| Valle de Puértolas - Puyarruego |
| Home | Excursions | Puyarruego | Lafortunada | Muriello | Ascaso | Fruits |
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| Nederlands | Common plants with fruits |
Castellano |
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This is different: an excursion without clear directions,
without even a clear target to reach. We don't rush uphill towards a
rare species of orchid; we don't dive into a gulch looking for the unique amphibian
and we don't cut our way towards a ruinous mill either. (You do? Then this is
our suggestion: Watermills in Aragón - not part of this site).
Today we are looking a bit more closely to some plants which we usually pass without a thought. Common species with conspicuous fruits all growing near Puyarruego. Look around in and around the village. Take a walk towards Escalona, or Belsierre, or just explore the many paths in the valley. You won't come back empty-handed. Autumn is the best time of the year, but some of the examples shown are there already in August, even July. Should you want to know more about their use as popular remedy
against smaller discomforts, then this could be the book you need:
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| Celtis australis - Nettle tree - Almez | Prunus spinosa - Blackthorn - Endrino | |
| Nettle tree occurs often near human settlements. The tree is planted as a shadow-tree with the advantage that the shadow has no adverse effect unlike the walnut tree which is said to cause headaches. Nettle tree is also used as a fodder tree and the wood is used to make tools. | Blackthorn invades slopes which aren't grazed or hayed anymore. The prunes are the basic ingredient of the licor named pacharán a real potion indispensable to stay strong and healthy (firmly stated at several places). |
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| Cydonia oblonga - Quincetree - Membrillero | Cydonia oblonga - Quince - Membrillo | |
| Quince is still regularly on the menu. Sometimes as a desert, other times as a jam with breakfast. The jam is often found in shops packaged in the same way as pot-cheese: triangles in a round box. | Quince is sometimes put between the washed clothes to give them a fresh and pleasant fragance. |
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| Punica granatum - Pomegranate - Granado | Prunus dulcis - Almond - Almendro | |
| Sometimes near villages. More common a bit more to the south. | Real plantations occur only south of L'Ainsa, but it happens that a tree can secure a spot more to the north. They are very conspicuous in early spring. Pink spots indicate the lonely almond trees in bloom. |
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| Ribes rubra - Red currant - Grosellero rojo | Tamus communis - - Espárrago de caña | Coriaria myrtifolia - - Emborrachacabras | ||
| A climbing-plant commonly found in brushwood. The berries are poisonous. The plant is related to Borderea, which is an endemic found high in the N.P. of Ordesa and on the slopes of the Peña Montañesa. | Poisonous. The Spanish name translates into which makes the goates tipsy. I didn't find the plant within walking distance of Puyarruego (it was near Trillo), but because of the peculiar fruits I choose to include it nevertheless. |
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| Juniperus - Juniper - Enebro | Juniperus - Juniper - Enebro | |
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| Sorbus - Mountain ash - Serbal | Olea europea - Olive - Olivo |
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| Cornus sanguinea - Cornel - Cornejo | Clematis vitalba - Wild climber - Clemátide | |
| Just put a twig in the shed to keep rodents away. | Clematis irritates the skin and was therefore
sometimes applied by beggars. They crushed fresh leaves in their hands
to make them look inflamed and thus instigate compassion.
You'll also find a related species C. recta which is not a climber but stands erect. |
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| Quercus faginea - - Roble, Quejigo | Quercus rotundifolia - - Encina |