Flora of Valia Kalda
Flora of Valia Kalda
Identify plants species
Campanula hawkinsiana
Ophiolitic rocks, thanks to their unique composition - basic to hyperbasic, with increased concentrations of heavy minerals (magnesium, silica, iron, nickel etc.) and poor in aluminium and calcium - host a flora that is adapted to these unusual geological conditions.
Viola albanica
Due to this specialization, several of these species exhibit also restricted distribution: some of the typical plant species growing in ophiolitic soils and occur in the area are the Greek emdemics Leptoplax emarginata, Bornmuellera tymphaea, the Balkan endemics Centaurea vlachorum, Bornmuellera baldaccii, Alkanna pindicola, Silene radicosa, Linum hologynum, Aubrieta scardica, Campanula hawkinsiana and others.
Allium flavum
The species Carex castroviejoi of Cyperaceae family was described as new species from the core of the National Park only in 2009 and occurs in very few damp sites of the Balkans.
Other typical species found in moist and wooded sites of the area are the speedwell Veronica serpyllifolia, the wild strawberry Fragaria vesca, the butterwort Pinguicula crystallina subsp. hirtiflora, the species Melittis melissophyllum, Ajuga reptans etc., but, of course, various orchids, such as Cephalanthera damasonium, Corallorhiza trifida, Dactylorhiza romana, Epipactis atrorubens, Neotinea maculata, Neotinea ustulata, Orchis pallens, Platanthera bifolia.
Text: A. Kaltsis
Photos: T. Adamakopoulos
topoguide Greece
Discover Valia Kalda flora
The digital field guide Valia Kalda topoguide is available for Android devices as an in-app purchase within the application topoguide Greece. Valia Kalda is a member of the North Greece group.
Valia Kalda topoguide is also available as an in-app-purchase for iOS & iPad devices via the global hiking app Topoguide Greece app. There again, Valia Kalda topoguide is a member of the North Greece group.
Valia Kalda topoguide includes an extended introduction on the geography, the nature and the history of the area.
The app includes also data, photos, POIs and descriptions of 18 hiking routes. Once in the field, the application identifies the nearest routes and offers the user active navigation.
