Gibraltar is a self-governing British Overseas Territory, located to the north of the Strait of Gibraltar on the Iberian Peninsula.
The Rock of Gibraltar is a highly strategic monolithic limestone mountain 426 m (1,398 ft) high dominating the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. It is situated near the end of a narrow 9 km long promontory stretching due south into the Mediterranean Sea and is located within the British territory of Gibraltar, and is 27 km north-east of Tarifa, Spain, the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The rock serves as an impregnable fortress and contains a labyrinthine network of man-made tunnels known as the Tunnels of Gibraltar. Most of the Rock's upper area comprises a nature reserve which is home to about 300 Barbary macaques. It is a major tourist attraction.
An alpine garden is a domestic or botanical garden, or more often a part of a larger garden, specializing in the collection and cultivation of alpine plants growing naturally at high altitudes around the world, such as in the Caucasus, Pyrenees, Rocky Mountains, Alps, Himalayas and Andes. It is one of the most common types of rock garden.
Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficial resemblance towards an umbel, and may have a branching structure similar to a panicle. Flowers in a corymb structure can either be parallel, or alternate, and form in either a convex, or flat form.
Iberis, commonly called candytuft, is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Brassicaceae. It comprises annuals, evergreen perennials and subshrubs native to the Old World. The name "candytuft" is not related to candy, but derives from Candia, the former name of Iraklion on the Island of Crete.
Armeria maritima, the thrift, sea thrift or sea pink, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae. It is a compact evergreen perennial which grows in low clumps and sends up long stems that support globes of bright pink flowers. In some cases purple, white or red flowers also occur. It is a popular garden flower and has been distributed worldwide as a garden and cut flower. It does well in gardens designed as xeriscapes or rock gardens. The Latin specific epithet maritima means pertaining to the sea or coastal.
Iberis sempervirens, the evergreen candytuft or perennial candytuft, is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native to southern Europe. The species is often used as an ornamental garden shrub because of its decorative flowers. Iberis is so named because many members of the genus come from the Iberian Peninsula in south west Europe. Sempervirens means "always green", referring to the evergreen foliage.
The Gibraltar Botanic Gardens or La Alameda Gardens are a botanical garden in Gibraltar, spanning around 6 hectares. The Rock Hotel lies above the park.
Silene tomentosa, the Gibraltar campion, is a very rare flowering plant of the genus Silene and the family Caryophyllaceae. It is a woody-based perennial about 40 cm high, with bilobed flowers ranging from pink to pale violet and is endemic to Gibraltar.
Smelowskia ovalis is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name alpine false candytuft. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to northern California, occurring mostly in the Cascade Range. It is a plant of alpine climates, growing in high mountain habitat such as talus and fellfields. It is clumpy in shape, producing several hairy stems growing erect to a maximum height around 18 centimeters. The densely hairy leaves are divided into several oval leaflets. The longest leaves are arranged around the base of the plant, and a few smaller ones occur farther up the stems. The inflorescence is a dense, spherical raceme of flowers that elongates as the fruits develop. The flowers have white or pink-tinged petals each a few millimeters long. The fruit is a short silique.
Iberis umbellata, common name garden candytuft or globe candytuft, is a herbaceous annual flowering plant of the genus Iberis and the family Brassicaceae.
The Gibraltar Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar that covers over 40% of the territory's land area. It was established as the Upper Rock Nature Reserve in 1993 under the International Union for Conservation of Nature's category Ia and was last extended in 2013. It is known for its semi-wild population of Barbary macaques, and is an important resting point for migrating birds.
HMS Candytuft was a Flower-class corvette, built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War, and was in service in the Battle of the Atlantic. In 1942 she was transferred to the United States Navy as part of the reverse Lend Lease arrangement and renamed USS Tenacity, one of the Temptress-class gunboats. With the end of hostilities she was returned to the Royal Navy and sold into mercantile service.
The footpaths of Gibraltar provide access to key areas of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, a refuge for hundreds of species of flora and fauna which in some cases are found nowhere else in Europe. The reserve occupies the upper part of the Rock of Gibraltar, a long and narrow mountain that rises to a maximum height of 424 metres (1,391 ft) above sea level, and constitutes around 40 per cent of Gibraltar's total land area. The unusual geology of the Rock of Gibraltar – a limestone peak adjoining a sandstone hinterland – provides a habitat for plants and animals, such as the Gibraltar candytuft and Barbary partridge, which are found nowhere else in mainland Europe. For many years, the Upper Rock was reserved exclusively for military use; it was fenced off for military purposes, but was decommissioned and converted into a nature reserve in 1993.
Verna E. Pratt was an American botanist, gardening expert, and author. She was considered an expert on Alaska native plants and wildflowers and produced several field guides on the topic. Pratt is also credited for popularizing the knowledge of Alaska plants among gardeners and recreationalists.
Iberis amara, called wild candytuft, rocket candytuft and bitter candytuft, is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native to Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland. It has been introduced to numerous locations including Algeria, Sweden, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Iraq, Kazakhstan, the Indian Subcontinent, Korea, Far Eastern Russia, New Zealand, Argentina, Ecuador, Hispaniola, the United States, and Canada. It prefers to grow in warm and sunny conditions, in high-calcium soil.
Wild candytuft is a common name for several plants and may refer to:
Aethionema armenum, also called rock cress, stonecress, or Persian candytuft, is a low-growing evergreen shrub in the family Brassicaceae native to the Mediterranean. There, it is typically found on rocky slopes above 800 meters.
Iberis saxatilis, the rock candytuft, is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native to southern Europe and northwest Africa. The species is typically used as an ornamental rock and alpine garden perennial plant because of its decorative flowers and cascading growth habit. Iberis is so named because many members of the genus come from the Iberian Peninsula in south west Europe. The species name saxatilis means "growing among rocks," referring to the preferred substrate of this species.
Noccaea fendleri more commonly known as wild candytuft and alpine pennycress is a wildflower in the mustard family from western North America. It grows in mountains from northern Mexico to the northern United States. It blooms early in the spring and provides nectar to butterflies.
