Flora of Mt Ziria

Identify plants species

Ziria massif is an area of distinctive natural richness, thanks to its significant elevation and its key location on the NE side of the Peloponnese. This richness was first revealed in the mid-19th century, with the plant collections of two eminent Botanists of that period, T. Orphanidis and T. Heldreich, who described several new mountain species. Subsequently, several more researchers of the 19th and 20th century worked on the flora of Ziria, which is estimated to host approx. 1000 plant taxa (species and subspecies). Among these, around 120 are considered Greek endemics (30 of them endemics of the Peloponnese), while Verbascum cylleneum species is a strictly local endemic of the mountain.

Among the endemic plants, many of them have restricted distribution range and are considered, therefore, of particular interest, such as the wild cichory Taraxacum cylleneym, the bedstraw Galium cylleneum, the elegant Adonis cyllenea, the autumn crocus Colchicum pulchellum, the globe daisy Globularia stygia, the speedwell Veronica contandriopouli and others, while distinctly significant in biogeographical terms is the presence of Biebersteinia orphanides at Mikri Ziria, which apart from 3 – 4 locations in N. Peloponesse it also occurs in the depths of Turkey and nowhere else in between.

The main zones of endemism in Ziria are, of course, the area of the highest peaks, but also Flampouritsa gorge.

Photos and descriptions for plant species of Mt Ziria are included in the hiking application Ziria topoguide, available for both Android and iOS (iPhone and iPad) devices.
The application guides the user to locate the plant typical biotope.
The applicationZiria topoguide includes also 3 floristic routes, guiding the naturalist alongthe Gymno Ziriaw ridge, the main summit of Ziria and the alpine meadows of Mikri Ziria. Tens of rare or very interestng species pop-up along every route and present themselves with descriptions and photos.