Cortina | Ports i mans. Tim Johnson i Mònica Guilera

Reedmace, Typha sp

Location
Wet or flooded lands, ponds, streams, etc, all over the territory.

Features and properties
Very elegant aquatic plant. It produces very pleasing inflorescences in the form of an elongated cylinder which can reach a span in length.

Uses
Traditionally known in basket making, in particular to weave the seat of the chairs. It seems that the rhizomes (underground roots) are edible and have been used as medicine for its astringent effect.
Rosemary Willow, Salix elaeagnos

Location
Close to water springs of medium and high lying parts of the Port Mountains.

Features and properties
Multi-branch tree with rather long and thin branches (twigs) and with a shiny and smooth surface.

Uses
Twigs are essential in basket making, provide raw material for making baskets and other agricultural tools. The bark of these plants is rich in salicin, the precursory substance of the aspirin.
Hazel, Corylus avellana

Location
Abundant plant in the Port which occupies the wettest areas of the middle and high lying parts of the massif.

Features and properties
Large shrub or small tree which naturally grows abundant branches from the base.

Uses
Grown to make the most of its fruit, the hazelnut, very rich in proteins.

Its long and smooth branches have been used in the manufacture of baskets and other agricultural utensils. Its oil has also cosmetic and industrial uses. The divining rod is usually made of wild hazel and it is said that the branch must have the shape of a fork and be cut any day of June.
Olive, Olea europaea

Location
All over the plain and in most low lying parts of the Port.

Features and properties
Very long-lived tree grown in our region since ancient times to make the most of the oil, which is extracted from its fruits, the olives.

Uses
Olive oil is the basis of the Mediterranean diet. Leaves are also used as medicine to lower blood pressure. Its wood, of extreme hardness, has been traditionally used to make household and decorative utensils.
Oleander, Nerium oleander

Location
Usually found all over the course of all ravines which descend from the Port.

Features and properties
Shrub or small and multi-branch tree which gives in summer a touch of colour to all ravines which descend from the Port.

Uses
It is a toxic plant. Although the containing glycosides have cardiotonic properties, it can only be administered in pharmacological amounts. This substance has also been used as an insecticide and rodenticide.

Also it is used in gardening.
Bearded Iris, Iris germanica

Location
It is thought to be naturalized in dry meadows.

Features and properties
Vigorous plant which is becoming perennial. It is reproduced from the growth of its thick rhizome.

Uses
Highly used in gardening because of its easy culture and its spectacular bloom.

Formerly used as a medicinal plant. The powder extracted from rhizomes is used in perfumery as a fixative of perfumes.
Carob, Ceratonia siliqua

Location
All over the plain and in most low lying parts of the Port.

Features and properties
Large tree of reddish wood grown to make the most of its fruit, the carob.

Uses
Carob has been mainly used for livestock feed. The carob bean gum, a substance extracted from the seeds is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry and dietetics. It had a great importance as human food after the Spanish Civil War. The wood is also used in the lathe industry and in craftsmanship.
Almond, Amygdalus communis

Location
All over the plain and in most low lying parts of the Port.

Features and properties
Tree grown to make the most of its fruits, the almonds.

Uses
The most important is the nutritional use. Almonds are used both in confectionary and as a nut. It is an important source of protein. The oil extracted from the almonds has a great importance in cosmetics and the pharmaceutical industry.