Hawthorn of Zominthos
Zominthos was a small Minoan town at Psiloritis Mount with a sacred spring, which was located close to the Ideon Andron Cave and the current town of Anogia. Besides the religious importance of the town for the ancient Minoans, today the archaeological site of Zominthos hosts a second attraction. This is a special tree that has been declared a protected monument of nature from the Greek Ministry of Culture.
The tree is a giant hawthorn (species Crataegus monogyna), with an unusually impressive size, standing at about 30m from the entrance of the site. The height of the old trees reaches 12m, in contrary to the common size of hawthorns which are usually shrubs or small trees.
Visitors of the area can enjoy the shade of the thick foliage of the protected tree. Around the trunk, a scenic stone wall has been built with a height of 50cm.
The hawthorns are resistant to drought and their growth is not influenced by the amount of rainfall. This particular hawthorn in Zominthos, except that it is planted at high altitude, it grows in fertile soil with adequate water as the area abounds in groundwater springs. In the same area, there are several smaller hawthorns, maples and oaks, while some cherry, pear and walnut trees have been planted.
