2. Cupressus
• The genus Cupressus is one of several genera within
the family Cupressaceae that have the common name cypress.
• Εxtensive cultivation has led to a wide variety of forms, sizes and
colours, that are grown in parks and gardens throughout the
world. They are evergreen trees or large shrubs, growing to 5–
40 m tall. The leaves are scale-like, 2–6 mm long, arranged in
opposite decussate pairs, and persist for three to five years. On
young plants up to two years old, the leaves are needle-like and
5–15 mm long. The cones are 8–40 mm long, globose or ovoid
with four to 14 scales arranged in opposite decussate pairs; they
are mature in 18–24 months from pollination. The seeds are
small, 4–7 mm long, with two narrow wings, one along each side
of the seed.
• Many of the species are adapted to forest fires, holding their
seeds for many years in closed cones until the parent trees are
killed by a fire; the seeds are then released to colonise the bare,
burnt ground. In other species, the cones open at maturity to
release the seeds.
• Many species are grown as decorative trees in parks. A few
species are grown for their timber, which can be very durable.
3. Cupressus sempervirens: the Mediterranean cypress
• C. sempervirens is a medium-
sized coniferous evergreen tree to 35 m
(115 ft) tall, with a conic crown with level
branches and variably loosely hanging
branchlets. It is very long-lived, with some trees
reported to be over 1,000 years old.
• The foliage grows in dense sprays, dark green
in colour. The leaves are scale-like, 2–5 mm
long, and produced on rounded (not flattened)
shoots. The seed cones are ovoid or oblong,
25–40 mm long, with 10-14 scales, green at first,
maturing brown about 20–24 months after
pollination. The male cones are 3–5 mm long,
and release pollen in late winter.
4. Uses
• The vast majority of the trees in cultivation are
selected cultivars with a fastigiate crown, with erect
branches forming a narrow to very narrow crown often
less than a tenth as wide as the tree is tall. The dark
green "exclamation mark" shape of these trees is a
highly characteristic signature of Mediterranean town
and village landscapes. Formerly, the species was
sometimes separated into two varieties, the wild C.
sempervirens var. sempervirens (syn. var. horizontalis),
and the fastigiate C. s. var. pyramidalis (syn.
var. fastigiata, var. stricta), but the latter is now only
distinguished as a Cultivar Group, with no botanical
significance. It is also known for its very durable,
scented wood.
• In cosmetics it is used as astringent, firming, anti-
seborrheic, anti-dandruff, anti-aging and as fragrance. It
is also the traditional wood used for Italian harpsichords.
5. Allergenic potential
• All plants in the genus Cupressus,
including New
World Cupressus (now Callitropsis), are
extremely allergenic, and have
an OPALS allergy scale rating of 10. In
warm, Mediterranean climates, these
plants release large quantities of pollen for
approximately seven months each year
7. • Firs (Abies) are a genus of 48–
56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in
the family Pinaceae. They are found through much
of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North
Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range.
They are large trees, reaching heights of 10–80 m (33–
262 ft) tall and trunk diameters of 0.5–4 m (1 ft 8 in–13 ft
1 in) when mature. Firs can be distinguished from other
members of the pine family by the unique attachment of
their needle-like leaves and by their different cones.
• Identification of the different species is based on the size
and arrangement of the leaves, the size and shape of
the cones, and whether the bract scales of the cones are
long and exserted, or short and hidden inside the cone.
8. Leaves
• The leaves are significantly flattened and have two
whitish lines on the bottom, each of which is formed
by wax-covered stomatal bands.
• The tips of leaves are usually more or less notched (as
in A. firma), but sometimes rounded or dull (as in A.
concolor, A. magnifica) or sharp and prickly (as in A.
bracteata, A. cephalonica, A. holophylla). The leaves
of young plants are usually sharper.
Cones
• Firs differ from other conifers in having erect,
cylindrical cones 5–25 cm (2–10 in) long that
disintegrate at maturity to release the winged seeds.
• In contrast to spruces, even large fir cones do not
hang, but are raised like candles.
• Mature cones are usually brown, young in summer
can be green or purple and blue, sometimes very dark.
9. Uses and ecology
• Wood of most firs is considered unsuitable
for general timber use, and is often used
as pulp or for the manufacture
of plywood and rough timber. Because
this genus has no insect or decay
resistance qualities after logging, it is
generally recommended for construction
purposes as indoor use only (e.g.
indoor drywall on framing). This wood left
outside cannot be expected to last more
than 12 to 18 months, depending on the
type of climate it is exposed to.
11. • An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus of
the beech family, Fagaceae. There are
approximately 600 extant species of oaks.
