How to Identify Flowering Plants in Italy

Buttercup flowers grow in very colorful clusters.

Italy is a stunning location in Europe filled with a huge variety of flowering plants. With its three different climates of Alpine north, subtropical mid-country and tropical Mediterranean coasts, it is no wonder that Italy is home to such a wide variety of flora. If you are planning a tour through Italy, be sure and take your time exploring each location to take in and identify many of its unique plants.

Instructions

1. Watch the ground when traveling through Italy's mountains for brightly colored yellow flowers called Alpine Crocus (Crocus flavus). This crocus is native to Greece, Yugoslavia, Romania, Turkey and Italy. You can recognize it by its wax-like petals, thick stems and bright yellow-orange color.

2. Climb the chilly peaks and explore the rocky mountains of Italy while looking for the Glacial Buttercup (Ranunculus glacialis). This plant possesses lobed, wax-like leaves that resemble basil. The flowers come in a variety of colors and are mid-sized and clustered. Look for this flower in rocky areas where gravel is common.

3. Continue your journey through the Italian countryside and explore the sub-tropical mid-country where plants such as the Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spectabilis) are common. This drought tolerant plant thrives in warm, frost-free climates. It forms into large bushes with bright pink or red flowers and large, green leaves.

4. Drive down toward the coast and discover more than 700 different kinds of plants, including the Belladonna (Atropa belladonna ). Belladonna is beautiful to look at, but highly poisonous. It forms a bush with blue-green leaves and black flowers. During the summer, this bush also contains black-colored berries.

References

• Alpine Garden Society: Crocus Flavus
• Scandinavian Mountains: Glacier Buttercup
• Blue Planet Biomes: Bougainvillea
• North Carolina State University: Atropa Belladonna

Resources

• Maps Of World: Flora & Fauna of Italyl