JBCLM | 2010-2025

This forest recreation is dominated by deciduous trees common in the Upper Tajo and the Serranía de Cuenca (Hoz de Beteta, cliffs of Uña, Peralejos de las Truchas…), which require over 1,000 mm of annual precipitation. These forests serve as refuges for eurosiberian broadleaf species, relics* from periods of higher humidity in the Iberian Peninsula (the Atlantic period, following the end of the Würm glaciation). With the establishment of the Mediterranean climate in southern Europe, deciduous forests, once dominant across the peninsula, became confined to highly localized mountain enclaves where microclimatic conditions remain favorable. Due to the singularity of these isolated forest masses in southern Europe for millennia, their conservation is a priority under the Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC.

Deciduous trees found here are currently species typical of cooler, wetter European climates, sometimes accompanied by Mediterranean species. Examples include linden (Tilia platyphyllos), ashes (Fraxinus excelsior, F. angustifolia), maples (Acer campestre, A. monspessulanum), poplars (Populus nigra, P. tremula), elder (Sambucus nigra), hazel (Corylus avellana), wych elm (Ulmus glabra), whitebeam (Sorbus aria), alongside some evergreen species typical of these habitats, such as yew (Taxus baccata) and holly (Ilex aquifolium).

The understory includes herbaceous plants and shrubs typical of humid forests, some of which are endangered and listed in Castilla-La Mancha’s Regional Catalogue of Threatened Species. Notable among them is the broad-leaved spindle (Euonymus latifolius), an extremely rare relic tree/shrub critically endangered in Spain, with only a few populations in the Iberian System, including the Serranía de Cuenca. The Botanical Garden has successfully developed germination and cultivation protocols for this species.

Other threatened species present include the larkspur (Delphinium bolosii) from Molina de Aragón, and shepherd’s tobacco (Atropa baetica) from the Serranía de Cuenca. Accompanying these are shade-loving species such as wild geranium (Geranium sanguineum), honeysuckles (Lonicera etrusca, L. periclymenum, L. xylosteum), belladonna (Atropa belladonna), wayfaring tree (Viburnum lantana), guelder rose (Viburnum opulus), stinking hellebore (Helleborus foetidus), Chaerophyllum aureum, peony (Paeonia broteri), and primroses (Primula veris, P. vulgaris).