Walking in Corsica. Gillian Price
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Other useful offices are listed under individual walks, distinguished by the symbol
The international dialling code for France is 33, and is needed for calls from overseas.
The Parc Naturel Régional de Corse can be contacted at
2, Rue Casalonga
20000 Ajaccio
Corse
France
e-mail: [email protected]
Its information-packed French-language web site is www.parc-naturel-corse.com.
Plant Life
Habitats on Corsica range from wind- and wave-lashed rocky coasts through to sun-baked plains, dense woodland and up to inhospitable snowbound mountain ranges, all home to well-adapted Mediterranean vegetation with everything from salt-resistant poppies to high-altitude crocus. But the majority of visitors to the island are struck by two things in particular: the pungent maquis and the noble Corsican pines.
Clump of broom in rock cranny
The ever-present scrub cover (maquis) spells subtle background scents that blend rosemary with endemic thyme, fennel, myrtle and much else besides. It leaves a lasting impression on all visitors, literary and non-literary figures alike. For Paul Theroux (1995) ‘It smells like a barrel of potpourri, it is like holding a bar of expensive soap to your nose, it is Corsica’s own Vap-o-Rub. The Corsican maquis is strong enough to clear your lungs and cure your cold.’ Guy de Maupassant (1881) noted that it made the air heavy, while for Dorothy Carrington, steaming towards the island for the very first time, ‘This is the scent of all Corsica: bitter-sweet, akin to incense, heady, almost, as an anaesthetic after rain… it is a perpetual and potent enchantment’.
The hardy, woody maquis shrubs that thrive on sun-baked earth have hidden generations of bandits, and there is even a historical record of Roman soldiers hopelessly losing their way. Predominant is the cistus or rock rose, a straggly bush with small leathery leaves and surprising papery blooms in pastel colours of mauve, pink and white. A curious parasite plant, Cytinus hypocistis, often grows at its base, its attractive yellow–red sheath resembling a mushroom. Another maquis standard is the strawberry tree, a type of arbutus. This evergreen is easily identified by its ball-like fruit reminiscent of strawberries in appearance, though not exactly in taste, and glossy leaves that resemble laurel. A member of the heather family, it is known in Corsica as a symbol of loyalty: according to legend the shrub hid Christ when fleeing from his enemies. However, the traitorous heather did not hesitate to give him away and he was captured. The charitable strawberry tree was blessed with fruit, while the heather was condemned to flower without ever producing fruit. Its woody stem, however, is prized for pipe-making.
Other notables are the widespread shady evergreen holm oak, with tiny glossy leaves and small acorns, as well as the dark-green-leaved lentisc with clusters of red berries. The bright myrtle shrub has delicate blooms like hawthorn, and its wood is still used for basketmaking.
Pretty rock roses
Cytinus hypocistis, parasite on rock rose shrub
At a similar low–medium altitude vegetation band are native Mediterranean cork oaks. Still important to the island’s economy, they are a common sight half stripped of their bark, leaving the bare trunk blushing bright red in its exposed state. The tough covering is non-flammable, a natural protection from summer bush fires.
Another curiosity is the Indian bead tree, planted in villages. It features lilac blossoms and orange woody ball fruits, which gave it its name.
One landmark tree for Corsica is the chestnut. Under Genoese domination in the mid-16th century they became the island’s mainstay. Later, a grand total of 35,000 hectares under cultivation was recorded in the 1800s, though it was destined to decline with the first blight in the early 1900s. A mere 4000 hectares are productive nowadays. The nuts were dried slowly in the typical double-floored séchoir huts over a fire burning day and night. They were later milled for flour.
Many of Corsica’s mountains have their lower 800–1800m zones cloaked in magnificent forests of endemic Corsica or laricio pine modelled into weird sculptures by wind action on exposed passes. Reaching up to a maximum of 40m in height they account for a good 50,000 hectares, including the Aïtone, Vizzavona and Bavella forests, and were highly prized by the Romans as masts for their galleys. Easily confused with the maritime variety, the Corsican pine has short rounded cones and dark bark with sizeable rough patches. The maritime, in contrast, features deeply fissured bark, often crimson, while its cones are large and pointed.
In terms of flowers, April is the best time for a visit on the coastal belt, though this will be postponed if the spring rain is late in coming.
Down at sea level many beaches are scattered with curious soft spongy brown balls, remnants of a flowering seaweed Posidonia oceanica (‘king of the sea’). As they detach from the plant and die, the broad fronds are broken up by the waves, which then roll them up and wash them onto the coast. They are quite effective for removing tar stains, an unlikely predicament. Other seaside habitués include the showy yellow horned poppy, with blue-grey leaves, and the widespread crimson Hottentot fig, a native of South Africa as the name suggests.
Old chestnut trees reach remarkable dimensions
Not far away is the inland habitat of highly perfumed French lavender, its tasselled head distinguishing it from the better-known variety cultivated commercially. The divine scent of an astonishing variety of yellow broom is another constant on Corsica. More perfume comes from sweet honeysuckle draped over walls and other shrubs. It comes in a deep red version as well as the more common creamy gold. An eye-catcher on otherwise bare rock surfaces is vivid purple and pink stonecrop.
Prickly pear cactus or the Barbary fig keeps a low profile, producing bright papery flowers in spring, followed by edible fruit for anyone patient enough to peel off the insidious spiky needles. Christopher Columbus is believed to have introduced it to the Mediterranean from South America. In the past the leaves were applied to wounds to stop bleeding. Giant fennel or ferula is a common sight towering over arid hillsides. Its tall dried stalks were once crafted into modest furniture and walking sticks, as well as serving as reliable, slow-burning torches. A sure sign of exhausted over-grazed terrain is the presence of the asphodel, tall lily-like plant with white flowers. The Greeks called it the ‘flower of death’, but in Corsica it was known as the ‘poor people’s bread’, as the bulb, rich in starch, was eaten widely until the introduction of the potato in the late 1700s. The dried plant is still used in rituals, and is widely held to be a powerful protector as well as an effective cure for warts.
Higher up, wet zones around mountain streams often feature pretty lilac butterwort, their sticky leaves ready to trap insects. There’s also the odd orchid, mainly the modest serapias, better known as the tongue orchid, rather nondescript burgundy-cream with pointy elongated petals. A more striking orchid look-alike is the violet-green thick-stemmed limodore. Other notable wood-dwellers include pretty crimson-purple cyclamens and the endemic toxic Corsican hellebore, with attractive drooping lime green flowers. Its broad leaves were used by shepherds to keep their cheeses fresh, while the roots produced a valuable disinfectant for livestock.
Lastly, two glorious showy flowers found in mountainous zones: a striking