The Cacti of Iberia

Cacti of Spain and Portugal 

Prickly Pears (Opuntia dillenii)

You will see cacti growing in many parts of Iberia, mainly types of prickly pear cactus, and in some places, such as the Canary Islands, they are so common that it is easy to assume they are part of the native species. They look just right for the semi-desert landscapes. But in fact, there are no endemic cacti in Spain or Portugal, though some species from the Opuntia and Cylindropuntia genera have become widely naturalised. There are actually as many as 20 different types of Opuntia recorded as growing wild in Europe and the Mediterranean, but we are looking at the ones found in Iberia, and the ones you are most likely to see.

Prickly Pears

Harvested Prickly Pears

Cacti in the Opuntia genus are commonly and collectively known as prickly pears. The name refers to their edible fruit, which are found budding from the large and very prickly pads. These cacti have large numbers of tiny spines or glochids that project and will detach easily from the small bumps on the cactus skin that hold them, and which are technically known as aeroles.

There are two main species of prickly pear seen in Iberia: O. ficus-indica and O. dillenii. The first of these is known in English as the Indian fig Opuntia and the Barbary fig. The plant is referred to as “nopal” in Mexican Spanish, and its fruit is a “tuna.” The flowers are red, yellow or white, and the fruits are green, turning yellow or reddish as they ripen. It has been historically grown as a food crop for thousands of years in Mexico. You need to carefully remove the spines on the tunas by rubbing in an abrasive material and also peeling the fruit. They are usually eaten chilled and resemble watermelon in flavour. The fruit are also used to make jams and jellies, and have been used in the production of alcoholic drinks too. You will often see them for sale on fruit and vegetable counters.

The green pads, or nopales, can be eaten too. Again, you must carefully remove the spines, and the sliced pads can be fried or boiled.

Prickly Pear Flowers

The species O. dillenii is also known as O. stricta, and in English it is called the erect prickly pear. It has lemon-yellow flowers followed by purplish-red fruit with smooth skins, though, once again they are protected by spines. I used to eat a lot of these fresh when I lived in Tenerife, and used to manage to safely peel them using my thumb and finger-nails, but it is a tricky procedure so cannot be recommended. The tiny spines are notoriously difficult to get out of you and they hurt! This cactus is actually regarded as an invasive weed in many parts of the world where it has invaded the land. All species of prickly pear spread easily from pads which have broken off from the parent plant but which then root where they have fallen.

Cholla cacti

A very prickly Cholla

Speaking of cacti that spread easily from pieces that have become detached brings me to the cholla cacti in the Cylindropuntia genus. In Spain and Portugal there are two species that are commonly encountered: C. spinosior and C. imbricata. The first of these is known as the walkingstick cactus or the spiny cholla, and the latter species is called cane cholla or chain-link cactus. Both species are well-protected with large numbers of the most vicious spines imaginable all over the sections of the plants. The spines will easily break off, and the sections of cactus can also be readily detached. My advice is be very careful with these plants, because the spines are really painful. Fall accidentally into one of these and you will regret it!

The cholla cacti come from Mexico and the southern states of America but have spread to many parts of the world, where like the prickly pears, they have become invasive weeds.  Although these cacti can be problem plants, they also make formidable fences. Anyone caring to ignore them is asking for trouble!

Peruvian Apples

In addition to the cacti in the Opuntia and Cylindropuntia genera, you may see the Peruvian apple cactus (Cereus repandus/peruvianus) growing in gardens, and also on waste ground in Iberia. This cactus is very tall and produces columns that can easily reach as much as 10 metres in height. It comes from South America but stands up to cold periods in Spain and Portugal well. This cactus produces spectacular cream-coloured flowers that open at night and are only open for the one night. The flowers turn into edible fruit, known as Peruvian apples or pitaya.

