More than a hundred plants produced in the Balearic Islands’ forestry centre are listed.
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Catalogue of autochthonous plants
The Forest Management Service of the Regional Ministry of the Environment and Territory and IBANAT has published a catalogue of 112 native species produced at the Balearic Islands Forestry Centre (CEFOR-Menut). The aim is to encourage the public to use these plants in Mediterranean gardening, landscaping or restoration, as they consume less water, are adapted to the Mediterranean climate and replace invasive species, which have been spreading in recent years in the natural environment of the archipelago.
This catalogue contains the list of species with their scientific and popular names, their distribution by islands, the forest habitat where they can live, the size that each species can reach, and the time and colour of flowering and fruiting. In addition, other aspects are indicated, such as water requirements, the necessary sunlight, resistance to saline conditions or whether they attract pollinators or birds, among others.
The compilation of autochthonous species also aims to promote the knowledge necessary for appropriate gardening management and thus avoid planting foreign species that can colonise the natural environment, displace the autochthonous flora and change the landscape.
Mir stressed the importance of having a catalogue like this one, since, on the one hand, “it publicises the enormous work that CEFOR does to conserve the native plants of our islands” and, on the other hand, “it provides tools for the public and the gardening sector to be agents of change in a context of climate emergency, where it is more necessary than ever to take care of our biodiversity and landscape”.
It should be remembered that CEFOR, located on the Menut public estate since 1933, in addition to producing native forest plants, also functions as a centre for forestry research and innovation, for the conservation of genetic resources through the seed bank and as a centre for the dissemination and awareness of forestry.
The Catalogue can be consulted at the following link: https://xarxaforestal.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/cataleg-menut_version-web.pdf. It is also available in physical format at the Menut Forestry Centre.