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Within the territory of Palazzo Adriano, on the Sicani Mountains, lies this Oriented Nature Reserve, an extraordinary and unspoiled environment featuring almost 15.000 acres of woodland between the provinces of Palermo and Agrigento.
Established in July 1997, this reserve covers some 14.485 acres arranged as follows:

Reserve Zone A (9.397 acres)
Reserve Zone B – the area in front of the reserve or “pre-reserve” (5.085 acres)

The reserve as a whole encompasses one of the most evocative, wild and unspoiled areas of Sicily.
It includes thick pristine woods, prairies, seasonal streams, ravines, and impressive cliffs.

The most significant wooded area is that of the Bosco di Sant’Adriano, where the holm oak is the dominant species, especially on the rocky and secluded slopes, as well as on the steeply sloping walls (right there, it grows as a pioneer plant species). Where the slopes soften up, the most demanding downy oaks take over, but holm oaks are always present.

In Bosco di Rifesi, on the other hand, oak woods dominate, even if there is never a shortage of holm oaks. It goes without saying that there are also other tree species, such as hornbeams, field maples, strawberry trees, arboreal heather, hawthorns, butcher’s broom, thorny broom, evergreen roses, and blackthorns. Shrubs appear in the clearings, which also feature grasslands and cultivated areas.

In the rocky environments, mostly represented by “Pizzo Gallinaro” (4.002 ft) and “Serra del Biondo” (3.733 ft), there are ravines rich with olive trees and spurge shrubs; right there, there are also several endemic or rare species, such as Lomelosia cretica, Anthemis cupaniana, Brassica rupestris, and Sicilian snapdragon (Antirrhinum siculum L.)

In those areas live many bird species, such as peregrine falcons, Bonelli’s eagles, and lanner falcons.

In the gorges and in the riparian environments, along the course of the river and streams, the thick vegetation consists of white and black poplars, white willows, southern ashes, grey elms, oleanders with lively blooms and turpentine trees (plants very similar to pistachio, also locally known as “scornabeccu”, due to their horn-shaped leaves grow when they’re attacked by parasites).

This is also the realm of thornless blackberries, great horsetails, and Italian arum.
Nonetheless, it’s actually the outermost part of the banks that stands out with Arundo plinii, Tamarix gallica, and Tamarix Africana.

Text source:
http://www.parks.it/riserva.monti.palazzo.adriano/par.php

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)