Besides all these cacti that might be encountered in Iberia, many gardeners introduce other species into community-used ground near their homes, and cacti often root when they have been thrown out, so you can at times find all sorts of surprises but none are native plants. Gardeners in Portugal and Spain often grow many cacti outside that in the UK are strictly houseplants. The hot summers and mild winters give us an advantage when it comes to cactus growing.

NB: This article was intended as my last contribution to Mediterranean Gardening & Outdoor Living Magazine but due to the co-editor's health, the publication has very sadly had to close down earlier than was hoped and has failed to find anyone to take over running it.

Here Be Dragons

The Mysterious Dragon Tree Produces Dragon's Blood

Dragon Tree (Photo: Pixabay)

The dragon tree (Dracaena draco) is a very weird-looking plant that grows to the size of a tree and can live a very long time. One known as the “Drago Milenario,”  that grows in Icod de los Vinos in Tenerife, is said to be 1000-years-old or more, though other estimates put it at more like 650 years.

Drago Milenario (Photo: Pixabay)

Dragon's Blood

The dragon’s tree is the source of a resinous substance known as dragon’s blood, which is formed when the tree is cut. The sap that oozes out dries a dark red colour. Dragon’s blood is said to have magical and medicinal properties. It has been used in varnish and also as an ingredient in incense.

Dragon trees are native to the Canary Islands, Cape Verde and Madeira but are very rare in the wild, though extensively planted in parks, gardens, and public squares. Having lived in Tenerife for many years, I was used to seeing them around the island, so was very pleasantly surprised to find specimens of the dragon tree growing well here in Iberia too. I have seen them in Gibraltar and there are some rather splendid examples in the botanical gardens of the University of Lisbon. The dragon tree has also been introduced to the Azores.

The dragon tree grows very slowly and can take around 10 years just to reach 1 metre in height. It can flower for the first time then but will not branch until it has flowered. Each branch then takes a long time before it flowers and branches again. As this process continues the dragon tree produces a characteristic umbrella or mushroom-shaped crown of branches. Dragon trees produce spikes of perfumed whitish flowers which develop into orange-red berries, each one containing one or two very hard and almost globular seeds.

Dragon Tree Berries (Photo: Steve Andrews)

The dragon tree seed takes a month or even longer to germinate from seed and first of all produces a rosette of spiky and leathery evergreen leaves. The silvery and scarred trunk gets formed as the plant grows bigger and the lower leaves die and get removed.

The lower branches produce aerial roots which hang down and have been likened to a dragon’s beard. These roots can fuse with the trunk as they descend and reach the soil and in this way very broad and curious-looking trunks get formed in very old specimens.

Dragon trees are monocotyledons in the Asparagaceae or asparagus family, and do not produce annual rings inside their trunks. Because counting these rings is the usual way of discovering the age of a tree, it is very hard to work out how old a dragon tree actually is. It is done by counting the branching points and estimating how long it has taken to form these.

La Orotava Dragon Tree (Photo: Public Domain)

There was once an enormous dragon tree in La Orotava in Tenerife that was even bigger and older than the Drago Milenario, mentioned earlier. The naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt was amazed when he saw its height and girth. This dragon tree was 70 feet (21 m) tall and 45 feet (14 m) in circumference, and was believed to be 6000 years old. It was destroyed by gales in a terrible storm in 1868.

Heads of a Dragon Tree (Photo: Pixabay)

In Greek Mythology

Not surprisingly there is much folklore and myth built up about this strange tree, and the story goes that the first dragon trees grew when the legendary hero Hercules of Greek mythology killed the hundred-headed dragon Ladon, who was guarding the Garden of the Hesperides. Where the blood of the monster fell little dragon trees sprouted.

Dragon trees are easy enough to grow from seed but you need a lot of patience to wait for them to germinate and to produce much growth, although this plant will make a very interesting houseplant when young and a wonderful addition to the subtropical garden when bigger. They are drought resistant, and in the wild they often grow on rocky hillsides and cliffs.

