The flora of Crimea is very unusual and diverse. On the peninsula, there are 2500 species of wild plants. This is an impressive figure. It should be noted and the uniqueness of the flora. Here there are 250 endemic species, that is, such plants that can not be found anywhere else in the world. In addition, Crimea is rich in relics - plants that have survived without any changes for millions of years.
Historical excursion
Crimean plants are 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, Crimean plants are very diverse. An interesting fact is that everywhere on the peninsula plants of very different origin coexist. Among them are relics and endemic. In addition, a lot of related plants from completely different Black Sea regions: the Caucasus, the Balkans, Asia Minor. A similar phenomenon is associated with the history of Crimea.
After all, it was originally a mountainous secluded peninsula, which over the course of millennia was either joined or disconnected by land isthmuses with the mainland (with the lands of the Caucasus, Asia Minor, the Balkans, and the East European Plain). Therefore, Crimean plants also changed. We should also not forget that more than a thousand species of exotic specimens were introduced by man over 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.
Change of vegetation belts
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. Currently, most of them have long been plowed, and therefore these lands have lost their natural appearance. Only those plots that are unsuitable for agriculture have retained their original appearance. These are salt marshes, beams, ravines, rocky plains.
In the foothills of the steppes change to forest-steppes. Here, in addition to steppe plants, species such as juniper, fluffy oak, pear-leaved pear, dogrose, hornfields, etc. grow.
Further to the south, the forest-steppes are gradually replaced by oak forests, which make up 60 percent of the total forest plantations of the peninsula. In Crimea, they are sparse and light.
With height, oak forests give way to beech forests. 200-250-year-old trees are striking in their power and pristine moody beauty. It is always very gloomy here, even the undergrowth and grass cover are absent, there is only a thick layer of fallen leaves. At an altitude of about a thousand meters, huge mighty beeches are replaced by clumsy, stunted trees.
At the very top, forests are replaced by flat peaks, which are separated from each other by very deep passes. Outwardly, the yailas are similar to the steppes. It is here that a quarter of all endemic peninsula is located.
Further, closer to the sea, there is a belt of beech-pine and pine forests, which consists of Crimean pine and ordinary pine. There are also oaks, beeches, and field hills. Natural pine forests are more pronounced on the South Bank, which can not be said about the southeastern part.
South coast
Even further south begins the siblyak belt, consisting of a hawthorn, fluffy oak, juniper, small-fruited strawberries, pistachios and many other drought-resistant plants. In the southeast, the climate is very dry, because shiblaki are very rare.
But on the South Coast they are quite dense. In general, the vegetation of the South Bank is close to the Mediterranean, but very much changed by man. Most of the territory is occupied by health resorts, orchards, vineyards, roads. And also with the hands of man, vast 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 Alupkinsky, Foros, Livadia, Massandra, Gurzufsky parks. And why is the well-known Nikitsky Botanical Garden worth everything, which contains not only Crimean plants (photos are given in the article), but also many imported exotic varieties.
It must be said that the parks themselves have long merged with the evergreen natural thickets and are a single whole.
Reserves of Crimea
Crimean plants are protected by laws. Four completely new reserves and sixteen reserves have been created on the peninsula. Monuments of nature, nature reserves, nature reserves are also protected.
Near the Nikitsky Botanical Garden is the reserve "Cape Martyan." Also on the peninsula is the Yalta Reserve, the Karadag Reserve, which contains rare Crimean plants. This is only a small part of the protected areas of this region. All of them are unique and interesting in their own way, each has its own task of preserving relict and endemic plants. In our article we want to describe some of them.
Beech
Beech is a genus of the Beech family. Two species grow in the Crimea: ordinary and eastern. Both of them have a regal appearance and play a large soil-protective and water-protective 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. Blossoms in April with the simultaneous opening of leaves. In the autumn, nuts appear on the tree. They feed on squirrels, roe deer, wild boars, deer. Beech oil is very valuable; it is not inferior to olive in its properties.
Well, there’s no need to talk about wood. Due to its special property, it is used to make barrels for expensive wines, parquet, musical instruments, and yachts. In the distant past, trees in the Crimea were mercilessly cut down. And now they are under guard. 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 is much appreciated. In Crimea, there is a rather rare fluffy oak that has been living 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 district, a tree was found in a girth of eight meters. Back in 1820, a cork grove was laid in Nikitsky Garden, which still feels great. The scientists of the garden settled stone oaks throughout the South Coast. Now this is a plant of Southern Crimea.
Small-fruited Strawberry
Plants and animals of Crimea are so diverse that they never cease to amaze. And the South Coast is a unique place, a piece of 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 small-fruited strawberries. This 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 South Bank. It has been preserved in these places since the Tertiary period, and is now listed in the Red Book. The tree reaches a height of six meters. It is characterized by a bizarrely curved trunk and twisting ends of branches. On the tree, fruits are formed, 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, the age of which, according to scientists, approaches one thousand years.
Figs
Figs are also called a fig tree. His homeland is the Mediterranean. I must say that this is an evergreen plant, there are more than 800 of its species. Of particular value to a person are the fruits. They are eaten fresh, dried, 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, the famous Nikitsky Garden has 300 species of figs. The tree has a powerful root system. There are no flowers familiar to us on a tree. But the fruit looks like a bag with seeds inside.
Cypress evergreen
It is an evergreen coniferous tree. It came to Crimea from Greece. It acclimatized here in ancient times. But it became widespread in the 18th century, when many plants were brought in by order of Potemkin. 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. The seeds of cypresses are food for many birds: oak-trees, woodpeckers, finches, zaryanok. In addition, the tree is known for its healing properties.
Even the ancient Greeks noticed the positive effect of cypress on people with sick lungs. Modern scientists have proved that essential oils of the tree have a strong 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, it is resistant to decay and has a wonderful aroma. It has been appreciated since time immemorial.
Orchid
Orchids are very common in the tropics. This species includes the well-known vanilla spice and a great many cultivated species in greenhouses. In Crimea, there are 39 varieties of this plant, 20 of which can be found in Laspi. According to meteorologists, this is the warmest place on the entire South Coast. He is jokingly called "Crimean Africa." It is for this reason that many endemic plants are located here.
Red Book of Crimea. Plants listed in it
Crimea is a completely unique place that has gathered truly innumerable wealth in the form of flora and fauna. Any tourist who has visited the peninsula for the first time does not cease to admire its beauties and amazing plants. And there really is something to see, something to admire. What is only the rich history of this region.
If we talk about the unique plants of the peninsula, then many of them are under protection and have long been listed in the Red Book. Plants of Crimea, the description of which we cited in the article, are very interesting and worthy of detailed attention. We would also like to dwell on those species that, for one reason or another, have already entered the Red Book. There are more than 250 of them. We list only a few of them:
- Horsetail river.
- The skeleton is graceful.
- Kostenz north.
- Juniper deltoid.
- Steven's maple.
- Ira is graceful.
- Cuff oak.
- Reddish onions.
- Cratiformis hawthorn.
- Sage meadow.
- Crimean dandelion.
- Tulip Biberstein.
- Forest grapes.
- Seahorse.
- Cystosira bearded.
In general, the book includes: horsetail, gymnosperms, angiosperms, mosses and algae. In the list we gave only some plants of the Crimea. The book contains a wider list.
