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National Tree of Cyprus

National flower of Cyprus

In 2006 the Cyprus government declared Cyclamen the national flower of Cyprus and the Golden Oak to be the national tree of Cyprus.

There are quite a few photos of Cyprus wild flowers such as Cyclamen, Anemones and Wild Orchids which we took around Kalavasos and Limassol suburbs which have been added to the site. We plan to go out again in the spring to see what we can find to add to the pages. Meanwhile if you have anything which you think may be relevant to our pages, on Nature please feel free to contact us.

Cyprus is an island rich in natural history. There is a lot to see and do. Below is an article written for us by a friend from the UK who now lives in Cyprus and spends her time exploring the islands wealth of nature.

Pink Butterfly Orchid One of the things I love most about Cyprus is the wonderful “outdoors”. I don’t just mean the sea and the mountains - though both are splendid - but the expanses of unspoiled countryside still to be found in this rapidly developing island, with the birds, animals and plants which inhabit them. There is always something to find, and to marvel at, whatever the season. Because we have so much pleasant weather, I particularly enjoy taking a picnic, or just a flask of coffee, and spending time exploring, often using one of the nature trails to be found in all areas of the island. I have met and exchanged information with many others, visitors to the island as well as residents, who are following their particular interest; birdwatchers, particularly at the migration times in spring and autumn, botanists looking at the wonderful year-round display of plants, and those who are walking for the pleasure of seeing the non-human world around us. What have been the particular highlights for me? I remember being in Phasouri when about 4000 Common Cranes flew in and landed; the noise was deafening, and definitely not everyone’s idea of pleasure! But everyone who passed stopped to admire the dozen Mute Swans swimming on the small pool near the football ground in Akrotiri, and the 80 White Pelicans which landed on Yermasoyeia Dam when the water was low, and feasted on the fish trapped there. Then there are the thousands of Cyclamen which appear every year in the Akamas and elsewhere, and the tiny Paper-white Narcissi. But I have to place at the top of my list finding an orchid which had only once before been seen in Cyprus, forty years earlier, so that everyone thought it had gone forever; it was the beautiful Orchis papilionacea, known as the Pink Butterfly.  That really was a memorable moment for me, but everyone who spends time out of doors here will have their own memories, and probably their own photographs,too.   Pamela Scraton Cyprus Orchids

 
We have some great mountain trails you can explore to experience the nature of Cyprus. Akamas is an area of incomparable natural beauty. Almost all the geological formations found on the island are present in the area. About 600 plant species can be found there of which 35 are endemic. There is also a large amount of fauna here.

More information on the flora and fauna of Cyprus can be found at http://www.natureofcyprus.org  also on birds, mammals butterflies and lots more. There are also 168 bird species, 12 mammals, 20 reptiles and butterfly species of which the endemic Glaucopsyche Paphos blue butterfly is said to be the symbol of the area. It is similar to the other Glaucopsyche species in Europe with the enlarged black spots on the underside forewing.

As for the Troodos region, over 770 plant species have managed to survive making Troodos National Forest Park the richest botanical garden of Cyprus. The area’s geology is of worldwide importance. The world’s best preserved ophiological complex is studied by scientists with a view to achieving an understanding of how the ocean’s crust was created 90 million years ago at the bottom of a vast ocean known to geologists as the “Sea of Tethys”. Along the trails, samples of plutonic rock can be seen. These were created by the crystallization of magma which took place 2000-6000 m under the bottom of the ocean.

If you like fishing there are lots of Dams in Cyprus and Kalavasos Dam is situated just above Kalavasos village

The forests are particularly beautiful all year round. Cedar valley is well worth a visit