Ready-grown dragon trees are sometimes available from gardening centres and ornamental plant suppliers and buying one this way could be the easier option for getting hold of one. However you get your own dragon tree, it will certainly make a great talking point, and the plant could still be alive hundreds, and maybe thousands of years, from now!

NB: Originally published in Mediterranean Gardening & Outdoor Living, July 2015.

The Pride of Madeira

A Bugloss known as Pride of Madeira

Pride of Madeira in Sintra (Photo: Steve Andrews)

The Pride of Madeira is the common name for a spectacular looking shrub in the Echium genus of plants, many species of which are known as types of Viper’s Bugloss or “Taginaste” in Spain. Known to botanists as Echium candicans, the Pride of Madeira comes, as its name suggests, from Madeira, but it is often grown in gardens and parks throughout Iberia and in many other parts of the world. Its popularity is hardly surprising because it forms a very large bush that is covered in spring and early summer in magnificent flowering spikes of purplish-blue flowers with red stamens. The Pride of Madeira will definitely catch your eye and is very attractive to bees and other pollinating insects too, as are the other species in the Echium genus.

Red Bugloss or Mt Teide Bugloss

Red Bugloss on Tenerife (Photo: Pixabay/Public Domain)

The Canary Islands are home to very many endemic types of Echium and the Mt Teide Bugloss or Red Bugloss (E. wildpretti) is a plant symbolic of Tenerife where it grows high on the mountain it is named after. This unusual plant is a biennial that produces a large rosette of leaves in its first year which is followed by a tall flowering spike in its second year. The tiny flowers are a pinkish-red but there are many thousands of them and its flower spikes can grow to as much as three metres in height. They stand out like weird red wands above the otherworldly and barren terrain on Mt Teide, which is the highest mountain, not only in Tenerife but in all of Spain.

The Red Bugloss is a very rare plant in the wild, and only found on Mt Teide and around the village of Vilaflor which is also high in the Tenerife mountains. The plant has evolved to be adapted to the cold nights and bright sunlight by day of the habitats it is found in, though it is also grown at lower levels of the island in parks and gardens. Because of its tall flowering spikes it is one of the bugloss species often called “Tower of Jewels.”

Giant Viper's Bugloss

The Giant Viper’s Bugloss or Tree Echium (E. pininana) is the best-known Tower of Jewels bugloss. It reaches four metres in height in good conditions, and like the Mt Teide Bugloss is very rare in the wild. It is only found in the laurel forested mountains of La Palma in the Canary Islands, however, it has been commonly grown for some years as an unusual garden flower in the UK and Ireland, where sometimes it gets featured in news stories because it grows so tall.

Wild Viper’s Bugloss species found in Iberia

Viper's Bugloss (Photo: Pixabay)

There are many types of Echium found growing in the countryside of Iberia, including the type species Viper’s Bugloss (E. vulgare), which is found throughout Europe and has become naturalised in North America. It has pinkish flowers which turn rapidly blue and it is also known as Blueweed. It likes to grow in sand dunes and waste places but will often do better in cultivation in the garden where it will get larger. The Viper’s Bugloss, by the way, takes its name from the tiny forked nutlets that it produces that were thought to resemble the heads of snakes, and because it was once regarded as an antidote for the bite of an adder. The herbalist Coles tells us in his Art of Simples: 'Viper's Bugloss hath its stalks all to be speckled like a snake or viper, and is a most singular remedy against poyson and the sting of scorpions.”

One species of Echium that is very common, not only in Iberia but elsewhere in the world is known as Patterson’s Curse (E. plantagineum). Its name gives a clue to how it has become regarded, because although this small species looks pretty when it creates a small sea of purple flowers, it is an invasive weed of arable land that spreads rapidly. Isn’t it interesting to consider how some bugloss types are very rare plants while others are common weeds?

