many of them are under protection and have long been listed in the Red Book. The plants of the Crimea, the description of which we have given in the article, are very interesting and worthy of detailed attention. We would also liketo dwell on those species that, for one reason or another, have already been included in the Red Book. There are more than 250 of them. We list just a few of them:
- Horsetail.
- Graceful kostenets.
- Northern Kostentz.
- Juniper Delta.
- Steven Maple.
- Ira graceful.
- Oak cuff.
- Red onion.
- Cuneiform hawthorn.
- Meadow sage.
- Crimean Dandelion.
- Bibirstein Tulip.
- Forest grapes.
- Sea damask.
- Cistoseira bearded.
In general, the book includes: horsetail, gymnosperms, angiosperms, mosses and algae. In the list we have given only some plants of the Crimea. The book contains a wider list.
Instead of afterword
Crimea is a completely unique and amazing place. In addition to extraordinary beauty, it strikes with the riches of the plant world. On the whole planet, perhaps, there are not so many places that can boast of such a species richness of flora, brought from other regions and taking root in a new place.
