PORTUGAL
Plants and Animals

Cities in PORTUGAL

Albufeira

Lisbon

Porto

Popular destinations PORTUGAL

Algarve	Azores	Costa de lisboa
Costa verde	Madeira

Plants and Animals

Plants

Cork oaks Portugal_{Photo: Bextrel CC 4.0 International no changes made}

Soil type, climate and altitude have a major influence on plant growth. This makes plant growth very diverse. In the mountains and on the high plateaus in the north, the most common trees are birch, chestnut, oak and maple. The vegetation consists mainly of thorn bushes, heather and ferns.

In the south we find cork oaks, eucalyptus and olive trees. Portugal is the largest producer of cork and cork products. Portugal has 30% of all cork oaks in the world. Herbs include rosemary, thyme and lavender.

Red Carnation, Portugal_{Photo: Rick Kimpel CC 2.0 Generic no changes made}

Portugal has quite a few flowers and plants that are considered a national symbol: lavender, sunflower, red carnation and the blue and white hydrangea.

Animals

Sardines, Portugal_{Photo: Notafly CC 4.0 International no changes made}

The animal world of Portugal is consistent with that of Spain, but also has a number of African elements, such as the chameleon, genet and mongoose. Mammals include wild boar and wild cat. Deforestation, erosion and inadequately regulated hunting have decimated or extinct (brown bear, monk seal) numerous large animals (wolf, lynx, fallow deer, red deer, roe deer). Nature and environmental protection is still in its infancy. The fish-rich seas around Portugal have been successfully exploited for centuries (sardine, anchovy, cod). Portugal is an important intermediate station for bird migration. Waders, avocets, curlews and godwits are the main migratory birds. There are also eagles, owls, buzzards and guillemots.

Galo de Barcelos, Portugal_{Photo: Galo Pedrês CC 2.0 Generic no changes made}

The national 'animal' of Portugal is the Barcelos rooster (Galo de Barcelos).

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Sources

Champion,N / Portugal
Corona

Dominicus, J / Portugal
Gottmer

Encarta, Encycloprdie

Keuning, T / Portugal
ANWB

CIA - World Factbook

BBC - Country Profiles

Last updated October 2025
Copyright: Team The World of Info