Grow a Tower of Jewels and Feed the Bees and Butterflies

Most species of Echium have a lot of nectar-filled flowers making them very attractive, not only to our eyes, but, as already noted, to bees and pollinating insects. Butterflies too love to find their food in the flowers of a Tower of Jewels. It is easy to find seeds of the various species that are easy to grow in our gardens by searching on the Internet for “Echium seeds” or “Tower of Jewels seeds”.

Growing these amazing plants can not only really beautify our gardens but be a real help to the bees and pollinators that are often struggling in the world today. Cultivating a Viper’s Bugloss provides eye candy and aids conservation!

NB: Text originally published in Mediterranean Gardening and OutDoor Living magazine, Issue 25, May 2016.

The Ancient Herbalists Assigned Herbs to Planetary Rulers

Why the Ancient Herbalists Assigned Herbs to Astrological Rulers

Nicholas Culpeper (Photo: Public Domain)

As far as we know, there are no more planets in this Solar System that have plants growing on them, though some people have suggested there may be vegetation of some sort on Mars. Ancient herbalists, however, had a system of assigning herbs to planetary rulers; in other words, they claimed that deities linked with the heavenly bodies held dominion over herbs that grow on Earth. Let us take a look at a selection of herbs that were placed under the astrological ruling of other planets, and see why it might have been that herbalists, like Culpeper, decided to assign them to specific heavenly rulers.

Herbs of Mars

Dragon Tree (Photo: Public Domain)

Nicholas Culpeper was one of the most famous herbalists who believed that medicinal and culinary plants could be grouped in this way, according to their various characteristics that were linked to those of a specific god or goddess. For example, because Mars was regarded as the god of war, herbs that had something aggressive about their physical appearance or something that resembled blood, were candidates for being ruled by this planet. The strange Dragon Tree (Dracaena draco) is a perfect example of a herb ruled by Mars because it has sword-shaped leaves, reddish-coloured berries and it bleeds a resinous sap that goes a dark red when dry and is known as dragon’s blood. The Dragon Tree comes from the Canary Islands, and a specimen in the town of Icod de los Vinos is thought to be 1,000-years-old or more. It is known as the "Drago Milenario," has its own park, and is a tourist attraction nowadays.

Steve Andrews explains why the Dragon Tree is a herb of Mars

Mistletoe (Photo: Public Domain)

Herbs of the Sun

Herbs of the Sun include the Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) and the Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis). These two plants have petals that radiate out from a central disk like the rays of the Sun, and the Sunflower is, of course, a bright yellow, which is a colour linked with the central star of our Solar System. The St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is another herb in this group. It has yellow star-shaped flowers and is harvested in midsummer when the Sun is at its strongest and the days are at their longest. St John’s Wort has become well-known as a herbal antidepressant, and one of its alternative names is Sunshine Herb. Mistletoe (Viscum album) is an herb of the Sun because it was traditionally harvested by Druids at the time of the Winter Solstice. It was cut down from an oak tree using a golden sickle.

White Water Lily (Photo: Public Domain)

Herbs of the Moon

Herbs ruled by the Moon were often ones that are associated with water, because the Moon is linked with the oceans because it causes the tides. White flowers or a silvery colour on the foliage are other characteristics linked with the Moon, and plants that have something to do with the night might also be thought of as herbs of the Moon. The White Water Lily (Nymphaea alba) is a herb ruled by the Moon. This is because of its white flowers, rounded leaves, like full Moons, and because it grows in lakes and ponds. The Jasmine (Jasminum officinale) has white blooms and its perfume is strongest at night. The White Willow (Salix alba) is another herb under the dominion of the Moon. Willows, of course, like to grow by water. The Lettuce species (Lactuca spp.) are ruled by the Moon too. This is because they have a white milky sap if cut. This sap is known as "Lettuce opium" and has similar sedative effects.

