Go back 15 million years and you"d find most of Southern Europe looking like this fantasy forest: thick, scrubby underbrush canopied by wizened laurel trees. An epoch or two of human agricultural advances cleared those ancient woods, but patches persist on a few temperate Atlantic islands—especially here on Madeira, a Portuguese-held island off northwest Africa.
These laurels are hardy
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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The parenting of a piping plover
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Navajo Bridge in Marble Canyon
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Aloe in bloom
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Stop and see the flowers
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Swinging into International Jazz Day
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Into the woods
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Pont Rouge
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The Feathers at Frenchman Coulee near Vantage, Washington
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The Aomori Nebuta Festival parade, Japan
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Ready, set, read
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New Year s Day
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Jackie Robinson Day
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Tough turf
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Indigo bunting
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Bask in the glow—It s World Turtle Day
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Casting a vote for women s history
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Roman bridge of Córdoba, Spain
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Astrotourism at its finest
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Eye of the cave
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Great horned owl fledglings
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Everybody loves World Turtle Day
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Where the wildflowers grow
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Oh, happy day!
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Cousins Day
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Spot on for International Cat Day
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The most wonderful day of the year. Period.
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Welcome to the Hoh
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Central Highlands of Vietnam
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Books for children of all ages
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Bald cypress trees in Georgia