Cavalleria, a Mediterranean Garden.

In Minorca the plants have to deal with the heat and dryness that characterise the Mediterranean clime. Therefore, some sacrifice the more visible parts or leaves, like the common gorse. Others adapt to the heat seeking ways to make sure their water supply does not run dry: the fig tree spreads out its roots, and the mission cactus retains it as long as possible.

Others rely on perspiration to store water and have small leaves, like the olive tree, or spiny leaves like the asparagus fern, and still others creep or climb to find sunlight, like the blackberry bush.

Other plant resources include the use of resinous wax to cover leaves, like the Inula viscosa, or the hardening or waterproofing of leaves, tactics used by the olive tree, ilex or carob.

It is surprising how other plants develop chemical segregations as repellents or toxins to expel insects or, paradoxically, scents to help locate the flower's nectar.

The most abundant tree is the Pinus halepensis or Aleppo pine. At Cavalleria, the wind has twisted them into strange shapes and kept their height low. Other common trees include the wild olive and the juniper tree. As for bushes and shrubs, the most common are Pistacia lentiscus (mastic trees), Arbutus unedo (strawberry trees), Erica multiflora (heather), the Erica arborea (tree heath) that grows in the low hills of the northern coast, buckthorn, common myrtle and Spanish broom.

One of the island's most traditional economic activities has been the farming of crops linked to stockbreeding. In the fields one can see crops of ryegrass, French honeysuckle, alfalfa, wheat, and summer and winter barley.

The vegetal communities at Cavalleria are Minorca 's richest in endemisms.

The vegetal landscape is composed of plants that form communities in the territory according to the climate, soil, human presence, …

Sanitja harbour and the Cap de Cavalleria are a highly representative sample of the main endemic preserves of the Balearic Islands , and present a natural panorama with noteworthy benthonic communities from 0 to 50 metres above sea level.