Fennel (Photo: Public Domain)

Herbs of Mercury

Mercury was thought of as the messenger of the gods, so herbs ruled by this planet have to really communicate to us in some way. Strongly aromatic herbs were often chosen as herbs of Mercury. The Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a great example of a herb in this group. It communicates to our senses with the visual appeal of its tall graceful stems and ferny foliage, to our tastes with its sweet and spicy flavour like aniseed, and with its scent like anise when crushed. It is used both as a culinary herb and in herbal medicine.

Periwinkle (Photo: Public Domain)

Herbs of Venus

Herbs ruled by Venus, not surprisingly include the Rose, which is a symbol of love and passion, and, of course, Venus is the Goddess of Love. The pretty blue-flowered Periwinkle (Vinca spp.) is another herb in this group, and this is because it has been used in love potions and spells. It was thought that merely sprinkling this herb under the bed of a couple of lovers would increase their passion. In fact, the Periwinkle is a poisonous plant but that never stopped it being linked with love.

Lime Tree (Photo: Public Domain)

Herbs of Jupiter

Jupiter is a giant planet and expansion is one of the characteristics associated with it as a planetary ruler. Various trees come under its dominion because of their spreading branches. One of them is the Lime Tree (Tilia spp.), a tree which gives us lime flower tea, which is known to help relaxation and is very popular in many parts of Europe. It was once thought that anyone suffering from epilepsy would be healed by merely sitting under a Lime's branches. The Oak (Quercus) is a very important and sacred tree for Druids, and it too comes under the rulership of Jupiter.

Deadly Nightshade (Photo: Public Domain)

Herbs of Saturn

Saturn is another gigantic planet and famous for its rings. To the Ancient Herbalists it was associated with the passing of time and with old age and death. It symbolises the “Grim Reaper.” Many poisonous herbs come under its dominion. The Deadly Nightshade (Atropa belladonna), the Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger), Hemlock (Conium maculatum) and Monkshood (Aconitum napellus) are all very dangerous herbs that were once used by witches as ingredients for their “flying ointments.” The Morning Glory (Ipomoea violacea) is another herb under the dominion of Saturn. Its flower has a circular mouth to a funnel-shape and could remind us of the Rings of Saturn. Its seeds, especially in varieties like "Heavenly Blue," contain lysergic acid amide, which as hallucinogenic effects and has often been used by hippies and shamans because of this. This flower looks so beautiful it could be from another world, and its psychoactive effects could make you feel like you were on one.

Morning Glory (Photo: Steve Andrews)

In Conclusion

Thinking about how the herbalists assigned various herbs to the rulership of planetary deities, according to their characteristics, certainly makes for a fascinating study and something for us to think about. My new book Herbs of the Sun, Moon and Planets (Moon Books) explores this subject in greater detail.

Herbs of the Sun, Moon and Planets explained by author Steve Andrews

Ponds in 750 words

PONDS (in 750 words in 3-word sentences only)

Ponds are wet. Ponds are deep. Pondwater is cold. Edges are shallow. Marginal plants grow. Willows grow poolside. Ponds house frogs. Ponds house newts. Ponds house sticklebacks. Fish need ponds. Water lily floats. Frogbit floats too. Duckweed floats too. Dragonflies hunt insects. Damselfly is graceful. Damselfly is smaller. Damselfly looks exotic. Dragonfly looks prehistoric. Dragonfly is prehistoric. Mud is deep. Mud is stinking. Mud is mucky.

Ducks swim together. Ducks can dabble. Drakes are attractive. Ducks attract humans. Humans feed ducks. Humans hunt ducks. Ducklings are cute. Waterfowl need ponds. Grebes like ponds. Grebes are divers.

Swans like ponds. Swans are beautiful. Swans build nests. Water weeds choke. Parrot’s feather invades. Pond weeds invade. Canadian pondweed invades. Watercress is edible. Pondskaters surface walk. Water crickets skate. Water measurers walk. Pond surface fascinates. Flowering rush flowers.

