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About North Cyprus · Karpaz vegetation

Karpaz peninsula vegetation: dunes, juniper maquis and endemic plants

As of 28 October 2026, the sources read for this page describe the vegetation of the Karpaz (Karpas) peninsula in North Cyprus as a mosaic of dune and cliff plants, juniper maquis, scrub, phrygana, pine, cypress, olive and carob woodland, and cultivated land. According to the 2010 management plan for the Karpaz protected area, the survey found 17 habitat types, juniper maquis is listed at 50.2% of the site, and 22 endemic plants occur there. The page adds botanical papers, how sources word the national park status, and what they say about grazing and donkeys.

Checked 28 October 2026 against the sources named in the text and listed below. Positions of parties are attributed to them.

Habitat types recorded in the Karpaz protected area and how much ground they cover. AI visual concept
AI visual concept

Habitat types recorded in the Karpaz protected area and how much ground they cover

According to the 2010 management plan for the Karpaz Special Environmental Protected Area (SEPA), written by W. J. Fuller and colleagues in an EU-funded technical assistance project and published by the Environmental Protection Department (Çevre Koruma Dairesi), the survey identified 17 habitat types listed for protection under the EU Habitats Directive. The plan's habitat table gives the number of localities and the area for each type, so the cards below quote its own figures and its own percentage column.

The table gives arborescent matorral with junipers 4,928.89 ha, which it states as 50.2% of the site, and a category of agriculturally improved grassland 1,367.02 ha, stated as 13.9%. A University of Hohenheim seminar contribution of January 2019 names three priority habitats for the area: coastal lagoons, Posidonia beds and coastal dunes with Juniperus species. It describes the peninsula as holding a large number of diverse habitats on a rather small space.

A separate 2010 plan for the South Karpaz beaches SEPA, in Turkish, reports ten Habitats Directive types for the stretch between Dipkarpaz and Kaleburnu. For wider vegetation zones of the island, see flora and fauna; for the places themselves, see İskele and Karpaz places to see.

  • habitat

    Juniper maquis (habitat 5210)

    The Karpaz plan's table gives arborescent matorral with Juniperus 198 localities and 4,928.89 ha, 50.2% of the site in its percentage column. It names Juniperus phoenicea, Pistacia lentiscus, Calycotome villosa, Cistus creticus, Olea europaea and Phagnalon rupestre as typical species and says the sub-type is abundant at both low and high elevations.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • habitat

    Thermo-Mediterranean scrub with Genista fasselata (5330)

    The plan's table lists 96 localities and 943.82 ha (9.6%). It describes a Genista fasselata brush sub-type, of a tall, spiny shrub "of very restricted distribution in the eastern Mediterranean basin", with Cistus species, Thymus capitatus, Lithodora hispidula, Calycotome villosa, Noaea mucronata, Asparagus stipularis and Helianthemum obtusifolium.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • habitat

    Sarcopoterium phrygana (5420)

    The plan's table lists 73 localities and 331.30 ha (3.4%). It says this phrygana forms the climax vegetation on drier sites or poorer soils but also appears as a stage of degradation or regeneration of maquis or forest after fire, cultivation, grazing or other disturbance; it found the endemic Helianthemum obtusifolium and Teucrium micropodioides in it.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • habitat

    Olive and carob woodland (9320)

    The plan's table lists 35 localities and 513.78 ha (5.2%). It describes woodland with Olea europaea ssp. sylvestris, Ceratonia siliqua and Pistacia lentiscus and says it recorded both wild olive woodlands and carob woodlands in the Karpaz SEPA.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • habitat

    Pine woodland (9540)

    The plan's table lists 13 localities and 221.77 ha (2.3%). The plan says the pine habitat in the Karpaz SEPA is mainly old naturalised Pinus brutia plantations, with an undergrowth that includes three Teucrium species, Thymus capitatus, Genista fasselata, Rhamnus oleoides, Pistacia lentiscus and Calycotome villosa.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • habitat

