Nature in the Strandzha Forest in February

The forest in the month of February in the area of Strandzha Planina is charming.

My walk with friends in the awakening forest around the Strandja village of Mladezhko in search of early flowers was interesting and exciting.

At first we were visually attacked by hundreds of forest cyclamen scattered in all directions around the trees and moss covered rocks.

The forest cyclamen is also called boturche.

It is very beautiful with rich soft pink flowers, thin stems and rounded green leaves. We met it in combination with crocuses and snowdrops against the background of soft green moss or between the fallen leaves of the trees. In addition to being very beautiful, cyclamen is also used in folk medicine to treat sinusitis and arthritis pain.

The second most abundant flowers we found in the Mladezhko forest were wild snowdrops. We saw so many of them singly or in clumps.

Around the highest cliffs we found this beautiful Spring Yellowbell known as Ficaria verna.

We also encountered crocuses - mostly yellow, and purple ones in the higher parts.

There was also an abundance of Ruscus aculeatus, known as butcher's-broom.

We also found the herb Ox tongue, which is long green leaves with pointed tips. It is characteristic of it that on the underside of the leaves there are specific stripes like those in the photo. They are the easiest to recognize the herb.

So close to the ground, photographing the small plants up close, I found this bright red mushroom among the fallen leaves - known as scarlet cup fungus and scarlet elf cap. Approaching closer and closer, my eyes began to distinguish even more of these attractively shaped and colored mushrooms.

I had to remove the leaves that covered them a bit to examine them in more detail.

One was like cup.

Another had an interesting crimped shape.

A real pleasure to look at them.

All photos are taken with:

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