The steep hillsides are suitable for a number of rare plants, which create patches of grass and other plants dotted by bushes and lined with open woodland. We call them xerophytes – plants adapted to the environment with hot summer, a lack of moisture and poor layer of soil.
Seseli osseum
The moon carrot is a thermophilous plant that loves full sun and often grows on very steep cliffs. It sends up an erect stem, up to 1.5 m in height, topped by white inflorescences (umbels).
Anthericum liliago
Rocky slopes exposed to the sun are an ideal habitat for the rare St Bernard's Lily. Its underground rhizome sends up a stem to a height of up to 70 cm, which bears flowers arranged in sparse racemes.
Berberis vulgaris
This deciduous shrub can grow up to a height of 3 m and has branches covered with short thorns. In April and May, it flowers in pendant racemes of yellow blooms, which ripen into bright red, elongated fruits (berries) towards the end of summer.
Cotoneaster integerrimus
Under closer scrutiny, this shrub cannot deny its membership in the rose family; i.e., its kinship with the apple tree. Its dainty, pink-tinted flowers open from April to June, ripening into small red pomes in September. It sheds its leaves in the fall.