Introduction
The plants found here are species adapted to harsh coastal conditions: salinity, shifting sand, intense sunlight and dryness.
They have developed various survival strategies, such as fleshy leaves, light colouring, dense hairiness and the ability to eliminate excess salt.
The easiest species to identify are the lliri de mar, the card marí, the alfals marí and the borró. The lliri de mar (Pancratium maritimum) grows behind the dunes, as seen here. It produces large, white, highly fragrant flowers in summer that open in the evening and last only one day. At flowering time, the leaves are already dry and reappear with autumn rains. The seeds resemble small pieces of charcoal and emerge from a round capsule. Thanks to its fleshy leaves and deeply buried bulb, it can withstand long periods of drought.
Ingesting the bulb is toxic. However, it contains an inhibitor of an enzyme associated with Alzheimer’s disease and is therefore used in medicine.