    Cypress stands and stream-side thickets (9290, 92D0)

    The plan says the Cupressus forests (20 localities, 170.37 ha) are fragmented and mostly along river or stream sites. For the riparian galleries (4 localities, 8.48 ha) it says that in North Cyprus the habitat usually includes Nerium oleander, Tamarix tetragyna, Rubus sanctus and Myrtus communis.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • habitat

    Coastal lagoons (1150)

    The plan's table lists one locality of 7.31 ha. The plan states that vegetation was not recorded in lagoons during the Karpaz mapping, but may occur there, so no lagoon plant species are attributed to the peninsula on this page.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • habitat

    Agriculturally improved grassland (EUNIS E2.6)

    The plan's table lists 21 localities and 1,367.02 ha (13.9%) in a category it defines as agriculturally improved, re-seeded and heavily fertilised grassland. This is cultivated land, listed beside the natural habitats rather than counted among the Annex I types.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • habitat

    Posidonia beds (1120)

    The plan's table gives 1,322.45 ha of Posidonia beds. It describes Posidonia oceanica as a Mediterranean seagrass forming dense green meadows with leaves up to 1 m, sensitive to a drop in salinity, and proposes a strict protection zone for the beds.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • habitat

    South Karpaz habitat table

    The South Karpaz plan (2010, in Turkish) gives juniper matorral 485.20 ha at 27 localities (33.3%) and agriculturally improved grassland 648.06 ha (44.5%). It lists coastal lagoons at 7 localities covering 14.56 ha.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • landscape

    Low shrub-covered hills in South Karpaz

    The South Karpaz plan says the hill-like formations of the area have a rocky base and are covered by shrub vegetation as the main habitat, rising no higher than 100 to 150 m. It describes the vegetation as sandy and rocky, with matorral and wind-formed dunes.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

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Dune, drift-line and sea-cliff plants named for the Karpaz coast

The Karpaz management plan names the plants it found in each shore habitat. For drift lines it lists Cakile maritima, Salsola kali and Eryngium maritimum; for embryonic dunes it says Eryngium maritimum dominates, with Euphorbia peplis, Medicago marina, Pancratium maritimum and Echium angustifolium, and it adds that high numbers of Alhagi maurorum were recorded. It says Juniperus phoenicea formations almost cover all of the SEPA's coastal beaches.

The South Karpaz plan reports the same shore habitats in Turkish and says the dune ecosystem in particular must be protected. Beach access and the nesting season of the turtles are covered in beaches and coast and in birds, sea turtles and reptiles.

  • habitat

    Annual vegetation of drift lines (1210)

    The Karpaz plan records this habitat at 21 localities covering 48.20 ha and describes it as a natural habitat type found within the site. It gives Cakile maritima, Salsola kali and Eryngium maritimum as the typical vegetation.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • habitat

    Embryonic shifting dunes (2110)

    The plan says embryonic dunes are very well developed on the Karpaz beaches, at 12 localities covering 52.75 ha, dominated by Eryngium maritimum. It lists Euphorbia peplis, Medicago marina, Pancratium maritimum and Echium angustifolium as typical species.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • habitat

    Coastal dunes with juniper (2250)

    The plan marks this as a priority habitat, at 15 localities covering 70.06 ha. It names Juniperus phoenicea as the typical species and says its formations almost cover all of the coastal beaches of the Karpaz SEPA.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • habitat

    Dune scrub at Ronnas Bay and Ayios Philon (2260)

    The plan records dune sclerophyllous scrub at 26 localities covering 418.25 ha and says it can be seen at Ronnas Bay and Ayios Philon beaches. It lists Thymus capitatus, Teucrium micropodioides, Echium angustifolium, Pistacia lentiscus, Helianthemum obtusifolium, Genista sphacelata, Calycotome villosa, Helichrysum conglobatum and Phagnalon rupestre.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • habitat

    Vegetated sea cliffs with Limonium (1240)

