The treasure chest of the Caffarella
The Caffarella is an alluvial valley, with its upper planes on tufa, its sides vary in steepness, the valley floor is flat and made up of material brought down by the Almone. Agriculture and grazing are limited to certain areas of the valley, and the current regulations have favoured the survival of habitats of great interest.
The valley floor is rich in water and springs: in some abandoned areas a spontaneous wet-land vegetation has grown up with black poplar and willow. There is an abundance of reeds and bulrushes in the flooded fields, horsetail, hops, the loose-flowered red orchid which is found only here in Rome and at the Parco del Pineto. There are natural meadows full of cocksfoot, yellow daisies, common brighteyes, button medick, wild clary, field eryngo. The rare Greek lupin has also been found here and in only three other places in Italy. Among the bushes we find: Spanish broom, buckthorn, Christ's thorn, dog rose, wild plum, spindle tree, dogwood, elm, elderflower and locust tree.
In front of the Casale della Vaccareccia, there are two oak woods, one mainly composed of Dalechamp's oak and the other is made up of turkey oak and holm oak. Of particular interest are the English oak at the bottom of the slope.
On the hill opposite the chapel of S.Urbano three ancient holm oaks stand, it is here that historic documents put the 'sacred wood' of which these three trees may be the last survivors.
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