top of page

Urban Tree canopy in Athens.
Description and common species 

The tree canopy cover in Greek cities tends to rely on a relatively small number of species. In Athens, the main species that cover a high percentage of the urban canopy are: 

Citrus aurantium, Morus alba, Oliva europaea, Cupressus sempervirens and Pinus halepensis.

​

Based on personal evaluation and previous tree surveys, the main tree species used in the boroughs of Athens:

Tree species that comprise >50% of the canopy cover 

BROADLEAF

Species                                       Family

Olea europaea                      Oleaceae

Citrus × aurantium                  Rutaceae

Morus alba                           Moraceae

Laurus nobilis                         Lauraceae

Brachychiton acerifolius           Malvaceae

Robinia pseudocacia              Fabaceae

Ceratonia siliqua                    Fabaceae

CONIFERS

Species                                        Family

Pinus halepensis                      Pinaceae

Cupressus sempervirens            Cupressaceae

Other common tree species of the canopy cover

BROADLEAF

Species                                         Family

Platanus occidentalis                Platanaceae

Plataunus orientalis                   Platanaceae

Schinus mole                          Anacardiaceae

Populus alba                           Salicaceae

Ligustrum japonicum                 Oleaceae

Prunus pissardii                        Rosaceae

Robinia pseudocacia                Fabaceae

Sophora japonica                    Fabaceae

CONIFERS

Species                                        Family

Pinus pinea                             Pinaceae

Hesperocyparis arizonica

syn. Cupressus arizonica           Cupressaceae

Acer_sempervirens_ Vironas

Acer sempervirens

Sapindaceae

Acer_sempervirens - leaves and fruit (samara) - Vironas -Tataoulon

Distribution in Athens. At the borough of Vironas, as tree rows in a avenue island.  

 

Countries and regions

Area of Origin.  Eastern Mediterranean, East Aegean Islands, South Greece, Kriti, Lebanon-Syria and South Turkey.

Countries in the area of origin. Greece, Lebanon-Syria, Türkey

Global Distribution. 

 

Cities worldwide

Tree inventories around the world. Only at two tree inventories in the GUTI database. In Paris, France and Geneva, Switzerland.

​

Performance. It attains the size of a small tree. At the NTUA campus, it is performing rather well in adverse drought conditions.

​

Literature on trees for the future.   Expeditions have been organized by Westonbirt National Arboretum for seed collection of Acer species in Greece. Seeds for A. sempervirens were collected in Mt. Parnon. Some Acer species populations in Greece have been targeted for seed sourcing as they may prove valuable for studying response to future climate change (Forestry England n.d.).

REFERENCES

​

WEBSITES

Forestry England (n.d.).

Expedition to Greece - Westonbirt Arboretum.

https://www.forestryengland.uk/westonbirt/expedition-greece

​

 

Databases
 

The Global Urban Tree Inventory: A database of the diverse tree flora that inhabits the world’s cities. Global Ecol Biogeography 29:1907-1914. (2020).

https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13169.

​

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Plants of the World Online | Kew Science. [online] Plants of the World Online.  https://powo.science.kew.org/.

​

Trees and Shrubs Online - A modern reference to temperate woody plants.

https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/‌

bottom of page