The flora and fauna of Rhodes
Flora
In spring everything is green and blooming: wide red fields with poppies, yellow gorse, white orange blossoms and plump orange fruits. In summer the hibiscus blooms in red and the oleander flowers shine in the most beautiful white and red tones.
On the west coast is the largest wine-growing area, which is created as a low-cultivation due to the strong winds. Millions of olive trees are spread over the island, at the beginning of November the olives are harvested and, for the most part, processed into delicious olive oil. On the Profitis Elias mountain you will find peonies in various colors and in April / May even some types of orchids (incidentally also in the area of Kalithea and Koskinou).
Cyclamen blooms in pine forests and rocky crevices in late spring. The highly poisonous aroid is also resident on Rhodes. You will also find the so-called Scottish thistle and the cone thistle. The Asian buttercup is native to the east side of the island. The caper bush, which grows near Kritinia, for example, has delicate violet-white flowers. Incidentally, caper sprigs are often served in salads on Rhodes.
The whooping mud tree glows purple on the west coast, for example near Kamiros.
Irises can be found on the east coast at the Tsambika monastery, in Stegna and at Feraklos near Haraki. At Agios Soulas on the west side you can come across cistus whose petals used to be used to make tea or perfume.
Fauna
In addition to deer and wild boar, there are said to be few deer around Mount Profitis Ilias. In addition to bees, Rhodes is home to numerous other insects such as mosquitoes, dragonflies and hornets as well as a number of particularly beautiful butterfly species, and not only in the valley of the butterflies.
Everywhere on the island you can spot the brightly colored lizards and geckos, but also various non-poisonous snakes, only the vipers are poisonous.
Unfortunately, there aren't that many birds. The pheasants and partridges suffer greatly from the Greek hunting fever. In the summer months you can observe various swallow and falcon species, larks, buzzards and hawks in quieter areas, and rarely eagles. Owls can be heard quite often in Rhodes. Peacocks, some of which are quite tame, are kept in different places. However, they are not part of the island's natural fauna, they are domestic animals. The seagulls cannot be overlooked or overheard. They often fly with the ships, because sometimes fish get caught in the vortex around the propeller and are thrown to the surface of the water. Then the seagulls make easy prey.
On rocky coasts, snorkelers are warned of moray eels and the poisonous red scorpionfish. You can spot octopuses and sea parrot fish again and again while snorkeling. Swordfish, tuna and also smaller sharks live in the open sea. However, most of these sea creatures are barely seen. And unfortunately the popular dolphins only appear very rarely around Rhodes.
