Spanish Trees

There is a famous Spanish adage - Eucalyptus trees are for us, pine trees for our children, and cork trees for our grandchildren. 

The natural flora and fauna of Spain is so beautifully breathtaking that it’s difficult to even capture it even with the best of cameras! Remember that song from My Fair Lady – The rain in Spain…well it should have been the trees in Spain…! Lush, blindingly green when in full bloom, they add a green carpet sprinkled with colourful blooms of lavender, rosemary and orchids to the landscape of this area. Spain enjoys both an Atlantic and a Mediterranean coastline! All five of Spain's bioclimatic zones are present in this one hot spot which is a favourite with botanists which is called Sierra Nevada. This area is home to up to 2,100 plant species of the total of 7,000 recorded for Spain!

Andalucia on the other hand enjoys the advantage of being bang in the middle of the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts. One of the most famous trees of this area is the Spanish Fir. It has survived the ravages of time, man, machine, pollution and nature and is considered a heritage from before the Ice Age! The Spanish Fir is exclusive to Spain and Morocco.

The tallest tree in Spain is a eucalyptus and is known as El Abuelo de Chavín'. Abuelo means grandfather! The Abuelo can be found in the Lugo forest on the banks of the river Landro. This monument is 67 metres tall and 10.5m wide! Sadly, the eucalyotus tree is also considered a major culprit in the propagation of fires. The aromatic eucalyptus trees have high resin content and under the lethal combination of high temperatures and low humidity they become extremely inflammable. It was mostly the neglected Eucalyptus trees in Spain that were burnt in the 2004 fires.

The Holm oaks define the Spanish Mediterranean landscape. The oldest of these oaks is the La Terrona. There is an interesting story attached to this tree. It became world famous when it was split in two by lightening. It is believed to be around 800 years old and still stands 16.5 metres tall!

Spain is of course known for its olive trees. There are close to 250 regional varieties of olives grown in Spain! The most commonly known Spanish olives are the classic green ones which originate from Manzanillas, a town in Andalusia. Andalucia is where the majority of Spanish olives come from. Jaèn in particular has more than 4.500 square kilometres devoted to olive groves that are populated with around 40 million olive trees. The oldest olive tree is the La Parot - an olive tree with a trunk that is 9 metres wide! It is rumoured to be more than a thousand years old at least! Olive harvesting is still a tradition in most of the smaller olive groves. The family (which is probably generations) stands around the olive tree and shakes it until the olives fall off onto the cloth or net that is spread below!

Among the other trees of Spain are the eucalyptus, pines, beech, oaks and cork trees. The cork trees are stripped every five years but in actuality, it takes close to 40 years before the cork is actually commercially viable! The processed cork is used in our daily lives for various purposes like the soles of shoes, wine stoppers, insulation, notice boards etc.

Walking through Spain is a treat for sure. The beautiful landscape, the natural springs, the flora and fauna all make it a walk to remember. Imagine picking olives as you walk, plucking orchids and strolling past trees that have more history behind them than the last five generations of your family!

As of June this year (2007), Madrid and two of Spain's regional governments plan to plant millions of trees to help offset the impact of the country's alarming in increase in greenhouse gas emissions. In fact everyone should plant trees in Spain. It not only adds value to your property it contributes to better health!