Mediterranean trees

Mediterranean trees

When we talk about Mediterranean trees, we refer to a series of shrubs that we can easily find and recognize in the Mediterranean scrub. These are sclerophilous species that have developed a characteristic adaptation to the typical climatic conditions of Mediterranean areas, where temperatures are mild and rainfall is scarce and limited to short periods of the year. The Mediterranean trees they are not large, and almost all are evergreen.


The chestnut is one of the Mediterranean trees Typical. It is a very long-lived broad-leaved tree. The stem is imposing, columnar, can reach a height of up to 30 meters, with smooth and glossy greyish-brown bark. The branches form an expanded and rounded crown. The leaves are lanceolate, with a serrated edge, with a sharp apex and very distinct lobes, of an intense green color and mildly leathery. They have an alternate insertion.
The male flowers are white and gathered in glomeruli, the female ones are isolated and wrapped in bracts. The fruit is brown, shiny, hairy, with a rounded shape that on one side is convex and on the other sharp. It is enclosed in a thorny shell called hedgehog that opens when the fruit is ripe. It requires a fresh, deep and well-drained soil, not calcareous and rich in organic substances. It prefers a temperate climate, mild and with little humidity, it loves the heat even if it tolerates the cold. There is a very well-adapted rustic species. It must be watered regularly during the warm months every two months. Fertilization is done using mature manure rich in phosphorus and potassium.


It is an evergreen tree, typical of the Mediterranean Macchia. The trunk is smooth, initially gray-green in color and then assumes a knotty, intertwined and darker color. It is very fragrant. The leaves are elliptical or lanceolate, are smooth, silvery green, covered with short scaly hairs. The hermaphroditic flowers are white, not perfumed and gathered in cluster inflorescences called "mignole". The fruit has an oval shape, with an oily green skin and a fleshy dark-colored pulp. It requires a deep soil, a non-acid component and a clayey one, without any kind of weed vegetation around. It lives well in mild climates, the temperature must never fall below 10 degrees to avoid damaging it. Prefers excellent sun exposure. It must be watered regularly and consistently, especially during the warm months.
Fertilization is recommended at least once a year, in spring, using mature manure rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.


It is an evergreen shrub or tree (depending on size).
In the tree variety the trunk reaches even 15 meters. The trunk has a smooth, dark-colored bark with noticeable grooves. the leaves have an elongated shape, with continuous margins, leathery and shiny, very fragrant due to the presence of glands that produce resin. The male flowers are yellow, the female ones are white. The fruits are black drupes. It requires a very compact, well-drained soil, fertile due to the addition of organic material. It prefers very sunny environments with a mild or temperate climate, typical of the Mediterranean basin. It should be watered regularly but without over-irrigating to avoid damaging water stagnation. It is advisable to carry out two cycles of fertilizing per year, in autumn and in spring, every two months.


It is a Mediterranean aromatic evergreen tree. It has an erect, reddish stem, height up to 20 meters, covered with a smooth, ash-gray bark, which tends to detach itself into irregular plates. The leaves have an opposite insertion, they are oval, heart-shaped, bluish green during the juvenile phases, while in the adult phase they are lanceolate and arched, they assume a bluish green color with an evident evident central vein, they become leathery and with a alternate insertion. The flowers have a chalice with 4 deep green sepals, a corolla with 4 petals welded together and rich in many stamens. The fruit is a capsule with many seeds. It requires a very deep, well-drained, neutral or slightly acid composition. It lives well in sunny and bright environments. It requires regular and constant watering, but not excessive to avoid harmful water stagnation. Monthly fertilization with complex fertilizers is recommended.

Beech tree

Beech, as well as many other Mediterranean trees is an ornamental hardwood. The trunk is erect, straight, with a height of 30-40 meters, covered with a smooth bark with silver spots, which supports a thick crown with a conical shape. The leaves are shiny, dark green, oval in shape, with a serrated edge and an evident central rib, petiolate, with alternate insertion. The flowers are gathered in masculine inflorescences with the appearance of hanging glomeruli, and feminine formed by 2 erect flowers surrounded by bracts. The fruit is a small triangular nut, edible for humans and enclosed in a hard shell similar to a hedgehog.