Plant geography - Europe
Part of the Plant geography section shows the vegetation of Europe.
Besides bog and heath there are seven Central European forest types: Hornbeam
forest, Beach forest, Oak forest, Mixed forest, Birch-Pine forest, Riparian
forest and Mountain forest. The botanical wealth of the Alps is spread over
three areas: northern limestone Alps, central primary rock Alps and southern
limestone Alps. The various elevational stages, such as montane, subalpine and
alpine, can be recognised. Additional displays show Jura, Central European low
mountains and Scandinavia.
A large area is dedicated to the Iberian
Peninsula. Here two contrasting zoobiotic vegetations are placed side by side:
the Tomillares on limestone, with Labiatae, and the Atlantic Heath on acid soil,
with Ericaceae and Genisteae. A touch of three forest types can be seen:
thermophilous bush with Abies pinsapo and Pinus pinaster, and
Oak-Scots Pine forest and Birch-Corsican Pine-forest of acid soil. The mountain
flora is represented in displays of the calcareous Pyrenees, the central Spanish
primary rock mountains and the southern Spanish Xero-Acanthetum, with
corresponding endemics.
The Mediterranean aspect is continued via Southern
Europe - with Abies nebrodensis - to the Balkan peninsula. Here the
differences between the humid uplands (Aesculus, Ostrya) and the dry
uplands (Abies cephalonica) can be seen. The alpine areas show various
endemics and tertiary relics like Haberlea and Ramonda, and a
patch of Xero-Acanthetum with Astracantha. Seasonal highlights are in
spring, when many geophytes are in flower, and in summer, when the perennial
herbs from the mountains are in colour.
[Text: Werner Schwarz]
The Little Tour ends here. Would you like a
break now?
Or would you prefer to visit our botanical museum?
