Grabowiec nature reserve

Among the picturesque farmlands south-east of Pińczów, you will find a gypsum hill covered with an oak and hornbeam forest.

The trees growing here form a very unique complex that grows on shallow gypsum (rendzina) soil.

However, the hornbeam reserve was created primarily to protect the unique community of thermophilic (xerothermic) plants. Experts in the subject will find here the common slipper, martagon lily, hairy flax or spring honeysuckle associated with Ponidzie.

The real treasure of the hornbeam is the extremely rare ash diptam, called the burning bush of Moses. The plant owes its common name to the essential oil, which in a warmer than Polish climate can ignite spontaneously.

Remember that although Grabowiec is one of the very few places where the ash diptam occurs in natural conditions, it is an extremely rare plant that requires special protection.