On Sifnos for a few days in October, the summer is over and the busy touristic period is easing off with a different crowd of visitors, eager to experience the island as it really is: humble, with a very quiet and calm existence for all, human and non human occupants. This quieter time, the residue of the summer, like the residue of the grape juice (must, μούστος)(https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/food-science/grape-must#chapters-articles) that leaves its mature smell near the grape vines, it’s the time for reflection, noticing and paying attention, again.

The weather is perfect for walks in the meandering footpaths, around the villages, cutting through fields and noticing how the landscape has changed and how we react to it. A pine tree has dropped its cones, full of pinenuts, not obvious at first, as they look like tiny little pebbles scattered around the path. One first notices the long needles of the pine tree, then the larger open wide pine cones. Looking closer to the open cone scales reveales the odd nut, snuggly hidden and stuck between the geometrically arranged scales. It reminds me of the time, as a kid, picking the pine cones, opening them and collecting the pinenuts. I’d then breake them open with a stone to remove their shelsl, peal them and collecting the sweet, nutty ‘fruit’, so small and precious, collectively, a hearty snack for the day.

Pine trees are not dominant on the island and are usually found near houses or inside the villages, nearby the sea. The most common kinds of pine tree on Sifnos are the Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), a common species that grows easily in rocky and coastal areas (https://www.euforgen.org/species/pinus-halepensis) and the stone pine (Pinus pinea).  More on stone pine trees here: (https://www.euforgen.org/about-us/news/news-detail/stone-pines-fascinating-genetics#:~:text=Maybe%20it%20was%20just%20lucky,dating%20back%20around%2050%2C000%20years.

More information on the flora of Sifnos in this publication: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/380360636_Checklist_updating_and_analysis_of_the_flora_of_Sifnos_Island_and_Kitriani_Islet_Kiklades_Greece_with_new_noteworthy_floristic_records.

Photos: Top, from the left: Quince tree (Ano Petali), Grapevine (Artemonas), Pomegranate tree (Artemonas), Carob tree (Ag. Anna).