    The plan records this habitat at 31 localities covering 290.67 ha, near Golden Beach, Ayios Philon, the Blue Sea hotel and the Apostolos Andreas Monastery. It names Limonium virgatum, Limonium albidum ssp. cyprium, Cichorium spinosum, Frankenia hirsuta, Andrachne telephoides and Crithmum maritimum.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • habitat

    South Karpaz coast: drift lines, dunes and cliffs

    The South Karpaz plan reports drift-line vegetation (Cakile maritima, Salsola kali, Eryngium maritimum, Euphorbia peplis) at 12 localities covering 63.07 ha, and embryonic dunes dominated by Eryngium maritimum at 8 localities covering 27.76 ha. It names Limonium virgatum and Crithmum maritimum on the cliffs and calls juniper dunes quite common along the coast.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

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Endemic and rare plants named for the peninsula

According to the Karpaz management plan, 22 endemic plant species occur in the Karpaz SEPA, five of them endemic to the northern part of the island: Dianthus cyprius, Hedysarum cyprium, Limonium albidum ssp. cyprium, Scutellaria sibthorpii and Teucrium karpasiticum. The plan records only one plant listed in Annex II of the Habitats Directive, the orchid Ophrys kotschyi (Kıbrıs Ofrisi in the Turkish text), which it calls an endemic of Cyprus.

Jonathan Warner, in a 2006 conference paper, writes that in spring the lowlands of the peninsula turn first green and then "cascade with color" as flowers mature. The plan's own flowering information is narrower: it gives early March to early April for Ophrys kotschyi. A Hohenheim seminar contribution repeats the figures of 22 endemic species and five plants rare for the island.

  • plant list

    22 endemic species, five of them northern endemics

    The Karpaz plan says 22 endemic plant species were recorded, five endemic to northern Cyprus: Dianthus cyprius, Hedysarum cyprium, Limonium albidum ssp. cyprium, Scutellaria sibthorpii and Teucrium karpasiticum. It adds that 16 further endemic species reported in the literature should be surveyed and mapped.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • plant

    Teucrium karpasiticum (in the management plan)

    The plan calls it a plant endemic to northern Cyprus and micro-endemic to the Karpaz peninsula, first recorded at the far end of the peninsula about 4 km north-east of the Apostolos Andreas monastery, and also at the western edge of the Ronnas Bay dunes. It lists dune juniper, dune scrub, juniper matorral, phrygana and a steppe-like grass habitat among its habitats.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • plant

    Teucrium karpasiticum (taxonomic paper)

    Hadjikyriakou and Hand (Willdenowia, 2008) describe T. karpasiticum as new to science and call it a micro-endemic of the Karpasia peninsula. They report that all four endemic Cypriot Teucrium species of the group they studied are tetraploid.

    Source: archive.bgbm.org

  • plant

    Ophrys kotschyi (Kıbrıs Ofrisi)

    The plan says it grows in grassy, shady places under pine and cypress and sometimes on sand dunes, and was recorded in juniper matorral, thermo-Mediterranean scrub, phrygana and pine habitats. It says the species is rated Vulnerable in the Red Data Book of Cyprus, yet common along the northern range, and proposes yearly monitoring in the flowering period, early March to early April.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • plant

    Ophrys kotschyi in South Karpaz

    The South Karpaz plan says the species is endemic to Cyprus and a European Union Annex II plant, but that the project team did not record it there. It recommends a more detailed survey during the flowering period.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • plant

    Bosea cypria

    The Karpaz plan says this Cyprus endemic grows on dry rocky ground and cliffs from 0 to 600 m, and was recorded in juniper matorral in Karpaz, where it is threatened by grazing. The South Karpaz plan, listing it at 7 localities, repeats that it is endangered by overgrazing in juniper matorral.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • plant list

    Five plants rare for the island

    The plan cites the Red Data Book of the Flora of Cyprus (Tsintides and colleagues, 2007) for five rare plants of the Karpaz SEPA: Euphorbia paralias (Endangered), Juncus maritimus (Vulnerable), Salsola soda (Vulnerable), Valantia muralis (Endangered) and Ophrys kotschyi (Vulnerable). The Hohenheim seminar contribution lists the same five.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • plant list

