SAINT MARTIN DE CRAU - Circuit of Garrigue

5 points of interest

• 

  Flora

  Garrigue

  The scrubland (Provençal "garrigo") is a plant formation characteristic of the Mediterranean regions. This formation, which is established in limestone massifs in dry ground, results generally from the degradation of the oaks forests. In France, it occupies about 400 000 ha, mainly in Provence and Languedoc. The scrubland can be a place of pastoral activity and a source of small wood for crafts.

• 

  Flora

  Green Oaks

  The green Oak (Quercus ilex) is an evergreen tree of the Fagaceae family. It can reach 5 to 20 meters high, as well as a longevity of 200 to 2000 years. It is sometimes called "false holly" oak in reference to its leaves that resemble those of holly. The Green Oak is an emblematic species of the French Mediterranean south and is the dominant tree species of scrubland formations. ;

• 

  Produits du terroir

  The olive tree

  Emblematic culture of the territory of the Alpilles, the olive tree is the symbol of the dry Mediterranean climate. Its multiple trunks are the result of a release at the strain level following a significant frost in 1956. Today, some of the olives and oils produced in the Alpilles are recognized nationally and internationally, benefiting from the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).

• 

  Water and rivers

  Gaudre of the Mas Neuf

  A gaudre, Provençal term that originally means "small brook", today means a river often dry in summer and low flow the rest of the year. While gaudres are natural formations, the gaudre of the Mas Neuf bed was, meanwhile, channeled by the man and connected to the canal of Baux-de-Provence. As a result, it has lost the specificity of a temporary stream and can provide for crops all year round.

• 

  Fauna

  Lemon of Provence

  The Lemon of Provence (Gonepteryx Cleopatra) is a butterfly of the Pietérés family and found only in the south of France. It has a wingspan of 25 to 30 mm and leaf-cut wings. Each wing is marked by a brown discoid on one side and a red dot on the other. In the Alpilles, he practices;a vertical migration between the scrubland and the pine forests of the massif. It emerges in the spring on the lowland, then migrates at high altitude in the summer months, and finally goes down again in the fall.