| Cytisus oromediterraneus | |
|---|---|
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| Cytisus oromediterraneus in Bustarviejo, Madrid | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Fabales |
| Family: | Fabaceae |
| Subfamily: | Faboideae |
| Genus: | Cytisus |
| Species: | C. oromediterraneus |
| Binomial name | |
| Cytisus oromediterraneus Rivas Mart. et al. | |
| Synonyms | |
List
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Cytisus oromediterraneus, the Pyrenean broom, is a shrub species that belongs to the family Fabaceae.
It is composed of dense, tightly packed branches. Forms extensive shrublands, alone or coexisting with other shrubs, such as the creeping juniper ( Juniperus communis subsp. nana) in the high siliceous mountains, and almost always above forest level or coexisting with Scot pines. The leaves fall early so the stems are often bare; the lower ones are trifoliate, without petiole; the floral ones are simple and also seated. Flowers yellow, small, (9–12 mm) single or in pairs in the axil of the leaves, forming a more or less dense cluster at the termination of the branches supported by a 2–6 mm head. Calyx membranous, bell-shaped and hairy. The corolla is butterfly-like, with a rounded upper petal. The fruit is a legume of 15 to 30 mm, straight or somewhat curved, very compressed laterally and covered with hairs applied to its surface. It flowers from May to July. [2]
Cytisus oromediterraneus dominates the vegetation of the oromediterranean floor in Gredos, it can cover the highest north-facing slopes of the supramediterranean; in fact, from some points of Gredos, such as the road leading to the platform, it can be clearly seen how the north-facing slopes are covered by the Pyrenean broom, while those facing south are inhabited by the hiniesta and/or the white broom. In the coexistence zone between the Pyrenean broom and the white broom it is possible to find individuals with very light yellow flowers that are interpreted as hybrids between the two species. Finally, in the western, most sectors of the Central system, two other very thorny shrubby fabaceae, whose optimum is in the oromediterranean together with the Pyrenean broom, can appear on the north-facing supramediterranean slopes, the common broom ( Echinospartum barnadesii ) and the Iberian broom ( Echinospartun ibericum ). [3] The clearings of piornales are mainly occupied by various herbs and shrubs, among which we highlight the attractive viborera salmantina ( Echium salmanticum ).
Boraginaceae , endemic to the western half of the mountain range, the ortegia ( Ortegia hispanica , caryophilic), the lavender ( Lavandula pedunculata, Lamiaceae ), the thyme ( Santolina rosmarinifolia , Asteraceae ), the aster with rice leaves ( Aster sedifolius , Asteraceae ) and the pink-flowered foxglove ( Digitalis thapsi , Plantaginaceae ), species that also mostly inhabit the cleared thickets of the oak forest floor and can ascend the sunny slopes to reach the Pyrenean broom. [3]
The appearance it presents is often cushioned to defend itself from the cold and the strong winds that blow at high altitudes. Its importance in the Spanish vegetation is very high due to the enormous surfaces it occupies. In the flowering season it tinges yellow many of the Spanish mountain ranges and gives off an intense and cloying smell similar to that of honey. It was used as fuel in ovens and for roofing huts. It is a conflicting species from the nomenclatural point of view. A new division has recently been established and is described in the next section.
Due to its morphological characters, ecology and biogeography, four taxa are accepted within this group; two in Europe: Cytisus oromediterraneus and Cytisus balansae subsp. nevadensis and two others in the mountains of North Africa: Cytisus balansae subsp. balansae and Cytisus balansae subsp. atlanticus. [4]
subhumid-humid, supratemperate and orotemperate humid-hyperhumid; submediterranean in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula. Carpetano-Leonese, Orocantabric, Oroiberian, Pyrenean and Auvernian (France). Cytisetalia scopario-striati, Juniperion nanae.
and subhumid-humid oromediterranean. Atlassic, Morocco: High Atlas, Algeria: Dujrdjura, Aurès. Erinacetalia.
supramediterranean and dry-subhumid oromediterranean. Atlassic, Morocco: High Atlas and Middle Atlas. Erinacetalia.
Ecology and biogeography: Silicolous, subhumid oromediterranean. Spain, Nevadense, Genisto versicoloris-Juniperion hemisphaericae. [5]
In France, Iberian Peninsula and North Africa. In the Peninsula it is very abundant in the Guadarrama Mountains, Sierra de Gredos, Paramera de Ávila, La Serrota, Iberian system, Montes de León, Pyrenees. It also appears in Galicia, Cantabria, Aragon, Catalonia, Castile, Extremadura and Andalusia.
Indications: It is used as a laxative and diuretic.
Other uses: It has been used as fuel in ovens, for the manufacture of brooms, to make hut roofs and also as bedding for cattle. [6]
Cytisus oromediterraneus was described by (G.López & C.E.Jarvis) Rivas Mart. & al. and published in Veg. Picos de Europa 264. 1984. [7]
Juniperus communis, the common juniper, is a species of small tree or shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae. An evergreen conifer, it has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere.
Cytisus scoparius, the common broom or Scotch broom, is a deciduous leguminous shrub native to western and central Europe. In Britain and Ireland, the standard name is broom; this name is also used for other members of the Genisteae tribe, such as French broom or Spanish broom; and the term common broom is sometimes used for clarification. In other English-speaking countries, the most common name is "Scotch broom" ; however, it is known as English broom in Australia.