    Endemics tied to named places

    The plan says Allium autumnale, Bupleurum sintenisii and Onosma fruticosum occur in the Ronnas area, and Onopordum cyprium and Senecio glaucus ssp. cyprium in the Apostolos Andreas region. It adds that Limonium albidum ssp. cyprium, an endemic of northern Cyprus, is common around the Apostolos Andreas Monastery area.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • plant list

    Dianthus cyprius, Hedysarum cyprium and Scutellaria sibthorpii

    The plan describes Dianthus cyprius on cliffs and rocks, seen in the Karpaz area from 300 to 1,000 m, and Hedysarum cyprium on dry eroded slopes from 200 to 600 m. It places Scutellaria sibthorpii on rocky calcareous hillsides, sometimes in coastal garrigue at 0 to 600 m.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • plant

    Gladiolus triphyllus

    The plan lists this Cyprus endemic among six plants it rates nationally important in the survey. It says it grows in open pine forest, garrigue or maquis and on dry rocky limestone at 0 to 1,200 m, and that a nature conservation research team observed it on shallow-soil limestone in 2006.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • plant

    Teucrium micropodioides and Onopordum cyprium in South Karpaz

    The South Karpaz plan lists four endemic plants: Bosea cypria, Onopordum cyprium (Eşek Dikeni, 12 localities), Teucrium micropodioides (Küme Kurtluca, 31 localities, in nearly all habitat types) and Teucrium karpasiticum (4 localities, few). It rates the first three as common.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

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What botanical surveys and papers report about Karpaz vegetation

Fatoş Şekerciler and Osman Ketenoğlu published two papers on the peninsula. Their 2011 flora of the northern dunes of the Karpaz National Park reports 274 taxa from fieldwork between mid-2009 and May 2010, and their 2019 paper in Phytocoenologia classifies forest, maquis and coastal plant communities. A Turkish thesis record on the same peninsula reports 420 plant taxa.

These are botanical studies, not visitor guides, and the abstracts read give community names and counts rather than places to see particular plants. They are listed so that readers can find the original papers.

  • paper

    Flora of the northern dunes (2011)

    Şekerciler and Ketenoğlu (Biological Diversity and Conservation, 2011) report 274 taxa in 187 genera and 57 families from the northern dunes of the Karpaz National Park, with 19 endemic plants. Asteraceae is the family with the most taxa and Trifolium the genus with the most taxa; 29.5% of taxa are Mediterranean and 12.8% Eastern Mediterranean.

    Source: dergipark.org.tr

  • paper

    Forest, maquis and coastal vegetation (2019)

    Şekerciler and Ketenoğlu (Phytocoenologia, 2019) sampled the peninsula with the Braun-Blanquet method and delineated six associations, six sub-associations and one plant group. They recommend monitoring and conservation measures against agriculture, tourism and urban expansion for communities that host many endemic species.

    Source: avesis.ankara.edu.tr

  • paper

    New forest association and juniper maquis sub-associations

    The 2019 abstract defines a new forest association, Cupresso sempervirentis-Pinetum brutiae, and four new maquis sub-associations of Ephedro campylopodae-Juniperetum lyciae: teucrietosum canescentis, micromerietosum nervosae, piptatheretosum thomasii and convolvuletosum oleifolii. It places the forests and maquis in the class Quercetea ilicis.

    Source: avesis.ankara.edu.tr

  • paper

    Four coastal community types

    The 2019 abstract analyses perennial dune vegetation (Ammophiletea), phrygana on semi-stable dunes (Ononido-Rosmarinetea), coastal cliff vegetation (Crithmo-Staticetea) and coastal maquis on stabilised back dunes (Ceratonio-Pistacion lentisci).