• Oaks have spirally arranged leaves, with lobate
margins in many species; some have serrated
leaves or entire leaves with smooth margins. Many
deciduous species are marcescent, not dropping dead
leaves until spring. In spring, a single oak tree
produces both male flowers (in the form of catkins)
and small female flowers. The fruit is a nut called
an acorn or oak nut borne in a cup-like structure
known as a cupule; each acorn contains one seed
(rarely two or three) and takes 6–18 months to mature,
depending on their species. The acorns and leaves
contain tannic acid, which helps to guard from fungi
and insects. The live oaks are distinguished for being
evergreen, but are not actually a distinct group and
instead are dispersed across the genus.
12. Uses
• Oak wood has a density of about
0.75 g/cm3 (0.43 oz/cu in) creating great strength
and hardness. The wood is very resistant to
insect and fungal attack because of its
high tannin content. It also has very appealing
grain markings, particularly when quartersawn.
• Oak wood, from Quercus robur and Quercus
petraea, was used in Europe for the construction
of ships, especially naval men of war, until the
19th century, and was the principal timber used in
the construction of European timber-
framed buildings. Today oak wood is still
commonly used for furniture making and
flooring, timber frame buildings, and veneer
production.
13. Biodiversity and ecology
• Oaks are keystone species in a wide range of
habitats from Mediterrane. Many species of oaks are
under threat of extinction in the wild, largely due
to land use changes, livestock grazing and
unsustainable harvestingan semi-desert to
subtropical rainforest.
Toxicity
• The leaves and acorns of the oak tree are
poisonous to cattle, horses, sheep, and goats in
large amounts due to the toxin tannic acid, and
cause kidney damage and gastroenteritis.
• Acorns are also edible to humans, after leaching of
the tannins.
15. • The olive, known by the botanical name Olea
europaea, meaning "European olive", is
a species of small tree in the family Oleaceae.
The species is cultivated in many places and
considered naturalized in all the countries of the
Mediterranean coast.
• Olea europeana sylvestris is a subspecies that
corresponds to a smaller tree bearing noticeably
smaller fruit.
• The olive's fruit, also called the olive, is of major
agricultural importance in the Mediterranean
region as the source of olive oil; it is one of the
core ingredients in Mediterranean cuisine.
16. Description
• The olive tree, Olea europaea, is
an evergreen tree or shrub native to
the Mediterranean, Asia, and Africa. It is short and
squat, and rarely exceeds 8–15 m (26–49 ft) in
height. The silvery green leaves are oblong,
measuring 4–10 cm (1.6–3.9 in) long and 1–3 cm
(0.39–1.18 in) wide. The trunk is typically gnarled
and twisted. The small, white, feathery flowers,
with ten-cleft calyx and corolla, two stamens, and
bifid stigma, are borne generally on the previous
year's wood, in racemes springing from the axils of
the leaves.
• The fruit is a small drupe 1–2.5 cm (0.39–0.98 in)
long, thinner-fleshed and smaller in wild plants than
in orchard cultivars. Olives are harvested in the
green to purple stage.
17. Uses
• The olive tree, Olea europaea, has been cultivated for olive oil,
fine wood, olive leaf, and the olive fruit. About 90% of all
harvested olives are turned into oil, while about 10% are used as
table olives. The olive is one of the "trinity" or "triad" of basic
ingredients in Mediterranean cuisine, the other two
being wheat for bread, pasta, and couscous, and
the grape for wine.
Olive wood
• Olive wood is very hard and is prized for its durability, colour,
high combustion temperature, and interesting grain patterns.
Because of the commercial importance of the fruit, and the slow
growth and relatively small size of the tree, olive wood and its
products are relatively expensive. Common uses of the wood
include: kitchen utensils, carved wooden bowls, cutting
boards, fine furniture, and decorative items.
• The yellow or light greenish-brown wood is often finely veined with
a darker tint; being very hard and close-grained, it is valued by
woodworkers.
19. • A pine is any conifer in the genus Pinus, of
the family Pinaceae. Pinus is the sole genus in
the subfamily Pinoideae. The Plant List compiled by
the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri
Botanical Garden accepts 126 species names of
pines as current, together with 35 unresolved
species and many more synonyms.
Uses
• Pines are among the most commercially important
tree species valued for their timber and wood
pulp throughout the world. Commercial pines are
grown in plantations for timber that is denser, more
resinous, and therefore more durable
than spruce (Picea). Pine wood is widely used in
high-value carpentry items such as furniture,
window frames, panelling, floors, and roofing, and
the resin of some species is an important source
of turpentine.
