Berlengas Islands Nature Reserve Field Guide
The Berlengas Islands Nature Reserve includes a group of rocky islands near the western coast of Portugal and their surrounding waters. This guide aims to help the curious and the visitor alike enjoy this unique place, with its rarities and endemisms.
Sea potato
Echinocardium cordatum, or the sea potato, is a sea urchin in the family Loveniidae. It is found in sub-tidal regions in temperate seas around the world and lives buried in the sandy sea floor.
Purple sea urchin
Paracentrotus lividus is a species of sea urchin in the family Parechinidae commonly known as the purple sea urchin. It is the type species of the genus and occurs in the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Sphaerechinus granularis
Sphaerechinus granularis is a species of sea urchin in the family Toxopneustidae, commonly known as the purple sea urchin. Its range includes the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Halichondria
Halichondria is a genus of marine demosponges belonging to the family Halichondriidae. These are massive, amorphous sponges with clearly separated inner and outer skeletons consisting of bundles of spicules arranged in a seemingly random pattern. This genus of sponges became important through the discovery of cell division limiting properties of the extract Halichondrin B, which ...more ↓
Sulphur Boring Sponge
Cliona celata, occasionally called the Red Boring Sponge, is a species of demosponge belonging the family Clionaidae. It is found worldwide. This sponge creates round holes up to 5 cm in diameter in limestone or the shells of molluscs, especially oysters. The sponge itself is often visible as a rather featureless yellow or orange lump at the bottom of the hole.
sea spleenwort
Asplenium marinum is known as the sea spleenwort because of its preference for maritime habitats around the coasts of Europe from Italy in the South to Norway in the North.
Isoetes histrix
Isoetes histrix (Land Quillwort) is an aquatic pteridophyte native to the Mediterranean region, northwestern Africa, and the coasts of western Europe northwest to Cornwall. It occurs mainly in temporarily wet habitats, otherwise called vernal pools.
hop trefoil
Trifolium campestre, commonly known as Hop Trefoil and Low Hop Clover, is a species of clover native to Europe and western Asia, growing in most areas, but specifically thriving on dry, sandy grassland habitats, as well as in fields, woodland margins, roadsides, wastelands and cultivated land. The species name campestre means "of the fields".
clustered clover
Trifolium glomeratum is a species of clover known by the common names clustered clover and bush clover. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa and it is known elsewhere as an introduced species. It easily takes hold in disturbed areas, becoming a common weed. It is an annual herb growing decumbent to upright in form with mostly hairless herbage. The leaves are ...more ↓
Bur Clover
Medicago polymorpha is a plant species of the genus Medicago. It is native to the Mediterranean basin but is found throughout the world. It forms a symbiotic relationship with the bacterium Sinorhizobium medicae, which is capable of nitrogen fixation. Common names include California burclover, toothed bur clover, toothed medick and burr ...more ↓
sweet clover
Melilotus indicus, sometimes incorrectly written Melilotus indica, is a yellow-flowered herb native to northern Africa, Europe and Asia, but naturalized throughout the rest of the world.
Common Fig
The common fig (Ficus carica) is a species of flowering plant in the genus Ficus, from the family Moraceae, known as the common fig (or just the fig), anjeer (Iran, Pakistan), and dumur (Bengali). It is the source of the fruit also called the fig, and as such is an important crop in those areas where it is grown commercially. Native to ...more ↓
spreading pellitory
Parietaria judaica, with common names Spreading Pellitory or Pellitory of the wall, is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the family Urticaceae, commonly nicknamed sticky-weed. The plant's pollen is highly allergenic. In Australia it is also known as asthma weed, due to the high incidence of allergy. It is unrelated to the herb pellitory ...more ↓
Wall Pennywort
Umbilicus rupestris (Navelwort, Penny-pies, Wall Pennywort) is a fleshy, perennial, edible flowering plant in the stonecrop family Crassulaceae (in the genus Umbilicus) so named for its umbilicate (navel-like) leaves.
mossy stonecrop
Crassula tillaea is a succulent plant known by its common names mossy stonecrop and moss pygmyweed. It is a small fleshy plant growing only a few centimeters in height. It is green when new and gradually turns orange and then deep red when mature. It has tiny triangular pointed leaves only a few millimeters long. A tiny flower or pair of flowers grows between each ...more ↓
flaxleaf pimpernel
Lysimachia monelli (commonly known as the blue pimpernel and formerly known as Anagallis monelli) is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrsinaceae, native to the Mediterranean region. It is not to be confused with Lysimachia foemina, which has very similar blue flowers, but broader leaves and can be found also in colder climates. In a ...more ↓
Nettle-leaved Goosefoot
Chenopodiastrum murale, (Syn. Chenopodium murale) is a species of plant in the amaranth family known by the common names Nettle-leaved Goosefoot, Australian-spinach, salt-green, sowbane. This plant is native to Europe and parts of Asia and northern Africa, but it is widespread worldwide, particularly in tropical and subtropical areas due to its ...more ↓
common chickweed
Stellaria media, chickweed, is a cool-season annual plant native to Europe, which is often eaten by chickens. It is sometimes called common chickweed to distinguish it from other plants called chickweed. Other common names include chickenwort, craches, maruns, winterweed. The plant germinates in fall or late winter, then forms large mats ...more ↓
sticky mouse-ear chickweed
Cerastium glomeratum is a species of flowering plant in the pink family known by the common names sticky mouse-ear chickweed and clammy chickweed. It is probably native to Eurasia but it is known on most continents as an introduced species. It grows in many types of habitat.
white campion
Silene latifolia (formerly Melandrium album), or White Campion, is a dioecious flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to most of Europe, Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is a herbaceous annual, occasionally biennial or a short-lived perennial plant, growing to between 40-80 centimetres tall.
