SKIATHOS
Plants and Animals
Plants and Animals
Popular destinations GREECE
| Aegina | Alonissos | Andros |
| Chios | Corfu | Crete |
| Hydra | Kalymnos | Karpathos |
| Kefalonia | Kos | Lefkas |
| Lesbos | Mykonos | Naxos |
| Paros | Patmos | Peloponnese |
| Poros | Rhodes | Samos |
| Santorini | Skiathos | Skopelos |
| Spetses | Thasos | Zakynthos |
Plants and Animals
Plants
In total, there are around a thousand species and subspecies on Skiathos and the surrounding islands.
The trees and shrubs that give the island its green appearance throughout the year include wild olive, maple, Phoenician juniper, strawberry tree, mastic tree, tree holly and oak.
Phoenician Juniper, SkiathosPhoto: S, Rae CC 2.0 no changes made
Many plants and flowers grow in the shade of the pine forests, such as the bee orchid and the butterfly orchid, as well as many thorny and, in summer, strong-smelling shrubs such as spurge, thyme, rosemary, sea aphrodisiac, gorse and cistus species.
At the end of April and the beginning of May, the ground under the olive groves and orchards turns into a sea of wild flowers, with poppies, crowned goose flowers, star anemone. Many species of hawkweed, barberry and morning star also grow here. Along the roads, purple flowers of the big cheese herb grow. In the Koukounaris area and north of the Mandraki area, one of the most beautiful and rare parasol pine forests in Greece can be found. This mini-ecosystem is one of the protected areas on Skiathos.
Parasol Pine Forest, SkiathosPhoto: Public domain
The following are also found on Skiathos: cistus rose, wild carrot, eagle fern, Oriental bull's eye, spurge, common lilac, common plantain and male orchid.
Animals
The fauna of Skiathos is not very special. The following birds are found on the island in varying abundance: Kuhls shearwater, cormorant, Caspian tern, common kestrel, Alpine vulture swallow, common swift, common swift, yellow-legged gull, barn swallow, red-rumped swallow, house martin, spotted flycatcher, great tit, hooded crow, house sparrow, chaffinch and Eleanor's falcon. More than 35 migratory bird species have been sighted on Skiathos.
Barn Swallow, SkiathosPhoto: Charles J Sharp CC 4.0 no changes made
Skiathos does not have any spectacular animals; hedgehogs, ferrets, weasels and squirrels are some of the more common small mammals.
Sources
Dubin, Marc / Griekse eilanden
Van Reemst
Greek islands
Lonely Planet
Greek islands
Fodor's
De Griekse eilanden
Lannoo
Leistra, Machteld / De Griekse eilanden
Gottmer/Becht
McGilchrist, Nigel / Greece : the Aegean Islands
Somerset Books
Midgette, Anne / Griekse eilanden : Egeïsche Zee
Het Spectrum
CIA - World Factbook
BBC - Country Profiles
Copyright: Team The World of Info