    Source: avesis.ankara.edu.tr

  • thesis

    Vegetation of the peninsula (thesis record)

    A record on the Turkish national thesis archive, titled in Turkish on the vegetation of the Karpaz peninsula, reports 420 plant taxa and three main vegetation types: forest, maquis and coastal dunes. Its counts of six associations and six sub-associations match the 2019 paper; the page text read does not show the author or year.

    Source: acikbilim.yok.gov.tr

  • seminar

    Hohenheim seminar, January 2019

    The University of Hohenheim's seminar contribution on nature conservation in Northern Cyprus reports 17 habitat types of the Habitats Directive, 22 endemic plant species and a population density of 26 inhabitants per km² on the peninsula. It says an EU-funded LEADER project has run since 2009 to support traditional agriculture while protecting natural and cultural heritage.

    Source: botanik.uni-hohenheim.de

  • literature

    Sources the plan used for plants

    The Karpaz plan says its plant evaluation was based on earlier studies (Viney 1994; Tsintides and colleagues 2007) and its own survey results. For locally endemic plants it also cites Yildiz and colleagues (2006), a publication titled North Cyprus Endemics.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

1 / 7

Farming, grazing and donkeys: what sources say about pressure on plants

The Karpaz management plan states that agriculture is the leading activity on the whole peninsula, including its protected areas, and that livestock keeping comes second. It reports that grazing threatens the endemic Bosea cypria and describes phrygana as a stage that often follows fire, cultivation or grazing. The South Karpaz plan says its habitats were damaged mainly by agricultural activities and that farming and digging for construction allowed ruderal species to spread.

On donkeys, the plan says feral donkeys are considered to have an unquantified negative impact on natural habitats and crops. Cyprus Mail reported on 3 July 2026 that the director of the natural park at Vouno, Kemal Basat, said the donkeys damage endemic vegetation, as well as crops and water sources used by migratory birds. Wildlife and the donkey management programme are also covered in İskele and Karpaz places to see.

  • land use

    Agriculture on the peninsula

    The Karpaz plan says residents earn income from olive and carob trees in their own fields and plant wheat, barley and oats, with cereals replacing water-based crops because of the water shortage. It also mentions a plant nursery in the area.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • land use

    Livestock figures

    The plan gives approximately 15,000 to 20,000 sheep, more than 3,000 goats and 300 cows in the region, citing Dipkarpaz municipality officers (2009) for the cattle figure, and says cattle keeping is losing economic feasibility.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • land use

    Forest land and plantations

    The plan says a substantial part of the area is forest land under the Forestry Department, and that areas untouched by agriculture mainly hold Pinus and shrubs such as juniper, which it takes as an indication of the region's original vegetation. It adds that reforestation plantations generally consist of Pinus, Acacia and Eucalyptus.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • management

    Removing Acacia in the strict zone

    The plan's strategies for its strict protection zone include restoring degraded habitat, which it says may require removing invasive exotic species such as Acacia and replacing them with local native species.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • threat

    Farming and digging in South Karpaz

    The South Karpaz plan says agricultural land and excavation for construction affected habitat quality and species composition and let ruderal species spread. It adds that, unlike nearby areas hit by construction, tourism or industry, the habitats there were harmed more by agricultural activity.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • management

    Buffer zone: no intensive grazing

    For the buffer zone around the strict zone, the plan's strategy is to prevent intensive agricultural practices, ploughing and intensive grazing, and to inform farmers and give incentives for non-intensive practices.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • donkeys

    Feral donkeys in the 2010 plan

    The plan says donkeys were left to fend for themselves from the 1970s and that approximately 800 remained on the remote end of the island, according to a personal communication it cites. It proposes a fenced area for them and a measure to estimate their population and assess their impact on biodiversity and agriculture.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • donkeys

    Donkeys and vegetation, July 2026

    Cyprus Mail reported on 3 July 2026 that a programme to fence the free-roaming donkeys had entered its implementation phase, with animals captured, examined, microchipped and moved into managed areas. It quotes Kemal Basat as saying they damage endemic vegetation, crops and water sources used by migratory birds.

