Until May 19th, during the week of “Temps de Flors” in Girona, at the floral ensemble No. 31 (Casa Forn – Diputació de Girona) there will be a small exhibition of the project LIFE medCLIFFS. There one can see examples of common invasive plants found along the Costa Brava, the main object of study and control of this European project.
This space represents a simulation of a future hypothetic Mediterranean cliff, where the only plants found are allochthonous species which have replaced completely the autochthonous flora, the original one. Beyond the creation of an aesthetic floral arrangement, suiting the idea of the fest “Temps de flors” this exhibit also calls for the public to see the impact that some ornamental plants have on our lands, especially those with “pretty” flowers that need little water.
Despite having a regulatory list of invasive plants, hence prohibited sale, there are still many that we keep finding and are not included. For this reason, one of the tasks of the project LIFE medCLIFFS is to assess those species with more invasive traits and add them to the “Spanish Catalogue of Invasive Exotic Species” and prevent their commercialization and propagation.
For further information and detail, the tenured scientist of the Botanical Institute of Barcelona (IBB-CSIC) and manager of the project LIFE medCLIFFS, Sònia Garcia, will give a talk “Pretty but complicated: environmental challenges of ornamental plants with invasive behavior”. A lecture that will take place at the Community Center “Barri Vell – Mercadal” in Girona next May 16th from 18:30 to 19:30. We encourage everyone to assist and visit the floral ensemble these days!
Text: Edgard Mestre
