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This Nature Reserve encompasses the municipalities of Ferla and Sortino, in the province of Siracusa. Crossed by the Anapo River, it features several V-shaped canyons quite typical of this area of Sicily.

On the banks of the river, grow many oriental plane trees, while the rock formations mainly feature beautiful oleanders. Among the trees, the most predominant species are willows, black poplars, hornbeams, and downy oaks, while in the undergrowth there are butcher’s broom, hawthorn, mastic and tree spurges. Among the flowers: cyclamens, field daisies, white flowers and buttercups.

Along the valley, the Mediterranean scrub gets more and more prominent, featuring holm oaks, turpentine trees, Phillyrea, and Italian buckthorn

The oleander

All the locals appreciate oleanders for the colourful blooms that spice up the most important motorways in Sicily. Thanks to its great resistance to hot-arid climates, it’s undoubtedly the most ideal plant for ornamental purposes. It is a shrub that grows luxuriantly along the rivers with rocky banks.

The oleander is an evergreen plant, regarded by botanists as an interesting example of adaptation to dry conditions: its stomata (the pores, found in the epidermis of leaves, stems, and other organs, that control the gas exchange) appear sunken in cavities covered with hairs capable of retaining to water and thus avoiding excessive transpiration. Oleanders bloom from May to July.

The fruit, ripe in October-November, is elongated and opens in two valves full of hair, hosting the seeds. The latter are easily dispersed with the wind thanks to the fluffy valves. It is a toxic plant for humans and animals due to the high content of glycosides. The colour of the flowers ranges from white to pink. The leaves are light green and lanceolate.

Oleanders grow spontaneously in Southern Europe, along the shores of the streams in the terminal and the driest portion of the riverbeds, and up to 1.640 ft of altitude.

Photo source:
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC62A11_pantalica-valle-dellanapo-e-torrente-cavagrande

Text source:
http://www.parks.it/riserva.pantalica/par.php

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)