    Source: cyprus-mail.com

  • pressure

    Agriculture, tourism and construction pressure

    The Hohenheim seminar contribution says all three Karpaz-area SEPAs are negatively affected by either agriculture or tourism, and that there is pressure from the construction sector and from local people to lift the restrictions of the Karpaz Ordinance. It adds that human activities are not restricted completely.

    Source: botanik.uni-hohenheim.de

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Protected status, national park wording and management proposals

The Karpaz management plan says the Karpaz SEPA was declared a Special Environmentally Protected Area under article 11 of Environment Law 21/97 by the Environmental Protection Department, covers 9,645 ha of land and 9,485 ha of sea and has a 72.2 km protected coastline. The plan adds that the area is accepted as a National Park under the Forestry Law. The Hohenheim seminar contribution reports a Karpaz National Park of 9,486 ha defined in 2004, but says the legal basis is insufficient and that the area is not treated as a national park.

Sources therefore word the status differently, and the cards quote each. Hohenheim adds that Natura 2000 is limited to EU member states, so the proposed northern sites remain SEPAs. Warner (2006) gives yet another account of national park declarations. Check the current legal position with the Environmental Protection Department before relying on any of these descriptions.

  • designation

    Karpaz SEPA, legal basis and size

    The Karpaz plan gives 9,645 ha of land, 9,485 ha of sea, a total of 19,130 ha and a 72.2 km coastline, declared under article 11 of Environment Law 21/97. The Hohenheim slide prints the total as 19,230 ha with the same land and sea figures.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • designation

    National park in the management plan

    The plan says that, in addition to its SEPA status, the area is accepted as a National Park under the Forestry Law and as an archaeological area under the Antiquities Law.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • designation

    National park in the Hohenheim seminar

    The seminar contribution lists a timeline: a first initiative in 1977, several national park areas determined in 1983 and boundaries of the Karpaz National Park defined in 2004. It states that the legal base is insufficient and responsibilities unspecific, so the area is not treated as a national park.

    Source: botanik.uni-hohenheim.de

  • designation

    National park in Warner (2006)

    Jonathan Warner writes that the tip of the peninsula was declared a national park in 1983 and that in 1998 the Turkish Cypriot government declared 155 km² of the peninsula a national park. He argues that in practice this may make little difference without a comprehensive management plan.

    Source: georgewright.org

  • zoning

    Strict protection zone 1a

    The plan proposes zone 1a, in the hilly part of the peninsula and including the dune areas of Golden Beach, Ayios Philon and Ronnas Bay, to protect fragile dune habitats, juniper matorral, phrygana, olive and carob woodland and pine. Access would be only along current tracks and roads, with no building development.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • threat

    Risks to dune plants listed in the plan

    The plan lists risks that include nutrient enrichment of dune systems, which could bring atypical dune flora at the expense of natural dune species, soil erosion that changes plant communities, alien species and increasing human traffic on beaches.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • monitoring

    Plant monitoring proposal

    The plan proposes monitoring plants in permanent plots: Ophrys kotschyi every year in its flowering period at two named polygons, the listed endemics every year, and the other 16 endemic species every two years.

    Source: cevrekorumadairesi.org

  • context

    Karpaz in the Hohenheim seminar

    The seminar contribution says three SEPAs (Tatlısu, Karpaz and South Karpaz) were designated on the peninsula, that land is both privately and publicly owned, and that they aim to protect natural values and raise awareness among inhabitants and visitors.