20. Description
• Pine trees are evergreen, coniferous resinous trees
(or, rarely, shrubs) growing 3–80 m (10–260 ft) tall, with
the majority of species reaching 15–45 m (50–150 ft)
tall. Pines are long-lived, and typically reach ages of
100–1,000 years, some even more. The bark of most
pines is thick and scaly, but some species have thin,
flaky bark. The branches are produced in regular
"pseudo whorls", actually a very tight spiral but
appearing like a ring of branches arising from the same
point.
• Pines have four types of leaf: seed leaves, juvenile
leaves, scale leaves and needles.
• Pines are mostly monoecious, having the male and
female cones on the same tree, though a few species
are sub-dioecious, with individuals predominantly, but
not wholly, single-sex.
22. • Poaceae (Poe-ay-see-ay) or Gramineae (Grammy-nee-ay) is a
large and nearly
ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants
known as grasses.
• With around 780 genera and around 12,000
species, Poaceae are the fifth-largest plant family, following
the Asteraceae, Orchidaceae, Fabaceae and Rubiaceae.
• Grasses are also an important part of the vegetation in many
other habitats, including wetlands, forests and tundra. The
Poaceae are the most economically important plant family,
providing staple foods from domesticated cereal crops such
as maize, wheat, rice, barley, and millet as well as forage,
building materials (bamboo, thatch, straw) and fuel
(ethanol).
23. Description
• Grasses may be annual or perennial herbs.
The stems of grasses, called culms, are usually
cylindrical (more rarely flattened, but not 3-
angled) and are hollow, plugged at the nodes,
where the leaves are attached. Grass leaves are
nearly always alternate and distichous (in one
plane), and have parallel veins. The leaf blades
of many grasses are hardened
with silica phytoliths, which discourage grazing
animals; some, such as sword grass, are sharp
enough to cut human skin.
• Flowers of Poaceae are characteristically
arranged in spikelets, each having one or more
florets.
24. Ecology
• Grasses provide food to many grazing mammals—such
as livestock, deer, and elephants—as well as to
many species of butterflies and moths. Many types of
animals eat grass as their main source of food, and are
called graminivores – these
include cattle, sheep, horses, rabbits and
many invertebrates, such as grasshoppers and the
caterpillars of many brown butterflies. Grasses are also
eaten by omnivorous or even occasionally by
primarily carnivorous animals.
Uses
• Their economic importance stems from several areas,
including food production, industry, and lawns.
Grasses are also used in the manufacture
of thatch, paper, fuel, clothing, insulation, timber
for fencing, furniture, scaffolding and construction materi
als, floor matting, sports turf and baskets.
26. • Quercus coccifera, the kermes oak, is
an oak in the Quercus section Cerris. It is
native to the Mediterranean region and
Northern African Maghreb, south to north
from Morocco to France and west to east
from Portugal to Cyprus and Turkey,
crossing Spain, Italy, Libya, Balkans,
and Greece, including Crete.
27. Description
• Quercus coccifera is usually a shrub less
than 2 metres (6.6 ft) high, rarely a
small tree, reaching 1–6 metres (3.3–
19.7 ft) tall and 50 cm trunk diameter. It
is evergreen, with spiny-serrated
coriaceous leaves 1.5–4 cm long and 1–
3 cm broad. The acorns are 2–3 cm long
and 1.5–2 cm diameter when mature
about 18 months after pollination. They
are held in a cup covered in dense,
elongated, reflexed scales.
28. Habitat
• It is associated with several asparagus species. It is
indifferent to chemistry of soils, living on calcareous,
pebbly, stony and poor soils. A lover of warm weather, it
starts to fail from 1000 metres above sea level. It is
capable of supporting the continental Mediterranean
climate with extreme temperatures and low rainfall.
• It blooms from March to May in weather still wet. It is
easily propagated by seed, an acorn that lies dormant
until germinated by wet weather. This might occur
anywhere from late summer to late autumn or early
winter (October, November or December) of the
following year. The acorns are very bitter, varying
greatly in size and shape from one specimen to another
and tasting bad. Acorns can germinate even before
falling from the plant, but Quercus coccifera is also
multiplied by root suckers and layering.
30. • Quercus robur, commonly known as common
oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English
oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech
and oak family Fagaceae. It is native to most
of Europe west of the Caucasus. The tree is
widely cultivated in temperate regions and has
escaped into the wild in scattered parts of China
and North America.
Ecological importance
• Q. robur is valued for its importance
to insects and other wildlife. Numerous insects
live on the leaves, buds, and in the acorns. The
acorns form a valuable food resource for several
small mammals and some birds. Mammals,
notably squirrels who tend to hoard acorns and
other nuts usually leave them too abused to grow
in the action of moving or storing them.
