Eco Hvar

Hvar's Wild Flowers in the Late Summer

Marion Podolski, author of the exquisite blog Go Hvar, continues her illustrated seasonal researches into Hvar's abundant wild flowers.

Bright roadside field marigold, Jelsa October 2016. Bright roadside field marigold, Jelsa October 2016. Photo: Vivian Grisogono

Following on from our Guide to Hvar’s Wildflowers – Spring Edition, I’ve been out and about looking for what’s in bloom at the end of summer. These are mostly in the high country around the peak of Sv Nikola and on the Vorh plateau, although some are down around sea-level, even right on the beach in some cases.

Heather with black pine on Hvar's highest peak. Photo Marion Podolski

I have to say I was encouraged to find so many wildflowers in September, after what has been a scorching summer. My aim in writing the blog is to identify each one, and tag the photos with an official name in Latin, English and Croatian. With my previously somewhat inexpert pictures in mind, this time I was careful to include more of the plant (leaves, seedpods, etc) in my reference photos. And let’s hope the upcoming new series of that wonderful Croatian TV series  Lovac na bilje, (The Plant Hunter) includes  a trip to the Dalmatian coast and islands, as that could really help me identify the plants here!

Flowers on the beach on Sv.Klement. Photo Marion Podolski

Here’s the reference table of late-summer flowers. Usual disclaimer applies: while I have a reasonable confidence in most of the names, some are tentative especially when very similar suspects exist! I’d welcome any feedback from those with a rather better grounding in botany! Click on the images for a bigger picture, and links take you to wikipedia or plantea to find out more.

Antirrhinum majus

Antirrhinum majus
Snapdragon
Zijevalica
..........
Calamintha napeta

Calamintha napeta
Lesser calamint
Velecvjetna gorska metvica
Mint family but could be wild basil?
..........
..........

Campanula Pyramidalis

Campanula pyramidalis
Chimney bellflower
Piramidalni zvončić
 ..........

Capparis spinosa

 ..........

Centaurea glaberrima Tausch

Centaurea glaberrima Tausch or Centaurea jacea
Bare knapweed
Livadna zečina
Not sure exactly which variant of Centaurea this is. Reference pictures differ!
 ..........

Cephalaria leucantha

Flower head is actually a round ball, hence the Croatian name of White head!
 ..........

Cichorium intybus

Cichorium intybus
Chicory
Cikorija
 ..........

Cirsium vulgare

 ..........

Crithmum maritima

This photo taken on a Sv Klement beach. A similar plant is Salicornia, which turns red as it ages. Both samphire and salicornia are used in cooking.
 ..........

Daucus carota

Daucus carota
Wild carrot
Divlja mrkva
 ..........
 ..........

Dittrichia viscosa

Dittrichia viscosa
Woody or sticky fleabane
Ljepljini oman / brušćinac / bušina
 ..........

Ecballium

Ecballium
Squirting cucumber
Divlji krastavac
 ..........

Echinops ritro

Echinops ritro
Southern globethistle
Globus čičak
 ..........
 ..........

Foeniculum vulgare

 ..........

Hedera helix poetarum nyman

This version of ivy is native to southern Europe, and the flowers are high in nectar. Which is why this mound of ivy on Vorh was absolutely swarming with happy bees and butterflies! This one is a Cardinal.
 ..........

Heliotropium europaeum

 ..........

Inula crithmoides

Inula Crithmoides / Limbarda crithmoides
Golden Samphire
Primorski oman
Compare to samphire/motar above
..........

Knautia arvenensis

 ..........

Limonium cancelatum

Limonium cancelatum
Lattice sea-lavender
Rešetkasta mrižica or Rešetkasta travulja
This tiny variant of sea-lavender appears to be local to Croatia. Seen on Sv Klement beach.
 ..........

Opuntia ficus-indica

Opuntia ficus-indica
Opuntia / prickly pear
Opuncija
An exotic import from Mexico that grows well here!
 ..........

