If holm oak, white oak, Scotch pines,
rosemary, thyme and boxwood grow indifferently
in chalky or siliceous soil, there
are other plants which are characteristic
of ochre earth. Parasol pines have
invaded these areas, following the
deforestation that accompanied the
opening of the quarries. More rare,
the chestnut tree flourishes in the
coolness at the bottom of the valleys.
The undergrowth is made up of broom
heather, which we used in olden days
to make brooms, and the common heather
produces, in Autumn, long, magnificent
bunches of bright pink flowers in the
form of small bells. In an open field,
the heather takes over the soil, forming
a dense tangle of shrub. Testifying
to the air's purity but also the ambient
humidity, the lichens attach themselves
to the bark of trees on the most eastern
hills. The aesthetes will particularly
like the diversity of wild orchids;
some twenty six varieties thrive here,
some of them extremely rare. Nature
lovers will be keen to admire and photograph
them, without touching. The large number
of visitors to these areas does, in
effect, put these plants in danger
of dying off.