Crystalline Ice Plant
Mesembryanthemum crystallinum is a prostrate succulent plant native to Africa, Western Asia and Europe. The plant is covered with large, glistening bladder cells, reflected in its common names of common ice plant, crystalline iceplant or iceplant.
Hottentot-Fig
Carpobrotus edulis is native to South Africa. It is also known as ice plant, highway ice plant, pigface or Hottentot fig and in South Africa as the sour fig (suurvy; earlier: hotnotsvy), on account of its edible fruit.
procumbent pigweed
Amaranthus blitoides, commonly called Prostrate amaranth, Matweed, or Mat amaranth, is a glabrous annual plants species. It usually grows up to 0.6 m, though it may grow up to 1 m (3 feet). It flowers in the summer to fall.
Armeria berlengensis
Armeria berlengensis is a flowering plant, a member of a mostly Mediterranean group including the thrifts and sea pinks. It is endemic to the Berlengas, a Portuguese archipelago, where it occurs on the rocky granitic slopes of the islands. It is common on both Berlenga Grande Island and Farilhões.
Horseweed
Conyza canadensis (formerly Erigeron canadensis L.) is an annual plant native throughout most of North America and Central America. Common names include Horseweed, Canadian Horseweed, Canadian Fleabane, Coltstail, Marestail and Butterweed.
Slender Thistle
Carduus tenuiflorus, known variously as slender-flower thistle,sheep thistle,shore thistle,slender thistle,winged plumeless thistle,winged slender thistle, and winged thistle) is a species of thistle.
Australian waterbuttons
Cotula australis is a species of plant in the daisy family known by the common names southern waterbuttons and Australian waterbuttons. This small plant is native to Australia and New Zealand, but it is known in other areas of the world as a common weed. The plant grows low to the ground in a thin mat with some slightly erect, spindly stems. The leaves are divided ...more ↓
brass buttons
The small marsh flower Cotula coronopifolia (also spelled C. coronipifolia) bears the common names brass buttons, golden buttons, and buttonweed. The flowers are bright yellow discoid inflorescences that look like thick buttons. Individual plants spread stems along the ground and send up the knobby flowers at intervals. The plant is native to ...more ↓
common sow thistle
Sonchus oleraceus (common sowthistle,sow thistle,smooth sow thistle, annual sow thistle, hare's colwort, hare's thistle, milky tassel, swinies) is native to Asia and Europe. The Latin name Sonchus refers to the hollow stem, while oleraceus refers to its good taste. The common name sow thistle refers to its ...more ↓
Sonchus tenerrimus
Sonchus tenerrimus is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name slender sow thistle. It is native to Europe, but it is known practically worldwide as a common weed similar to several other species of sow thistle. This annual or perennial herb produces a slender, branching stem up to about 80 centimeters tall. The leaves are deeply divided ...more ↓
Capeweed
Arctotheca calendula is a plant commonly known as cape weed, cape dandelion, or cape marigold because it originates from the Cape Province in South Africa. It is listed as a noxious weed in California and is an invasive weed in Australia as well.
Dove's Foot Cranesbill
Geranium molle, the Dove's-foot Crane's-bill or Dovesfoot Geranium, is an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the Geraniaceae family.
Bermuda Buttercup
Oxalis pes-caprae (Bermuda buttercup, African wood-sorrel, Bermuda sorrel, Buttercup oxalis, Cape sorrel, English weed, Goat's-foot, Sourgrass, Soursob and Soursop; (Afrikaans: Suring) ) is a species of tristylous flowering plant in the wood sorrel family Oxalidaceae. Oxalis cernua is a less ...more ↓
European heliotrope
Heliotropium europaeum is a species of heliotrope known by the common names European Heliotrope and European Turnsole. It is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, but it is widely naturalized elsewhere, such as in Australia and North America. It grows as a roadside weed in some places. This is an annual herb growing from a taproot and reaching maximum heights ...more ↓
Mediterranean lineseed
Bellardia trixago is a species of flowering plant in the broomrape family known as Mediterranean lineseed. This plant is native to the Mediterranean Basin, but it is known in other places with similar climates, such as California and parts of Chile, where it is an introduced species and noxious weed.
Olive
The olive (i/ˈɒlɪv/ or i/ˈɑːləv/, Olea europaea, meaning "Oil from/of Europe") is a species of small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as the Levant, northern Saudi Arabia, northern Iraq, and northern Iran at the south of the Caspian Sea.
Stachys arvensis
Stachys arvensis is a species of flowering plant in the mint family known by the common names staggerweed and field woundwort. It is native to Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa. It is known on other continents as an introduced species and widespread weed.
minutina
Plantago coronopus (minutina, erba stella, buck's horn plantain) is a species of Plantago sometimes grown as a leaf vegetable, mostly incorporated in salad mixes for specialty markets. Recently it has become popular as a frost-hardy winter crop for farmers in northern climates, and is usually grown in unheated hightunnels. It is native to Eurasia and ...more ↓
