Most of the flowers we associate with this lovely island are dormant at the moment, just waiting for the winter rains to restore the countryside to its amazing green-ness once more. There are, thankfully, some exceptions. One of the most beautiful and fragrant of flowers to be found on our sandy shores is Pancratium Maritimum – The Sea Daffodil or Lily. Its Greek name ‘κρíνος τ?ς θáλασσας’ means ‘lily of the sea’. It belongs to the same family as the daffodil, but its trumpet is far more complex and beautiful.
Because the sea lily is neither endemic nor endangered internationally, it is of no immediate importance. However, the ever-increasing need to ruin the natural habitats of these wonderful flowers by building yet more holiday complexes means that the sea lily is threatened on some of our beaches – mainly on the north coast. The Cretan Open Air Museum Lychnostatis is running informational courses for children to encourage and develop a respect for all native flora and the sea lily in particular. They are even replanting seeds on some of the beaches to help with re-population. Unfortunately, it is an uphill struggle. One of my favourite flower beaches near Malia becomes a racetrack for motorbikes and quad bikes in the summer months. It is truly amazing that anything survives.
There is constant debate amongst artists and botanists as to whether this flower can be considered one of the flowers of the Minoans. I can only say that if in Minoan times, the beaches were covered from July to October with these wonderful, fragrant blooms, it would have been impossible for them not to have gathered and appreciated them.
So please, if you see a stand of sea lilies on a beach near you, don’t pick them - tempting as that surely is! Take photographs, or sit and breathe in their fragrance in the early evening. If you have the skill and inclination, try making a drawing or two. For every flower picked, the possibility of 10 or more new plants is lost. The dark chocolate brown seeds float and can be carried on the tide to another beach, perhaps to found a new colony to delight visitors in years to come.
Sea Lily – Pancratium maritimum © Tom Feise, floracretica.gr
Up in the mountains, you may just come across the very pretty yellow flowers of the Alpine Lettuce – ‘ Lactucta alpestris’ (formerly called Scariola alpestris – just to confuse us all!). This dwarf lettuce is endemic to Crete and can be found in the mountains – usually above 900m. We found it in August growing through a spiny bush close to the wall of a church on the Katharo Plateau. When we went back the following week to take some more photographs the flowers had faded and only the long thin seedpods remained. Look out for it though, its short- lived, but very beautiful flowers, can be found anytime between June and October. Most flowers have four florets, but as you can see one we photographed has five.
Alpine Lettuce – Lactucta alpestris © Tom Feise, floracretica.gr
Many butterflies can still be seen in September, we have seen the showy Swallowtails who seem to love bougainvillea, lots of the little blue/brown Common Blues and in the mountains, particularly under walnut trees, the Brown Wall Butterfly and several varities of Copper. You might also see Painted Lady, Cardinal and several varieties of Skipper. But they all move pretty quickly and are difficult to photograph. Although, as you can see persistence does pay off!
Papilio machaon – Swallowtail © Tom Feise, floracretica.gr
But back to the flowers, another endemic to look out for is ‘Origanum microphyllum’. This spindly thin shrublet could be easily overlooked. The flowers are mauve and pretty insignificant, but the plant has a wonderful fragrance - a heady mixture of lavender and thyme. This is another of those plants that only grows on Crete and it can be found in the mountains where the air is cooler. The Cretans have used this shrub to make a soothing drink for centuries. They call it ‘ανδονα?δα’. As its Latin name suggests it is a member of the oregano family, although it looks nothing like the oregano we use as a pizza topping.
Origanum microphyllum - Small Leafed Oregano - © Tom Feise, floracretica.gr
And finally, I can’t leave September without mentioning Cretan Dittany (Origanum dictamnus), which is in flower at the moment. Sightings of it in the wild are rare and the plants are now protected by legislation and named in the Greek Red List as vulnerable. It is illegal to pick or otherwise damage these plants or their habitat and to do so can result in large fines. You can, however, see Cretan Dittany in cultivation at MAICh – the Mediterranean Agricultural Institute in Chania, who are making a special collection of Cretan Endemics in their grounds near Souda Bay, and also in some private collections and even hotel herb gardens. Dittany is famous as the Cretan miracle herb and is reputed to cure everything from internal bleeding to the common cold! If you are buying the dried commercially grown form of Dittany, make sure that is what you are getting, not the herb known as ‘Mountain Tea’, which is something completely different.
Origanum dictamnus – Cretan Dittany © Tom Feise, floracretica.gr
And finally, many dragonflies are still flying. Difficult to identify and even more difficult to photograph, they bear delightful names such as The Emperor, Southern Skimmer and Scarlet Darter. Dragonflies can be found around still stretches of sweet water – few and far between, I know, at the end of a long, hot summer, but they are fascinating to watch with their iridescent wings and darting flight.
The tourist season is winding down, the weather is becoming more temperate, most of us will have time to look around us again and marvel at the beauty and splendour of this amazing island. And I, for one, am really looking forward to the first rains!
© Text – Julia Feise, www.arcadianart.com
