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

  • Bill Gates charity trust’s holdings in fossil fuel firms rise despite divestment claims

    Trust had $254m invested in companies such as Chevron, BP and Shell in 2024, a nine-year record, analysis shows

    The Gates Foundation Trust holds hundreds of millions of dollars in fossil fuel extractors despite Bill Gates’ claims of divestment made in 2019.

    End-of-year filings reveal that in 2024 the trust invested $254m in companies that extract fossil fuels such as Chevron, BP and Shell. This was a nine-year record and up 21% from 2016, Guardian analysis found. Adjusting for inflation, it was the highest amount since 2019.

    Continue reading...

  • Scientists warn of ‘regime shift’ as seaweed blooms expand worldwide

    Study links rapid growth of ocean macroalgae to global heating and nutrient pollution

    Scientists have warned of a potential “regime shift” in the oceans, as the rapid growth of huge mats of seaweed appears to be driven by global heating and excessive enrichment of waters from farming runoff and other pollutants.

    Over the past two decades, seaweed blooms have expanded by a staggering 13.4% a year in the tropical Atlantic and western Pacific, with the most dramatic increases occurring after 2008, according to researchers at the University of South Florida.

    Continue reading...

  • ‘We thought they would ignore us’: how humans are changing the way raptors behave

    Experts call for tighter regulation as GPS tracking reveals how people’s behaviour affects the lives of some of the world’s largest birds

    Many people look up to admire the silhouette of raptors, some of the planet’s largest birds, soaring through seemingly empty skies. But increasingly, research shows us that this fascination runs both ways. From high above, these birds are watching us too.

    Thanks to the development of tiny GPS tracking devices attached to their bodies, researchers are getting millions of data points on the day-to-day lives of these apex predators of the skies, giving us greater insight into where they hunt and rest, and how they die.

    Continue reading...

  • Australia’s koala paradox: why is the beloved marsupial endangered in parts but overabundant in others?

    There are so many koalas in some places that food is the issue – while elsewhere populations are threatened by habitat loss. And there are no easy fixes

    On French Island in Victoria’s Western Port Bay, koalas are dropping from trees. Eucalypts have been eaten bare by the marsupials, with local reports of some found starving and dead. Multiple koalas – usually solitary animals – can often be seen on a single gum.

    Koalas were first introduced to French Island from the mainland in the 1880s, a move that protected the species from extinction in the decades they were extensively hunted for their pelts. In the absence of predators and diseases such as chlamydia, the population thrived.

    Continue reading...

  • Weather tracker: Tropical storm brings torrential rain to Philippines

    Fears of storm surges and flooding, with landslides and volcanic mudflows possible on Luzon

    The Philippines is experiencing its first tropical storm of the year. Ada, also known as Nokaen, slowly developed into a tropical storm on Friday, travelling northwards along the east coast over the weekend and bringing torrential rain of up to 200mm a day and maximum wind gusts of up to 65mph near the storm’s centre.

    The system is expected to remain a tropical storm until Tuesday as it tracks north-west, though weakening as a result of the incoming north-east monsoon, transitioning back to a tropical depression, which could bring further rain and strong winds enhanced by the monsoon later in the week.

    Continue reading...

  • Country diary: This is true water music – and the more you listen, the more you hear | Derek Niemann

    Frome, Somerset: Get tuned in to the river’s sounds and you’re treated to a symphony of noise, from susurrating hisses to great belches

    After three decades living alongside mute waterways in East Anglia, with their soundless glide over clay, I am learning a liquid language here, and all its boulder dialects, as our winter‑filled local stream gushes down its limestone gorge.

    My fellow country diarist and wild swimmer Amy-Jane Beer shares my passion for river music. She tells me of her compulsion to listen when fresh water is given a voice by coming to the surface.

    Continue reading...

  • Why are onions turning up on Brighton beach?

    Food produce and other waste has been littering Sussex coastline as capsized shipping containers wash ashore

    Coral Evans was walking along the beach in Brighton on Tuesday evening when she came across an unfamiliar sight.

    “Hundreds of dust masks had washed up, along with single-use plastic gloves and cans of dried milk,” she said. “It was odd to see in winter – because nothing surprises us in summertime with the amount of people on the beach.”

    Continue reading...

  • Is your body really full of microplastics? – podcast

    Studies detecting microplastics throughout human bodies have made for alarming reading in recent years. But last week, the Guardian’s environment editor, Damian Carrington, reported on major doubts among a group of scientists about how some of this research has been conducted.

    Damian tells Ian Sample how he first heard about the concerns, why the scientists think the discoveries are probably the result of contamination and false positives, and where it leaves the field. He also reflects on how we should now think about our exposure to microplastics

    Clips: Vox, Detroit Local 4

    Continue reading...

  • 15 years after Fukushima, Japan prepares to restart the world’s biggest nuclear plant

    A return to nuclear power is at the heart of Japan’s energy policy but, in the wake of the 2011 disaster, residents’ fears about tsunamis, earthquakes and evacuation plans remain

    The activity around the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant is reaching its peak: workers remove earth to expand the width of a main road, while lorries arrive at its heavily guarded entrance. A long perimeter fence is lined with countless coils of razor wire, and in a layby, a police patrol car monitors visitors to the beach – one of the few locations with a clear view of the reactors, framed by a snowy Mount Yoneyama.

    When all seven of its reactors are working, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa generates 8.2 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power millions of households. Occupying 4.2 sq km of land in Niigata prefecture on the Japan Sea coast, it is the biggest nuclear power plant in the world.

    Continue reading...

  • Dublin Bay’s oyster graveyard rises from dead in effort to restore rich ecosystem

    Pioneering scheme hopes species that thrived for thousands of years in Irish waters can do so again

    The dinghy slowed to a stop at a long line of black bobbing baskets and David Lawlor reached out to inspect the first one.

    Inside lay 60 oysters, all with their shells closed, shielding the life within. “They look great,” beamed Lawlor. So did their neighbours in the next basket and the ones after that, all down the line of 300 baskets, totalling 18,000 oysters.

    Continue reading...

Eco Health News feeds

Eco Nature News feeds

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