Flora and Fauna

FLORA

The Iruelas Valley is one of the natural jewels of the Sierra de Gredos.

One of the most striking aspects of Iruelas is the abrupt altitudinal variation it presents, which means that in just 10 kms it passes in just 10 kms from the drought-adapted mediterranean communities of Las Cruceras, full of beautiful interspersed junipers.The area of Las Cruceras, full of beautiful junipers interspersed in the granite boulders (at an altitude of 740 m), to the summit areas of piornales and cambrionales (almost 2000 m).

The rapid succession of vegetation levels that can be seen in this valley ends with the high altitude grasslands and piornales, where the endemic cambrión (Echinospartum barnadessi) intermingles with piornos (Cytisus oromediterraneus) and the occasional manzanilla de Gredos (Santolina oblongifolia). Apart from some repopulations of Scots pine, the next element of interest as we descend in altitude are the impressive specimens of cascalbo pine (Pinus nigra) and Valsaín pine (P. sylvestris) that appear dotted here and there around 1500 m. The age of some specimens can be seen in the flattened crown at the end, which forms a kind of crown, often used by black vultures to place their nests.

In lower quotas appears the most striking landscape element of the Iruelas Valley: its imposing forests of resin or black pine (P. pinaster).

If these pine forests are striking, no less so are the oak groves (Quercus pyrenaica) composed of a few dozen well-formed specimens, robust and without traces of pruning, which is quite uncommon in the center of the Peninsula.

Already in the basal heights of the valley (around 850 m) the drier and warmer conditions of the environment botanically translate into the substitution of the previous species by others better adapted to these conditions: holm oaks (Q.ilex subsp. ballota) and, above all, junipers (Juniperus oxycedrus) now cover the now gentler slopes that end up touching the El Burguillo reservoir.

Another note of geobotanical interest are the gallery forests that run along the watercourses in all the gorges. Between one point and another of the valley, between the peaks and the banks of the Alberche (almost 1300 m of height difference) we have left countless small trees that make the tree cover of the valley more pleasant: very interesting stands of mountain elm (the largest population in the center of the peninsula), yew and holly trees, rowan trees and some birch trees. The scrubland is even more diverse if possible: broom, broom, broom, rockrushes, canthus groves...

Within the Natural Reserve of the Iruelas Valley there is also another botanical jewel: "El Castañar de El Tiemblo", which is the best and most extensive manifestation of chestnut groves in the Central System. The typical aspect of this chestnut grove is typical of a Eurosiberian forest.

FAUNA

The Iruelas Valley is home to the largest colony of black vultures in Castilla y León with approximately 150 pairs. It is one of the most important colonies in Spain. The other outstanding protagonist is the Imperial Eagle, an endangered species, which usually nests every year in the Valley. As it is impossible to list here the rich and diversified fauna of Iruelas, we highlight some of the most notable or easy to observe. In forest environments we find bird species such as the hawfinch, crossbill, golden eagle, goshawk, black-winged tit, jay, nuthatch, woodpecker, oropé..., in shrubby areas of lower altitude it is easy to see the great tit, the blue tit, the little tit, the green warbler, the blackcap, the blackbird, the blackbird, the common stonechat... The mammals present in this environment are the wild boar, fox, squirrel, marten, deer and roe deer. In the Garganta de Iruelas and its surroundings it is easy to observe the blackbird, the wagtail, the black-green lizard, the long-legged frog and the Iberian newt. In the forest tracks and roads of the Natural Reserve are usually warming up in the sun to increase their activity, snakes such as the bastard snake, the horseshoe snake, the viperine snake and the ladder snake and reptiles such as the ocellated lizard and the colilarga lizard.