Botanist cataloguing nature’s treasures in Greece turns to Amorgos

The Greek island of Amorgos is thought to have been named after amorgis, a rare type of flax that grows on its craggy mountains and was used in ancient times to produce the thread with which its much-coveted chitons (tunics) were made.

Even its name reveals the importance of the flora on this island, which though among the most arid in the Cyclades (with average annual rainfall of 350 millimeters) is host to 1,092 plant species.

"It represents more than half the plant species that have been recorded in the Cyclades, which are around 1,900," the internationally acclaimed botanist and Copenhagen University professor Dr Kit Tan tells Kathimerini, explaining why she chose to investigate every nook and cranny of this island.

Tan, along with Burkhard Biel, is co-author of the book "Flora of Amorgos," which was recently published by Greece's Goulandris Natural History...