Tadpoles form shoals. Frogs spawn annually. Male frogs croak. Toads gather too. Males grab females. Males kick males. Ponds are source. Spawn is jelly. Amphibians need freshwater. Dragonfly nymphs hunt. Nymphs eat tadpoles. Nymphs are masked. Camouflage works well. Nymph transforms magically. Caddisfly larva hides. Herons hunt frogs. Herons eat fish. Herons stand tall. Herons stay still. Herons seek ponds.

Water boatmen sing. Water bug predates. Water bugs bite. Water beetle hunts. Water beetle flies. Water boatmen fly. Reedmace is edible. Summer evaporates water. Newts all leave. Water snails feed. Water scorpions hunt. Leeches sometimes swim. Pondwater is home. Ponds are stagnant. Flatworms are weird. Moths need reeds. Waterfowl need reeds.  Bats like ponds.

Ponds are fascinating. Ponds smell natural. Ponds are ornamental. Winter ponds freeze. Water is icy. Pond surface freezes. Spring returns life. Ponds attract kids. Kids catch tadpoles. Ponds are dangerous. Deep water drowns. Humans drain ponds. Ponds are needed. Rare pondlife exists. Ponds have parasites. Humans destroy pondlife. Humans destroy ponds. Wildlife find ponds. Wildlife seek ponds.

Snakes need ponds. They hunt frogs. Snakes eat newts. Human ponds help. Ponds get fewer. Ponds were childhood. Ponds were traditional. Village ponds existed. Farms had duckponds. Parks had ponds. Parks use ponds.

Ponds supported wildlife. Ponds give life. Ponds are natural. Humans need ponds. Ponds form habitats. Ponds are worlds. Ponds are wetlands. We explore ponds. Pondlife is amazing. Pondlife must adapt. Microscopic pondlife lives. Microscopes view rotifers. Cyclops are crustaceans. Water fleas swarm. Water mites vary. Amoebas can divide. Ponds appeal aesthetically. Lily pool appeals. Ponds inspire artists. Ponds are photogenic. Ponds were youth. Ponds were upbringing. Ponds are missing. Pond explorations excite. Ponds can stimulate. Ponds inspire poetry. Ponds inspire art. Some pondlife float. Some pondlife swim.

Some are mud-dwellers. Some pondlife arrive. Some pondlife depart. Ponds are fun. Ponds are intricate. Ponds delight naturalists. Ponds delight botanists.

Ponds delight people. Ponds are visual. Ponds are seasonal. Ponds dry up. Ponds fill up. Ponds are fleeting. Ponds are alive. Ponds are memorable. Ponds look ancient. Ponds look new. Ponds form connections. Ponds are green. Ponds reflect sunlight. Ponds reflect moonlight. Ponds show seasons. Ponds can drown. A pond protects. Ponds get cold. Ponds can endure. Ponds are leafy. Ponds absorb death. Ponds cause death. Ponds engender life. Ponds use decomposition. Ponds feed animals. Ponds feed birds. Ponds feed amphibians.

Ponds feed insects. Ponds feed invertebrates. Ponds feed mammals. Ponds provide water. Ponds can shine. Ponds can sparkle. Ponds go dark. Ponds fool us. Ponds scare people. Ponds are joy. Each pond differs. Ponds age well. Ponds change quickly. Ponds process life. Ponds are polluted. Ponds are clean. Ponds show cycles. Ponds show signs. Ponds give clues. Ponds take water. Ponds need water. Ponds are temporary. Ponds inspire thinking. Ponds can flood. Ponds can lessen. Ponds can disappear. Ponds can return. People make ponds. People desire ponds. People sell ponds. Plastic ponds work. Ponds are artificial. Concrete ponds endure. Ponds need protection.

Ponds beautify parkland. Ponds beautify gardens. Ponds need attention. Ponds are returning. Ponds were common. Pond mud sets. Pond mud cracks. Clay ponds exist. Marshes surround ponds. Bogs surround ponds. Streams form ponds. Trees overlook ponds. Reeds surround ponds. Ponds warm up. Ponds can chill. Ponds are environments. Ponds support vegetation. Ponds need conservation. Ponds feed us. Ponds are worldwide. Ponds need rain. Ponds collect water. Ponds drain land. Ponds provide sustenance. Ponds nourish lifeforms. Ponds are calm. Ponds are peaceful. Ponds are balanced. Ponds show harmony. Ponds are mirrors.

