Marengo

Pictures of Thasos flowers, A to O

Anacamptis laxiflora; May 2004
Formerly Orchis laxiflora, the loose-flowered orchid is found in the decreasing areas of marshy ground behind Skala Potamias beach.

Aristolochia clematitis
One of two species of birthwort that are common in the area behind Skala Potamias beach, usually on roadsides or waste ground. A. clematitis was formerly used as a painkiller in childbirth, hence the name. It is the foodplant of the caterpillars of festoon butterflies.

Cerastium decalvans subsp. moesiacum; May 2004
An endemic subspecies, confined to high-altitude areas of limestone and marble. Formerly C. glutinosum subsp. moesiacum. Seen here on the northwest side of Mt Profitis Ilias, with Viola tricolor, Geranium lucidum and Myosotis cadmea.

Corydalis thasia; March 2004
This species, previously often included within C. solida (L.) Clairv., was originally thought to be endemic to Thasos, however very similar plants recorded from the western Cycladic island of Andros (as C. solida subsp. longicarpa Lidén) were included in C. thasia by Lidén (in Flora Hellenica, vol 2, 2002). It is possible that plants of C. solida from Samothraki may also represent C. thasia (Flora Hellenica, 2002: 104).

C. thasia was recorded by the Bulgarian botanists Stojanov and Kitanov from nine locations, at altitudes from 100-1100m, growing under Pinus halepensis subsp. brutia, Pinus nigra, Juniperus excelsa and Platanus orientalis, as well as on calcareous submontane and montane cliffs, and on siliceous montane cliffs. The present author however has only found plants in quantity at the foot of the calcareous Profitis Ilias cliffs (c. 1000m), under Pinus nigra and at a similar altitude on the wooded northwest slopes of Ypsario under Pinus nigra and Abies ×borisii-regis; no plants have been found below 800m. It is likely that the deforestation and consequent increased sun exposure of much of the island in the last quarter of the twentieth century has considerably reduced the species' range and population on the island. The large number of plants remaining along the north side of Profitis Ilias are permanently shaded due to the steepness of the north-facing cliffs, so would presumably be well-placed to survive any future possible loss through burning of the local Pinus nigra woodland cover.
Corydalis thasia, March 2005

Plants collected at 1000m on Profitis Ilias have responded well to cultivation at sea-level in coastal northwest Norfolk, England, when kept in a shady position. Flowering time in England is from early March to early April. Once flowering finishes, the above-ground parts of the plant die away very quickly, by mid-April in England, mostly by mid-May on Profitis Ilias. In England, in open ground, with sun exposure, the plants do not flourish.

Crocus pulchellus, September 2005
This autumn-flowering crocus grows in open areas, mostly above 300m, flowering in September and October.

Digitalis lanata; May 2004
A foxglove with numerous, densely-packed flowers in tall spikes. Often abundant at woodland clearings and margins, flowering May and June.

Galanthus elwesii; February 2008
A large-flowered snowdrop, rarely seen in the wild because of its early flowering period.

Haplophyllum balcanicum; May 2004
A rare species, in the rue family (Rutaceae). This particular plant, one of the few specimens on Thasos of this species, had been dug up by May 2008.

The summer snowflake, Leucojum aestivum, a plant dependent on permanently wet sites, was believed to be extinct on Thasos, one of its few Greek sites. However it was rediscovered in 1998, in a marshy area at Golden beach, opposite the Marina Apartments. Here it flourished with yellow iris and adderstongue spearwort, until spring 2004, when a large building was built on both the marsh and the snowflake's last viable population.


Before... (photo taken 18 May 2000)


After... (photo taken 17 May 2004)
(By May 2008 the trees had gone too...)

Limodorum abortivum; May 2004
The violet limodore orchid is usually found in semi-shady woodland, often (though not always) with pine trees nearby. The specific name comes from the ability of the plant to abort the developing flower spike if the growing conditions become unfavourable.

Lotus aduncus; May 2004
This unusual bird's-foot trefoil, with red flowers, is endemic to the island of Thasos, growing mainly on non-calcareous soils. A perennial with deep tap roots, it is sometimes regarded as a colour form of the more widespread L. gebelia.

Onosma heterophylla; May 2004
A pale flowered golden drop, found in the less disturbed areas of the Skala Potamias dunes.

Ophrys cornuta; May 2004
The horned orchid is probably the commonest species of Ophrys on Thasos.

Ornithogalum boucheanum; May 2004

See also an article, by Lance Chilton, on some interesting additions to the Thasos flora at

Phytologia Balcanica (pdf download: page 437-441).

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Lance Chilton and Marengo 2010

Marengo, 17 Bernard Crescent, Hunstanton PE36 6ER, England