Lesser celadine

From thickened underground tubers this low growing perennial develops a rosette of kidney- to heart-shaped leaves that are dark green, fleshy and lustrous. Each rosette sends up a single bright yellow flower made up of 8 or more glossy petals. Plants appear in late winter and spring, produce flowers and die back in a short time. Habitat: Sun or shade, in woodlands, orchards, borders of fields and pasture lands from sea level to more than 1200 m.

Scientific name: Ranunculus ficuria verna

Synonym Ficaria verna

Italian common name: Favagello

English common name: Lesser celadine

European Elder

This small tree creates quite a show in Spring with flat-topped clusters of tiny white flowers against a dense background of bright green leaves. The flowers are still occasionally used in simple fritter and bread recipes. When fully ripe, the small, juicy, purple-black berries are used to make jam and in times past they were considered effective prepared as a tradional medicine.

Scientific name: Sambucus nigra

Italian common name: Sambuco comune

English common name: European Elder

Wild Pea

Growing in a low, spreading tangle of vegetation with hundreds of blue and deep purple colored flowers, wild peas are a springtime art work of the highest perfection. Colonies of this herbaceous vine flourish in extravagant abundance on open sunny sites here at Gangivecchio and throughout the Madonie region.

Scientific name: Pisum sativum

Italian common name: Pisello selvatico

English common name: Wild Pea

Spanish Broom

For several weeks in Spring, clouds of sweetly scented, bright yellow flowers cover the green cylindrical stems of this shrub. Varying in size from small to large, depending on site conditions, Spanish Broom is common on dry sunny hillsides at Gangivecchio and throughout the surrounding countryside.

Scientific name: Spartium junceum

Italian common name: Ginistra di Spagna

English common name: Spanish Broom

Poppy

A favorite subject of painters and landscape photographers, the fiery orange-red flowers of poppies nodding gracefully in spring breezes create a shimmering presence (farmers might say 'infest') in cultivated crops, pasture lands and roadside vegetation at Gangivecchio and nearby areas.

Scientific name: Papaver pinnatifidium

Italian common name: Papevero pennatifido

English common name: Poppy

Sulla

Few plants of the Sicilian countryside can match the colorful display of bright red flowers that clothe this low spreading plant in spring. Whether you see it as a roadside volunteer or in a pure stand covering scores of hectares the glowing crimson color of its blooms is an unforgettable sight. In Sicily Sulla is cultivated as forage, silage or a hay crop for feeding sheep and cattle.

Scientific name: Hedysarum coronarium

Italian common name: Sulla

English common name: Italian sainfoin, French honeysuckle