    Source: botanik.uni-hohenheim.de

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Practical notes

  • Both management plans are dated February 2010. Habitat areas, localities and plant records are results of that project's surveys, and the zoning is a proposal; the sources read do not say which parts are in force today. Ask the Environmental Protection Department (Çevre Koruma Dairesi) for the current position.
  • The total size of the Karpaz SEPA appears as 19,130 ha in the plan, which adds 9,645 ha of land and 9,485 ha of sea, and as 19,230 ha in the Hohenheim slide, a figure that does not equal the sum of that slide's own land and sea figures (9,645 + 9,485 = 19,130 ha). The percentage column in the plan's habitat table implies a denominator of about 9,820 ha (4,928.89 ha is printed as 50.2%), so the plan's habitat percentages are quoted as printed.
  • Latin names are given as the sources print them. Turkish names such as Kıbrıs Ofrisi, Eşek Dikeni and Küme Kurtluca come from the Turkish text of the plans. Spellings of place names (Karpaz, Karpas, Karpasia; Ayios Philon; Apostolos Andreas) vary between sources.
  • The sources read do not say where a visitor can see a particular plant, and give a flowering period only for Ophrys kotschyi. The Karpaz plan lists that orchid as protected under the Bern Convention and describes dune systems as fragile; whether rules apply to visitors is not stated, so ask the Environmental Protection Department before collecting or digging any wild plant.
  • The thesis record page does not show an author or year. The 2026 donkey item is a newspaper report quoting an official. Warner's paper is a 2006 conference paper that states its author's views, and the donkey figure in the 2010 plan comes from a personal communication it cites.
  • For island-wide vegetation zones, trees and wild flowers see flora and fauna; for sea turtle nesting and birds on the peninsula see birds, sea turtles and reptiles.

Frequently asked questions

What plants grow on the Karpaz peninsula?

The Karpaz management plan (2010) names juniper maquis with Juniperus phoenicea, dune plants such as Eryngium maritimum, cliff plants such as Limonium and Crithmum maritimum, phrygana, scrub, pine, cypress, and wild olive and carob woodland. A 2011 survey of the northern dunes reported 274 taxa.

What is the main vegetation type on Karpaz?

According to the 2010 management plan's habitat table, arborescent matorral with junipers covers 4,928.89 ha, which the table gives as 50.2% of the site. The plan calls the Juniperus phoenicea sub-type abundant at both low and high elevations in the Karpaz SEPA.

Is Karpaz a national park?

Sources word it differently. The management plan says the Karpaz SEPA is accepted as a National Park under the Forestry Law. A 2019 Hohenheim seminar contribution says boundaries of 9,486 ha were defined in 2004, but that the legal base is insufficient and the area is not treated as a national park.

Which endemic plants are named for the Karpaz area?

The 2010 management plan says 22 endemic plant species occur in the Karpaz SEPA, five of them endemic to northern Cyprus: Dianthus cyprius, Hedysarum cyprium, Limonium albidum ssp. cyprium, Scutellaria sibthorpii and Teucrium karpasiticum.

Is there a plant found only on the Karpaz peninsula?

Hadjikyriakou and Hand (2008) describe Teucrium karpasiticum as new to science and a micro-endemic of the Karpasia peninsula. The plan says it was first recorded about 4 km north-east of the Apostolos Andreas monastery and also at the western edge of the Ronnas Bay dunes.

Which orchid is named for Karpaz and when does it flower?

The 2010 management plan names Ophrys kotschyi (Kıbrıs Ofrisi), an orchid endemic to Cyprus. It gives early March to early April as the flowering period and says it grows in grassy, shady places under pine and cypress and sometimes on dunes.

How many plant taxa are recorded on the Karpaz dunes?

Şekerciler and Ketenoğlu (2011) report 274 taxa in 187 genera and 57 families from the northern dunes of the Karpaz National Park, including 19 endemic plants. Their fieldwork ran from mid-2009 to May 2010.

Do donkeys affect Karpaz vegetation?

The 2010 plan says feral donkeys are considered to have an unquantified negative impact on natural habitats and crops, and proposes research. Cyprus Mail reported in July 2026 that Kemal Basat, director of the natural park at Vouno, said they damage endemic vegetation, crops and water sources.

How big is the Karpaz protected area?

The 2010 management plan gives 9,645 ha of land and 9,485 ha of sea, a total of 19,130 ha, with a 72.2 km coastline. The 2019 Hohenheim seminar slide prints the same land and sea figures but a total of 19,230 ha.

Sources

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