Flora

One of the most beautiful flowers that we meet in Crete is the Paeonia Clusii. This is one of the 33 species of peonies on the planet and is endemic to Crete and Karpathos isle. It belongs to the family Ranidae and is also known as the Cretan Peony. It is found only at high altitudes, especially in the mountains of Dikti and the White Mountains. The impressive flower of peony has white or pinkish purple color and only a few people have seen it.

One of the most impressive spring plants of Crete is Aristolocheia (Aristolochia cretica). It is a perennial plant that creeps on the ground and has flowers that are truly impressive and have a shape resembling a saxophone or boot. This plant is typically found on dry rocky soils of Crete and Carpathos. In Crete it is found all over the island, but especially in Lassithi prefecture (east Crete).

Atop the highest peak of Asterousia, Kofinas, stands the church of the Holy Cross and is accessed through a steep trail. On the Feast of Holy Cross, on September 14, dozens of people climb up there to participate in a ritual that has its roots in the Minoan times, when nature and trees were worshiped.

The vrouves is one of the most famous and classic family of greens found in the cultivated fields in the villages of Crete. They sprout everywhere and from ancient times the Cretans consume them. They usually gather the upper part of the plants and eat them boiled with lemon and olive oil, they also use them in pies.

One of the oldest, if not the oldest, oak trees in Crete is located at position Theriolakos in Katharo Plateau. The perimeter of the giant tree on the ground level reaches 24m and one meter above the ground the it reaches 9m. Its characteristic feature is the tremendous hollow the trunk forms, which can fit many people comfortably.

Allover Crete we meet five different species of saffron (crocus). The most common kind of it is Crocus laevigatus, the "smooth" crocus. It is called smooth in Greek because the robes of the bulb are smooth. It is endemic to southern Greece, Cyclades and Crete.

The Cretan bellflower (Campanula Cretica) is one of the most beautiful wild flowers of Crete and at the same time is one of the most rare and endangered endemic plants on the island. Despite the fact Greece is home to 70 bellflower species, making Greece as the country with the largest variety, this is met only in a small geographical area of the White Mountains, mainly Samaria Gorge, and elsewhere in the world.

The village of Astyraki in the province of Malevizi takes its name from the ancient styrax (locally called astyrakas), a centuries-old tree that can still be found today in the courtyard of the church of Saint Constantine and Helen.