Mediterranean maquis

Biodiversity of Sicily is caused by geological, geomorphologic, climatic and historical processes and by position in the Mediterranean.

In the island has been identified the "hotspot" (areas with high density of plant and animal species). These areas are divided into macrohabitat, the most important are forest habitats (wild olive, oak, cork oak, holly, beech, Carob) and coastal ones

An example of the Mediterranean maquis in Sicily is given by the Sicani Mountains.

In the Sicani Mountains flows the river Sosio.

This area is dominated overall by: HOLM OAK – LECCIO DOWNY OAK – ROVERELLA CORK OAK – SUGHERA ARBUTUS - CORBEZZOLO WILDE ROSE - ROSA CANINA ASPARAGUS - ASPARAGO PEONY - PEONIA BLACKBERRY - MORA

Holm oak This plant confirms the importance of Mediterranean vegetation in terms of surface and the role played in the carbon storage. Quercus ilex is a medium-size tree 20–27 m tall with finely square-fissured blackish bark and leathery evergreen leaves. The old leaves fall 1–2 years after new leaves emerge. The leaves are dark green above and pale whitish- grey with dense short hairs below, while those on the lower branches of young trees are often larger, and are toothed or somewhat spiny as protection from grazing animals. The Holm Oak is one of the top three trees used in the establishment of truffle orchards, or truffieres. The acorns, like those of the Cork Oak, are edible (toasted or as a flour). Boiled in water, the acorns can also be used as a medicinal treatment for injury infections.

Downy oak Downy oak is a medium-sized deciduous tree growing up to 20 m. Forest-grown trees grow tall, while open-growing trees develop a very broad and irregular crown. They are long-lived, to several hundred years, and eventually grow into very stout trees with trunks up to 2 m in diameter. The bark very rough, light grey and divided into small flakes. The buds are small (3-6 mm) and blunt, light brown. The leaves are leathery usually 4-10 cm long and 3-6 cm wide, usually widest beyond the middle The leaves group at the ends of twigs. The base of the leaf is heart shaped, widely rounded or sometimes pointed. The leaves are persistent late into the autumn, remaining green up to early winter. The Quercus pubescens acorns are light brown to yellow, usually thin and pointed. The acorn cups are light grey to almost white, with pointed, overlapping scales, covered with tomentum.

Cork oak Cork Oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section Quercus sect. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring. It grows to up to 20 m, although it is typically more stunted in its native environment. The acorns are 2 to 30 cm long, in a deep cup fringed with elongated scales. The tree has a thick, insulating bark that may have been the Cork Oak's evolutionary answer to forest fires.

Arbutus Arbutus unedo, commonly called Strawberry Tree, is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean region. The leaves are dark green and glossy, 5-10 cm long and 2-3 cm broad, with a serrated margin. The hermaphrodite flowers are white (rarely pale pink), bell-shaped, 4-6 mm diametre, produced panicles of together in autumn. They are pollinated by bees. The fruit is a red berry, 1-2 cm diametre, with a rough surface, maturing 12 months at the same time as the next flowering.

The dog rose is distributed in all Sicily, especially in oak forests with blackthorn and other thorny shrubs making a thick and impenetrable underwood. It is a deciduous shrub normally ranging in height from 1–5 m, though sometimes it can scramble higher into the crowns Wilde rose of taller trees. Its stems are covered with small, sharp, hooked prickles, which aid it in climbing. The leaves are pinnate, with 5-7 leaflets. The flowers are usually pale pink, but can vary between a deep pink and white. They are 4–6 cm diametre with five petals, and mature into an oval 1.5–2 cm red-orange fruit, or hip.

Asparagus Asparagus officinalis is a spring vegetable, a flowering perennial and is widely cultivated as a vegetable crop. It is a herbaceous, plant growing to 100–150 centimetres tall, with stout stems with much-branched feathery foliage. The "leaves" are in fact needle- like cladodes to 6–32 millimetres. The flowers are bell-shaped, greenish- white to yellowish, with six petals partially fused together at the base; they are produced singly or in clusters of 2–3 in the junctions of the branchlets. The fruit is a small red berry 6–10 mm diametre, which is poisonous to humans.

Peony Most peonies are herbaceous perennial plants 0.5–1.5 metres tall, but some resemble trees up to 1.5–3 metres tall. They have compound, deeply lobed leaves, and large, often fragrant flowers, ranging from red to white or yellow, in late spring and early Over 262 compounds have been obtained so far from the plants of Paeoniaceae. These include monoterpenoid glucosides, flavonoids, stannine, stilbenes, triterpenoids and steroids, paeonols, and phenols.

Blackberry The flowers are produced in late spring and early summer on short racemes on the tips of the flowering laterals. Each flower is about 2–3 cm in diametre with five white or pale pink petals. It is often mixed with apples for pies and crumbles. Good nectar producers, blackberry shrubs bearing flowers yield a medium to dark, fruity honey. The related but smaller dewberry can be distinguished by the white, waxy coating on the fruits, which also usually have fewer drupelets. It is in its own section within the subgenus Rubus.