Ponds reflect faces. Ponds are dreams. Ponds inspire introspection. Pond snail sticks. Ramshorn snail spirals. Kingfishers like ponds. Ponds fill depressions. Ponds swallow excess. Ponds fill fast. Vernal ponds expire.

The Swallowtails of Portugal

The Southern Scarce Swallowtail

Southern Scarce Swallowtail (Photo: Steve Andrews)

There are two types of swallowtail butterfly seen flying in Portugal, and one of these is known as the Southern Swallowtail or Southern Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides feisthamelii). A large and very beautiful insect it is often regarded as a subspecies of the very similar Scarce Swallowtail (I. podalirius). This latter species is actually a fairly common butterfly across many parts of Europe, but it earned its moniker because of rare migrants or strays that made it to the UK, where it is indeed a very “scarce” butterfly.

The Southern Scarce Swallowtail is also found in Spain, Italy, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. It frequents gardens and parks as well as the countryside and will definitely catch your eye as it soars  and glides or sips nectar from flowers. It has attractively marked wings of pale yellow or cream with black bands and markings, and at the tips of the rear wings are the characteristic “swallowtail” projections that are bordered by blue spots against more black.

The Swallowtail

The Swallowtail (Papilio machaon)  is a very rare species in the UK where it is confined to the fens of the Norfolk Broads. This is because in Britain, the caterpillar will only feed on Milk Parsley (Peucedanum palustre), a plant which is uncommon in the UK, and which needs wetlands and marshes in which to grow. The British type of the Swallowtail can only be seen in the wild by visiting its habitat in the Norfolk Broads, and it is not found anywhere else in the UK.

Swallowtail (Photo: Public Domain) 

The continental variety of the Swallowtail does not have such specific food-plant needs and will accept Wild Carrot (Daucus carota), Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), Rue (Ruta graveolens) and a number of other plants. This has led to the wide distribution of this butterfly across Europe and elsewhere, and like the Scarce and Southern Scarce Swallowtails, it can be found in a variety of habitats, including gardens and parklands. There are as many as 37 recognised subspecies of the Swallowtail and P. machaon britannicus is the type found in the UK, whereas P. machaon gorganus is the widely distributed butterfly found in Portugal and across southern Europe. Other subspecies are found in central and northern Europe and in Asia and North America.

The Swallowtail is a large butterfly and the biggest species found in the UK, apart from the very rare migrant known as the Monarch (Danaus plexippus). It has pretty yellow wings veined and banded with black, as well as blue spots and red eye spots near the “swallowtail” projections from its hindwings.

Swallowtail larva (Photo: Public Domain)

The caterpillar is a pretty creature too with a pale green body striped with black and marked with orange. It has a defensive organ known as an osmeterium behind its head. This organ consists of fleshy projections that emit a foul smell and taste and can be retracted after deterring a would-be predator. The chrysalis is either green or brown.

The caterpillar of the Scarce Swallowtail feeds on species in the Plum and Cherry genus (Prunus) and also on Pear trees (Pyrus communis) and Apples (Malus domesticus). The wide distribution of wild species and cultivated varieties of all these fruit-bearing trees has benefited this butterfly a lot and have enabled it to live in very varied habitats. The green larva is difficult to see against the foliage of the trees it feeds upon and it will also eat Hawthorn (Crataegus spp).

Both the Southern Scarce Swallowtail and the Swallowtail are very beautiful species to look out for in Portugal and the other countries where they can be seen flying. We can help attract them to our gardens by growing their food-plants, as well as providing nectar-bearing and colourful flowers for the adult butterflies to feed from.