Sierra Norte

Fauna and flora

Wooded forests dominate this region, where holm and cork oaks have a special role in the shade with gall oaks. A small forest of juniper in Barranco de Viar is also noteworthy. These change as we lower to levels below, where beaten on the lower levels, where Chamaerops and olive trees appear; however, it is at higher levels with more rainfall where more unique flora appears. Rivers and streams pierce impressive forests that are a gallery of alders, a tangle of brambles and unique flora of the peninsular green north, creating magical spaces: wild cherry and hazelnut trees. The slopes are also dotted with heather, a few strokes of Pyrenean oak and chestnut at Cerro Negrillo. This is where the endemic species are present, as Narcissus fernandesii, a highly-prized fern (Asplenium billotii), Marian silene and its most important floral gem, only present in this area and the province of León: Gyrocaryum oppositifolium. The fauna is characterised by the river courses and the slopes, dominated by birds, both rupicolous birds -rock eagles, griffon, black vultures and black storks- and migrant birds -storks, Egyptian vultures and black kites-, forest birds -booted eagle, buzzard, and goshawks- and river birds -grey wagtail and kingfisher-. The fish population is interesting, as highlighted by the presence of an autochthonous trout, amphibians -salamander and pygmy marbled newt- and bats. Although its most valued asset is a small crustacean that lives only in a cave in Cazala, the Hexabathynella sevillaensis. These mountains to the north of Seville and in Sierra Morena is the region the wolf inhabits.