Pistacia terebinthus

The berries on this bush are really pretty, but the Croatian name is “Smelly“
 ..........

Plumbago europaea

Plumbago europaea
Common leadwort
Vranjemil?
Few references  even mention this European version of plumbago! Flower looks very similar to the Scilla (below), but this has 5 petals, not 6 and the clusters are different.
 ..........

Scilla autumnalis

Scilla autumnalis or Prospero autumnale
Autumn squill
Jesenji procjepak
In this case, the leaves are misleading as they belong to another plant!
 ..........

Sonchus asper

Sonchus asper
Perennial sow-thistle
Modrozeleni ostak or Kostriš
 ..........

“Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them” ~ A.A. Milne

© Marion Podolski 2016

 This article has been reproduced with kind permission from Marion's blog Go Hvar, Ramblings about a far island. Visit the blog for all kinds of information about Hvar, from artistic to epicurean!

 

 

Related items

back to top
You are here: Home Nature Watch Hvar's Wild Flowers in the Late Summer

Eco Environment News feeds

  • ‘At a crossroads’: will piling-up crises force Europe to put brakes on SUV culture?

    Bigger cars including electric can cause multiple harms, yet resistance to rise of US-style vehicles has had mixed support

    On a brisk winter’s evening in Europe’s automotive heartland, a cyclist who had pushed for safer streets went out on his bike for a final time. Andreas Mandalka had documented dangerous driving and shoddy cycling infrastructure for years, measuring the margins at which cars zipped past him and posting videos of blatant violations. While quick to remind readers that only a small proportion of drivers behaved badly, the 44-year-old blogger in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, had grown frustrated with authorities for failing to act. He felt they viewed him as a nuisance.

    As he cycled down a straight stretch of renovated road that runs parallel to a forest path he had flagged for poor quality, lights bright on his bike and helmet firm on his head, he was fatally struck from behind by a car.

    Continue reading...

  • Shark or sea monster? The Canadian marine mystery that still intrigues experts 90 years on

    Debate continues to rage over whether a strange carcass found in 1937 was a new species or a basking shark. Either way, the case reveals how little is known about what lies beneath the waves

    Its head resembled a dog’s, its downturned nose a camel’s, and at the end of its reptilian body was the tail of a horse. Witnesses say it was covered in a thin white film. When the remains of a strange creature were pulled from the stomach of a sperm whale, most of those present agreed: it was a sea monster – or at least something unknown living in the depths off Canada’s west coast.

    Crews at the whaling station in the archipelago of Haida Gwaii assembled a platform of wooden boxes and laid out the 3-metre (10ft) carcass, using a white sheet to display the curiosity that had baffled veteran whalers.

    Continue reading...

  • Climate campaigners attack Shell over ‘windfall’ profits from Iran war

    Firm benefits from conflict to rake in $6.9bn as higher energy prices turbocharge profits

    Shell has reported better than expected profits of $6.9bn (£5bn) after its oil traders reaped the benefits of soaring energy prices during the war in Iran, angering climate campaigners.

    Europe’s biggest oil and gas company posted a 115% jump in first-quarter profits from the $3.2bn reported in the last three months of 2025.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘Climate solutions will bring down bills and restore nature’: green issues and May elections

    As Reform vows to block solar and windfarms, energy leaders say renewables offer most secure future, insulating UK from hostile forces

    • May elections: What’s at stake across England, Wales and Scotland?

    The defining issue of Thursday’s local elections, feedback from doorsteps suggests, will be the UK’s soaring cost of living. But voters should be told about the links between inflation and the effects of fossil fuels and the climate crisis – or the remedies they choose – may make the situation worse, green campaigners have warned.

    Ami McCarthy, the head of politics at Greenpeace UK, said: “With people’s bills and prices soaring from yet another fossil fuel crisis, these local elections have a global context – driven by the Iran war.

