Situated along the eastern Adriatic coastline, the Carso is an area of welldrained and sometimes arid limestone land, today both cultivated and in its natural state. The name, which was introduced at the beginning of the last century by Austrian botanists, comes from the German Karstheide and indicates the hollows used by local farmers for grazing, and also refers to the term gmajna used by the Slovene
inhabitants of the Carso.
The area is host to a wealth of flora, dominated by various grasses, for example sedge (ciperacee). Blossoms begin to appear at the end of February with crocus (Crocus reticulatus), reach their zenith in
spring and end towards autumn with the highly-scented variegated savory (Satureja montana and Satureja subspicata subsp. Liburnica). The most common mammal is the hare while among invertebrates
the most important is the Sagapedo, the largest grasshopper on the Carso. There are reptiles such as the lizard called the green ramarro, the coluber and the horned viper.
The area is the hunting ground for birds of prey such as the kestrel and the buzzard, the harrier, the nightjar and the eagle owl. Nesting birds also include the yellow hammer, the skylark and the shrike.