Crete and adjacent islands (Karpathos, Kasos, Saria, and smaller islets) are home to several dozen endemic species and subspecies of plants, together with two endemic genera, Horstrissea and Petromarula . [1]
The World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions treats Crete and associated islands as a separate botanical country from Greece and the East Aegean Islands, although all three are politically part of the same country.
Plants are listed alphabetically by plant family.
Genista is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae, native to open habitats such as moorland and pasture in Europe and western Asia. They include species commonly called broom, though the term may also refer to other genera, including Cytisus and Chamaecytisus. Brooms in other genera are sometimes considered synonymous with Genista: Echinospartum, Retama, Spartium, Stauracanthus, and Ulex.
Anthemis is a genus of aromatic flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, closely related to Chamaemelum, and like that genus, known by the common name chamomile; some species are also called dog-fennel or mayweed. Anthemis are native to the Mediterranean region and southwest Asia east to Iran. A number of species have also become naturalized in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world.
Origanum is a genus of herbaceous perennial flowering plants and subshrubs in the family Lamiaceae. They are native to Europe, North Africa, and much of temperate Asia, where they are found in open or mountainous habitats. A few species also naturalized in scattered locations in North America and other regions.
Petrorhagia is a small genus of annual and perennial plants of the family Caryophyllaceae, mostly native to the Mediterranean region. It is low-growing with wiry stems and narrow, grass-like leaves. The flowers are small, in clusters similar to members of the genus Dianthus, in pink, lilac, or white. Petrorhagia saxifraga is the tunic flower or coat flower, similar to baby's breath, but shorter, and used in rock gardens.
Micromeria is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, widespread across Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America, with a center of diversity in the Mediterranean region and the Canary Islands. It is sometimes placed within the genus Satureja. The name is derived from the Greek words μῑκρος (mīkros), meaning "small," and μερίς (meris), meaning "portion," referring to the leaves and flowers. Common names include savory and whitweed.
Scilla nana, known as dwarf glory-of-the-snow, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant endemic to Crete. It flowers in early spring with flowers in shades of lilac blue. After flowering, it goes into dormancy until the next spring. It belongs to a group of Scilla species that were formerly put in a separate genus, Chionodoxa, and may now be treated as Scilla sect. Chionodoxa. It has not always been recognized as distinct from Scilla cretica.
The flora of Lebanon includes approximately 2,600 plant species. Situated on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Basin, Lebanon is a reservoir of plant diversity and one of the world's biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Endemic species constitute 12% of the Lebanese flora; 221 plant species are broad endemics and 90 are narrow endemics. Important Plant Areas (IPAs) featuring the country exceptional botanical richness were defined in 2018.
Crepis neglecta is a species of flowering plant in the sunflower family, Asteraceae. It ranges from east-central to southeastern Europe and northwestern Turkey.
Digitalis mariana is a flowering plant species in the family Plantaginaceae. It is a perennial foxglove with evergreen foliage and rose-red flowers, which are produced in summer. It is native to Portugal and Spain.
Silene flavescens is a species of flowering plant part of the genus Silene, family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula and Hungary. It is an herbaceous species belonging to the tribe Sileneae.
Anthemis cretica, the Cretian mat daisy or white mat chamomile, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It or its many subspecies can be found around the Mediterranean region, the Black Sea area, Poland, the Caucasus, and the Middle East as far as Iran. It is highly morphologically variable, and the namesake of a species complex.
Lomelosia is a genus of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae and the subfamily of Dipsacoideae. The genus includes over 50-63, perennial and annual species, diffused around the Mediterranean Sea, with the greatest diversity of species concentrated in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, and also has a few species reaching as far east as China.