31. Description
• Quercus robur is a large deciduous tree, with
circumference of grand oaks from 4 m (13 ft) to
exceptional 12 m (39 ft).
• Quercus robur has lobed and nearly sessile (very
short-stalked) leaves 7–14 cm (2.8–5.5 in) long.
Flowering takes place in mid spring, and their fruit,
called acorns, ripen by the following autumn. The
acorns are 2–2.5 cm (0.79–0.98 in) long,
pedunculate (having a peduncle or acorn-stalk, 3–
7 cm (1.2–2.8 in) long) with one to four acorns on
each peduncle.
• Q. robur is very tolerant to soil conditions and
the continental climate but it prefers fertile and
well-watered soils. Mature trees tolerate flooding.
It is a long-lived tree, with a large wide spreading
crown of rugged branches. It may naturally live to
an age of a few centuries.
33. • Rosmarinus officinalis, commonly known
as rosemary, is a woody, perennial herb with
fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and
white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the
Mediterranean region.
• It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae,
which includes many other herbs.
Usage
• Rosemary is used as a decorative plant in
gardens where it may have pest
control effects. The leaves are used to flavor
various foods, such as stuffing and roast
meats. They have a bitter, astringent taste and a
characteristic aroma which complements many
cooked foods. Herbal tea can be made from the
leaves.
34. Description
• Rosemary is an aromatic evergreen shrub with
leaves similar to hemlock needles. It is native to
the Mediterranean and Asia, but is reasonably
hardy in cool climates. It can withstand droughts,
surviving a severe lack of water for lengthy
periods. Forms range from upright to trailing; the
upright forms can reach 1.5 m (5 ft) tall, rarely 2 m
(6 ft 7 in). The leaves are evergreen, 2–4 cm (0.8–
1.6 in) long and 2–5 mm broad, green above, and
white below, with dense, short, woolly hair. The
plant flowers in spring and summer
in temperate climates, but the plants can be in
constant bloom in warm climates; flowers are
white, pink, purple or deep blue. Rosemary also
has a tendency to flower outside its normal
flowering season; it has been known to flower as
late as early December, and as early as mid-
February (in the northern hemisphere).
36. • Silybum marianum has other common
names include cardus marianus, milk
thistle, blessed milkthistle, Marian thistle, Mary
thistle, Saint Mary's thistle, Mediterranean milk
thistle, variegated thistle and Scotch thistle. This
species is an annual or biennial plant of
the Asteraceae family. This fairly typical thistle has
red to purple flowers and shiny pale green leaves with
white veins. Originally a native of Southern Europe
through to Asia, it is now found throughout the world.
Toxicity
• Milk thistle based supplements have been measured
to have the highest mycotoxin concentrations of up to
37 mg/kg when compared amongst various plant-
based dietary supplements.
37. Description
• Milk thistles can grow to be 30 to 200 cm (12 to
79 in) tall, and have an overall conical shape. The
approximate maximum base diameter is 160 cm
(63 in). The stem is grooved and more or less
cottony. The largest specimens have hollow stems.
• The leaves are oblong to lanceolate. They are either
lobate or pinnate, with spiny edges. They are
hairless, shiny green, with milk-white veins.
• The flower heads are 4 to 12 cm long and wide, of
red-purple colour. They flower from June to August in
the North or December to February in the Southern
Hemisphere (summer through autumn).
• The bracts are hairless, with triangular, spine-edged
appendages, tipped with a stout yellow spine.
• The achenes are black, with a simple long
white pappus, surrounded by a yellow basal ring
39. • Vicia villosa, known as the hairy vetch, fodder
vetch or winter vetch, is a plant native to some
of Europe and western Asia. It is a legume, grown
as a forage crop, fodder crop, cover crop, and green
manure.
Cultivation
• Hairy vetch is widely used by organic growers in the
United States as a winter cover crop and in no-till
farming, as it is both winter hardy and can fix as
much as 200 lb/acre of atmospheric
nitrogen. Disadvantages of hairy vetch in production
agriculture are related to the crop having a portion of
hard seed and its tendency to shatter seed early in
the season, leading to it remaining in the field as a
weed later in the season. This can be a particular
problem in wheat production.
40. Companion plant
• Organic gardeners often plant hairy vetch
(a nitrogen-fixing legume) as
a companion plant to tomatoes, as an
alternative to rotating crops in small
growing areas. When it is time to plant
tomatoes in the spring, the hairy vetch is
cut to the ground and the tomato seedlings
are planted in holes dug through the
matted residue and stubble. The vetch
vegetation provides both nitrogen and an
instant mulch that preserves moisture and
keeps weeds from sprouting.
