Greece, 2021, 5 Euro, Silver Coin, Endemic Flowers of Greece: Campanula Saxatali

Campanula saxatilis is an endemic plant of Crete, found mainly in coastal areas of the western part of the island. It is a perennial herbaceous plant that grows in crevices and cracks of rocks and in gorges and, occasionally, on the walls of ruined castles and monasteries, at an altitude of up to 400 m. above sea level. It flowers from April to early June. It is included in the Red Data Book of Rare and Threatened Plants of Greece as Vulnerable (VU), due to its small total population and the limited area occupied by its subpopulations. On the islands of Kythira and Antikythira, another subspecies occurs, Campanula saxatilis subsp. cytherea, which differs in its larger and wider tubular flowers. The spread of the species indicates a close phytogeographic relationship between Crete and these two islands.