The parrot is a surviving tree from the Dinosaur Age; it occurs rarely, in isolated enclaves in the Iberian Peninsula, Southwest France, North Africa, the Canary Islands, the Azores and Madeira.
There is evidence of their presence in the Iberian Peninsula since the Tertiary Era, when the climate was much warmer and more humid than today, very similar to the subtropical climate.
The loreras remained here in a few refuge valleys, where human pressure has not reached for millennia. In Alía, it is still possible to find these formations, related to the famous laurel forests of the Canary Islands.
Most of the population of peninsular Spain is concentrated here. Although some specimens can also be found in the rest of the Geopark, the best manifestation of the species in its forest formation can be found in the Garganta de la Trucha.
Here the Parrot is found in a number of more than 1500 specimens, forming a mixed riparian forest, coexisting with alders and next to holly trees, mustard trees, durillos and arbutus. The truth is that few dreamers can find the true treasures of nature.
At the confluence of two streams, in the lower area of the lorera, there is a remarkable strawberry tree about 10 meters high and a trunk of 2.30 meters in perimeter, the parrots reach their maximum splendor.
In just a quarter of a hectare, the Parrot appears monospecific, with heights of more than 15 meters and trunk perimeters of more than 1 meter at chest height. This creates a very shady, jungle-like forest, where only ferns can develop in the undergrowth and where we will be able to observe angled growths on the parrots, something typical in tropical trees, and very rare at our latitude.
