Vascular flora of the Serra do Caramulo

Located in central Portugal, between the former provinces of Beira Alta and Beira Litoral, Serra do Caramulo reaches its highest point in Caramulinho, at 1074 m altitude. On this mountain there can be found a flora from diverse habitats, such as riparian galleries, deciduous forests and mountain meadows.

At the floristic level, five endemic to Continental Portugal taxa are listed, of which one can highlight Teucrium salviastrum Schreb. and Murbeckiella sousae Rothm. Five taxa evaluated with a category of threat can also be seen, among these, Narcissus cyclamineus DC., a daffodil that occurs in meadows near to watercourses.

In the territory of this mountain one can still appreciate the beautiful - Rhododendron ponticum subsp. baeticum (Boiss. & Reut.) Hand.-Mazz., a rare plant that occurs only in two main populations in Portugal: one in Serra do Caramulo and another in Serra de Monchique. To guarantee the conservation of this taxon, a Tertiary relic, a protected area was created, which is integrated in the Natura 2000 Network - the Cambarinho Botanical Reserve (Vouzela municipality).

The digitalization of these herbarium specimens aims to facilitate access to scientific information on the flora of Serra do Caramulo and to promote knowledge and conservation of this territory. This work was developed under the PP20 of the F4F - Forest For Future consortium, coordinated by the Center for Functional Ecology of the University of Coimbra and by Vouzelar - Associação de Promoção de Vouzela, co-financed by Centro 2020, Portugal 2020 and the European Union through the Fundo Social European.

Photo by Filipe Covelo