The Iberian ibex, also known as the Spanish ibex, Spanish wild goat and Iberian wild goat, is a species of ibex endemic to the Iberian Peninsula. Four subspecies have been described; two are now extinct. The Portuguese ibex became extinct in 1892, and the Pyrenean ibex became extinct in 2000. A project to clone the Pyrenean ibex resulted in one clone being born alive in July 2003, making it the first taxon to become "un-extinct", although the clone died several minutes after birth due to physical defects in its lungs.
The broom hare is a species of hare endemic to northern Spain. It was described in 1976 as separate from the Granada hare. It is classified as vulnerable by the IUCN.
The Sierra de Gredos is a mountain range in central Spain that spans the provinces of Ávila, Salamanca, Cáceres, Madrid, and Toledo. It is part of the much larger Sistema Central of mountain ranges. Its highest point is Pico Almanzor, at 2,592 meters and it has been declared a natural park by the Autonomous Community of Castile and León. The Sierra de Gredos is one of the most extensive mountain ranges of the Central System; it comprises five river valleys: the Alto Tormes, the Alto Alberche, the Tiétar Oriental, the Tiétar Occidental y la Vera, and the Valle del Ambroz. The first known inhabitants were the Vettones, a pre-Roman Celtic people. The central part of the range encomprises the Sierra de Gredos Regional Park.
The Sierra de Guadarrama is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges along the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is located between the systems Sierra de Gredos in the province of Ávila, and Sierra de Ayllón in the province of Guadalajara.
The woodlands of the Iberian Peninsula are distinct ecosystems on the Iberian Peninsula. Although the various regions are each characterized by distinct vegetation, the borders between these regions are not clearly defined, and there are some similarities across the peninsula.
The Mediterranean woodlands and forests is an ecoregion in the coastal plains, hills, and mountains bordering the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean in North Africa. It has a Mediterranean climate, and is in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.
Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests is an ecoregion, in the temperate coniferous forest biome, which occupies the high mountain ranges of North Africa. The term is also a botanically recognized plant association in the African and Mediterranean literature.
The South Apennine mixed montane forests is an ecoregion in the southern Apennine Mountains of southern Italy and Sicily. It has a Mediterranean climate, and is in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.
The Pyrenean ibex, Aragonese and Spanish common name bucardo, Basque common name bukardo, Catalan common name herc and French common name bouquetin, was one of the four subspecies of the Iberian ibex or Iberian wild goat, a species endemic to the Pyrenees. Pyrenean ibex were most common in the Cantabrian Mountains, Southern France, and the northern Pyrenees. This species was common during the Holocene and Upper Pleistocene, during which their morphology, primarily some skulls, of the Pyrenean ibex was found to be larger than other Capra subspecies in southwestern Europe from the same time.
The total forest area of Azerbaijan is 1,021,880 ha or 11.8% of the country's area. The forest biomes consist of temperate deciduous forests, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, temperate coniferous forests and riparian forests. Specialists estimate that in the 8th-9th centuries the forest cover was around 30-35%, most of it situated in mountainous areas.
The Southwestern Arabian foothills savanna, also known as the Southwestern Arabian Escarpment shrublands and woodlands, is a desert and xeric shrubland ecoregion of the southern Arabian Peninsula, covering portions of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Oman.
The Mediterranean High Atlas juniper steppe is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion in Morocco. It extends along the High Atlas range of northwestern Africa's Atlas Mountains.
The Sierra de Ayllón or Macizo de Ayllón is a mountain chain of the Iberian Peninsula, belonging to the Sistema Central, of which it constitutes one of its easternmost spurs. It is located between the Spanish provinces of Guadalajara, Segovia and Madrid. The mountain chain consists of a natural area protected within the Natura 2000 network as a Site of Community Importance and Special Protection Area for Birds, located in the northwest of the province of Guadalajara in the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha. The natural area of Ayllón occupies the Paleozoic massif of the Sierra de Ayllón, in the province of Guadalajara, including the main core whose highest peak is the Pico del Lobo, and the Sierras de la Concha, Pico Ocejón and Alto Rey.
The Tagus Basin is the drainage basin of the Tagus River, which flows through the west of the Iberian Peninsula and empties into Lisbon. It covers an area of 78,467 km2, which is distributed 66% on Spanish territory and 34% on Portuguese land (22,822 km2).
The Valsain Mountains are located in the Valsain Valley, on the northern slope of the Sierra de Guadarrama and in the municipality of Real Sitio de San Ildefonso, belonging to the province of Segovia.
The flora of Cantabria is the result of three determining factors: the climate, the composition of the soil, directly dependent on the types of existing rocks, and the evolutionary history of the different plant formations.
The floraof the Massif Central is rich and diverse. This diversity can be explained by the Massif's large surface area, its position at the intersection of different climatic zones, and its geological variety. The plants that can be found in the very wet western part are not the same as those found in the drier eastern part, and the difference is even greater with the species that can be found in the southern part, which are subject to marked Mediterranean influences. This spatial component is not the only one involved, since exposure, altitude, and the nature of the substrate are also determining factors. For example, there is the classic contrast between south-facing and north-facing slopes, and the differences in vegetation between acidic soils (granite) and basic soils. Although the altitude of the Massif Central is low compared to other mountain ranges such as the Alps or the Pyrenees, there is a clear range of vegetation, from Mediterranean vegetation to sub-alpine grassland. Generally speaking, in most of the Massif Central, there are four distinct levels of vegetation:
