Chrisi Island boasts a unique and spectacular cedar forest, the only one of its kind in Europe, covering an area of 350 hectares. This forest has an average density of 14 trees per hectare and consists of trees that are between 200 and 300 years old, covering approximately one-quarter of the island. These trees belong to a rare variety of sea juniper Juniperus macrocarpa, reaching heights of up to 10 meters, with trunks that can have a diameter of up to 1 meter. The junipers develop a root system that extends at least twice the height of the tree. In addition to their large roots, a vast network of fine, thread-like roots forms a dense mesh that stabilizes the sand.
The number of plant species found on Chrisi is remarkably high relative to its size, accounting for 1/20 of Crete’s total flora. The dominant vegetation includes junipers, shrubby cypress, and mastic trees, which exist in both shrub and tree form, along with sand-loving vegetation.
Other remarkable botanical features include the numerous sea daffodils Pancratium maritimum, which grow on nearly all of the island’s beaches, as well as sand-dwelling and succulent silene plants (Silene ammophila and Silene succulenta), and the Crepis cretica. Over 100 plant species have been recorded on the island, 13 of which are endemic to Greece, five endemic to Crete, and one species found exclusively on Chrisi—nowhere else in the world. This is a type of colchicum, Colchicum costurieri.
