There are two main vegetation types of the
coline habitat - mixed deciduous woodland, and semi-natural unimproved
grassland. The latter is a result of man's clearance of woodland to
create meadows (for hay) and pasture (for grazing). The resultant
grasslands are rich in flora species, and are home to species such as
white asphodel (from which Gamoneu cheese takes its name),
semi-parasitic yellow rattle, field eryngium (a member of the carrot
family that looks more like a thistle), heart-flowered serapias, tassel
hyacinths (regarded as a Mediterranean species), early purple orchids,
fragrant orchids (more than forty orchid species have been listed in the
national park), masterwort and lungwort, to name but a few. The mixed
deciduous woodland is the natural climax vegetation of the zone, with
ash, oak, lime, chestnut, walnut, hazel, bay and elm, amongst others.
Beneath the canopy grow herbaceous species such as wood anemone, wood
sorrel, stinking and green hellebores, dog violets, primroses, and
Pyrenean and martagon lilies. In the dryer valleys, evergreen holm oaks
cling to the steep valley-sides, as seen in the Cares Gorge east of
Arenas de Cabrales, for example.