 The
maquis |
|||||
|
The maquis - a macchja - inextricable, is an endless garden of colors and scents. If you really want to get to know the valley - and Corsica itself - plunge head first into the maquis, as Corsican refer to the local bushland. A good place to start is in any of the thousand hectares of hills and vales that are Pietracorbara. Each season has its charms, but the maquis is at its best in early Spring. |
|||||
 |
Asphodel - u talavellu - symbolizes the beginning of the flower season in the valley. White and highly perfumed, each floral stem can attain 1 m 50 in height. The asphodel is a chameleon flower whose bloom changes color depending on the quality of light. On an overcast day, the six petal flowers are dull and faded, while a sunny day brings out the vibrant colors of each flower. Higher up, the common asphodel is supplanted by cherry asphodel - i luminelli - often dried and used to start fires or light roads, and which earned its name because of the bright light it gives off. | ||||
|
|
Otherwise known as the king of the maquis, u mucchju, Montpellier ciste - or straight leaf ciste - shares, along with the sage leaf ciste, very delicate white flowers which bloom crumpled and which cannot be picked: the petals drop off a picked bloom in a matter of minutes, a sad fate indeed for such beauty and perhaps nature's way of reminding us to enjoy beauty where it lies. Cretean ciste, with its larger leaves, has mauve flowers. It is well worth seeing a hillside covered in ciste in early Spring, and April is the best month to do so. | ||||
 |
Another important component of the maquis is heather, a scopa, once used to make brooms (take a peek in any old cellar in the village and you're sure to find an old heather broom) and which is also used to light chimney fires. The pale pink flowers of the plant illuminate the maquis in April. | ||||
Copyright dadonet for Petra Viva, Spring 2000
