The Medicinal Plants

The Symbolic Plants

The Melliferous (Bee) Plants

The Fuel Plants

The Plants Used for Making Things

The Edible Plants

The Ornamental Plants

The Medicinal Plants

Among the vegetation of our surroundings, a handful of plants stand out that have popularly been recognised as remedies for the most common ailments.

Mallows (Malva spp.), with the softness of their leaves and flowers, have soothed both colds and constipation, thanks to their emollient properties. Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium), so common along the stream, has eased heavy digestion and intestinal upsets. When we have felt low in spirits and lacking in joy, a yellow-flowered plant that blooms in early summer has come to our aid: St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum). It not only has antidepressant effects but also helps heal and close wounds. Ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata) has soothed shoe-rub blisters when its leaves are used as a poultice. And when we have lost our voice or had a sore throat, chewing a tender, thornless shoot of bramble (Rubus ulmifolius) has helped clear it.

The Symbolic Plants

Plants have also fed our imagination; some of them have even taken part in ceremonies and rituals. The hackberry (Celtis australis) is reputed to be a protective tree, and on our islands it is believed to protect against lightning, which is why it has traditionally been planted on country estates. Another plant popularly known as protective is St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum), whose magical qualities are said to increase when gathered on St John's Eve. The cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) is a tree that has long carried funerary associations. Considered a symbol of mourning since Roman times, it has traditionally been planted in cemeteries as a symbol of the union between Heaven and Earth. The mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus) is also linked to death, as its branches have been used to make funeral wreaths. A plant with more festive associations is myrtle (Myrtus communis), used during the Corpus Christi festival to cover the streets along the procession route, scenting the festivities with its distinctive fragrance.

The Melliferous (Bee) Plants

There are plants whose flowers attract a great number of insects. The carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua), borage (Borago officinalis) and bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) are plants from which bees can produce honey. So too are plants of the rose family, such as bramble (Rubus ulmifolius), hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), azarole (Crataegus azarolus) or plum (Prunus domestica).

Through their flowers, these melliferous plants provide food for bees, whether as pollen, nectar or propolis. In return, bees help with pollination and thus with the reproduction of the plants. It is a relationship in which everyone benefits — the plants, the bees, and those with a sweet tooth!

The Fuel Plants

To light our homes, warm ourselves or cook our food, we have needed some substance to feed the fire, and plants have been the main fuel.

We have not only used their wood as fuel, to burn or turn into charcoal, but also as oil to fuel oil lamps. This is the case with the oil obtained from mastic berries, the fruit of the mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus), which, just like olive oil (Olea europaea), can be used to fuel a lamp. The woods most used as fuel have been holm oak (Quercus ilex), for its high density and calorific value, but also Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), wild olive (Olea europaea var. sylvestris), carob (Ceratonia siliqua) or almond (Prunus dulcis). Rushes (Scirpus holoschoenus) have also been used to make tapers, which, coated in sulphur, were lit and kept the fire burning.

The Plants Used for Making Things

With their ingenuity, humans have managed to make a great number of tools from the natural materials available to them, and plants have been the main source of materials.

From the compact, flexible wood of the hackberry (Celtis australis), a great many implements have been made, such as walking sticks or livestock collars, pitchforks and threshing shovels, the wooden hoops of wineskins, small guitars and much more. The stems of asphodel (Asphodelus ramosus) have been used to make drying racks on which to lay figs out to dry, preserving them for longer. Common reed (Arundo donax), which grows in wetlands and along stream banks, has also been used to make such racks, as well as musical instruments such as the traditional flabiol (a type of flute), spinning implements such as distaffs, or simply to knock down carob pods and almonds or stake up tomato plants. Other plants have provided us with fibres for making fabrics, such as nettles (Urtica urens), and pigments for dyeing them, such as the roots of wild madder (Rubia peregrina), which dyes in red tones, or the skin of the pomegranate and the bark of its tree (Punica granatum), useful both for dyeing and for tanning hides.

The Edible Plants

Many of the wild plants growing in the nearby fields have met our nutritional needs when the pantry was empty.

From some plants we have used the root, as with chicory (Cichorium intybus), which, roasted and ground, has been used as a coffee substitute. From others, the leaves, to flavour dishes, as with fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), or to cook broths and soups, such as nettle (Urtica urens), borage (Borago officinalis) or wild leek (Allium ampeloprasum). We have also eaten tender stems or shoots, such as asparagus, which grows from the rhizomes of a very common climbing plant, wild asparagus (Asparagus acutifolius). The buds of the caper bush (Capparis spinosa), which are flowers before they open, have been pickled in vinegar to accompany bread with oil and traditional dishes such as tongue with capers. With fruits such as those of the prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica), tasty jams have been made, while sloes (Prunus spinosa) have been used to make liqueurs, and seeds such as those of white mustard (Sinapis alba) have been used to make sauces to accompany dishes.

The Ornamental Plants

Many plants have been grown for their beauty, to adorn our gardens or even to be used as decoration in the form of cut or dried flowers. Notable examples include trees such as bay laurel (Laurus nobilis), cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) or azarole (Crataegus azarolus), and shrubs that have also served as hedging, such as blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) or hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna). Climbing plants such as old man's beard (Clematis vitalba), fragrant virgin's bower (Clematis flammula) or evergreen rose (Rosa sempervirens) have also adorned hedges and walls.