Jardins Abertos

Exhibition

This collection intends to raise awareness about endangered Portuguese plant species, namely those identified on the “Red List of Endangered Vascular Plants on the Portuguese Continent” (@ListaVermelhaFloraPT), developed by @SPBotanica and PHYTOS in partnership with the ICNF.

Vidália • Azorina vidalii

This is a small shrub endemic to the Azores archipelago, meaning it can't be found outside that region! The sole species in the Azorina genus, its name is a tribute to the archipelago where it grows on cliffs and rocky parts of the coastline. Its pink flowers are unusual within the Campanula family.

Jacinto-triste • Bellevalia trifoliata

This spring-flowering bulbous plant is associated with traditional dry farming and fallowing. It is very rare in Portugal, growing in only two locations and totalling fewer than 1,000 individual plants. This Portuguese population represents an important isolated case, seeing as the next closest grouping is found in France.

Cardo-azul-menor • Carduncellus cuatrecasasii

This short-of-stature thistle grows on the parched limestone slopes and dry-farmed olive groves of the Alentejo interior. Identified in Portugal for the first time in 2014, the national population consists of four groupings totalling around 650 mature plants. It scatters its fruits via a small ball that rolls when caught by the wind.

Soagem-gigante • Echium boisseri

This herbaceous plant can reach a height of around 2.5 metres when it is flowering. It is monocarpic, meaning that after this spectacular flowering the plant dies. It grows in association with dry farming, old olive groves and road verges. There are only four, isolated subpopulations in Portugal, totalling fewer than 2,500 individual plants.

Leiteira-amarela • Euphorbia flavicoma

This herbaceous plant was first discovered in Portugal in 2017. Its population of 2,500 plants grows in one location only, along the hills of Arruda dos Pisões-Tremês. This also makes this population extremely isolated, being around 360km from the next closest grouping, in Spain.

Linária-dos-olivais • Linaria ricardoi

This is a rare and delicate annual endemic to the inland areas of the Alentejo, meaning it can't be found outside that region! Its name is a tribute to António Ricardo da Cunha, who curated the herbarium at Lisbon's Escola Politécnica and discovered this plant growing near Beja in 1882. The shift from traditional dry farming - olive groves, cornfields, fallowing - to the use of intensive systems of irrigation threatens the survival of this species.

Nigela-das-searas • Nigella papillosa

This is a herbaceous plant with captivating blue flowers, which grows in association with traditional dry farming practices - olive groves, cornfields and fallowing. It can only be found towards the western end of the Mediterranean, and grows in just four locations in Portugal. It is threatened by the shift from traditional dry farming methods to more intensive systems of irrigation.

Massaroco-de-Porto-Santo • Echium portosanctensis

This is a small shrub endemic to Porto Santo island in the Madeira archipelago, meaning it can't be found outside that region. Unknown to science until the year 2010, this species grows only on the craggy, mountainous slopes of the island, and its population totals fewer than 1000 individual plants.

Martagão • Lilium martagon

The eye-catching flowers of the martagon lily make it a regular victim of irresponsible picking in the wild. Although it can be found widely across Europe and Asia, in Portugal it grows only in the mountains of the central and northern regions. Estimates suggest there are between 2,500 and 10,000 plants growing nationally.

Cardo-pinheiro-maior • Rhaponticum exaltatum

The beauty of this plant's flowers is undeniable: its golden bracts resemble a small pinecone with a crown of delicate pink flowers. Although it can be found across Morocco and the Iberian peninsula, in Portugal there is only one subpopulation growing in the north-east region, with around 100 mature plants.

On the lookout for… 10 botanical rarities from Portugal