    Continue reading...

  • Norwegian government attacked over decision to reopen North Sea gasfields

    Approval for exploration in 70 new areas prompts fierce backlash from fossil fuel opponents

    The Norwegian government has been heavily criticised for approving plans to reopen three North Sea gasfields nearly three decades after they were closed to help fill the gap in energy supplies created by the Middle East war.

    Amid sharp price rises in oil and gas since the US and Israel’s attack on Iran in February, Oslo has also given its approval for oil and gas companies to explore in 70 new locations in the North Sea, Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea.

    Continue reading...

  • Rewilding giants: captive elephants rehomed in Europe’s first sanctuary

    Julie, once a circus elephant, and Kariba, from a Belgian zoo, are to be moved to a former ranch in Portugal

    Europe’s first large-scale elephant sanctuary, which is opening to offer a more natural environment for some of the 600 animals still held in captivity across the continent, is to receive its first arrivals.

    Julie, Portugal’s last circus elephant, will be moved next month to the animal charity Pangea’s multimillion pound sanctuary in the Alentejo, 200km (124 miles) east of Lisbon, close to the border with Spain.

    Continue reading...

  • Fertiliser shortages to have dramatic effect on food prices, says Duke of Westminster’s firm

    Powerful property and farming firm Grosvenor Group says knock-on effect of Iran war could arrive next year

    Fertiliser shortages caused by the Iran war have driven up costs for UK farmers by up to 70% and will have a “dramatic” impact on food prices globally next year, according to one of Britain’s most powerful property and farming companies.

    Mark Preston, executive trustee of the 349-year-old Grosvenor Group, controlled by the Duke of Westminster, said fertiliser “was already quite expensive” before the 50% to 70% surge in prices since the start of the Iran war in late February.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘An epidemic of flies, rats, waste and foul odours’: health fears in Cuba as US oil blockade halts rubbish collection

    As Trump ramps up pressure by cutting off fuel to the island, Havana’s refuse is rarely collected, forcing residents to burn it in the streets despite the pollution

    As thick smoke spread through the narrow streets of Havana, seeping into homes, schools and shops, Carlos Blanco, a chef, opened his bedroom window to see what was going on. “I saw a mist. But it wasn’t mist – it was smoke,” he says, describing the toxic smog emanating from a smouldering mountain of rubbish.

    As the US oil blockade on Cuba enters its fourth month, choking off most of the island’s fuel supplies, growing mounds of waste lie on street corners across Havana. Amid fuel scarcity, authorities have opted to ration petrol by reducing waste collection, leaving less than half of Havana’s rubbish trucks operational.

    Continue reading...

  • Up to 2cm a month: Nasa keeps track as Mexico City sinks into the ground

    Powerful radar system is providing new data on city’s subsidence, which experts hope will draw more attention to it

    Walking into Mexico City’s sprawling central Zócalo is a dizzying experience. At one end of the plaza, the capital’s cathedral, with its soaring spires, slumps in one direction. An attached church, known as the Metropolitan Sanctuary, tilts in the other. The nearby National Palace also seems off-kilter.

    The teetering of many of the capital’s historic buildings is the most visible sign of a phenomenon that has been ongoing for more than a century: Mexico City is sinking at an alarming rate.

    Continue reading...

  • 100 years on Earth: celebrating David Attenborough’s birthday – podcast

    To celebrate Sir David Attenborough’s centenary, Madeleine Finlay catches up with natural history writer Patrick Barkham, who has met the celebrated presenter. They explore how the natural world has changed in the century that Attenborough has been on Earth, and how his programming has reflected his growing commitment to highlighting the devastating impacts of the climate crisis on nature and biodiversity

    Clips: BBC, PBS

    Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod

    Continue reading...

Eco Health News feeds

Eco Nature News feeds

Copyright © 2026 Eco Hvar. All Rights Reserved. Developed by Orion Informatika.