Bizarre Beach Blooms

Given that so much struggles to survive in the arid conditions in Crete in August, I was amazed to find these fabulous things  thriving on the edge of the baked sandy beach. (It really was baked, I wandered up to take some pictures leaving my flip flops on the cooler damper sand. I had to hop about and dash back to avoid burning the soles of my feet! I couldn't even do one shot!)

They look like a cross between an Amerillis and a large spikey daffodil, have long strappy (and surprisingly green) leaves and look like they've been put there as a practical joke! 

Turns out they are Sea Daffodils or Sea Lilies and are a member of the Amerillis family, so that explains that. They grow from bulbs and are highly fragranced especially at dusk, so a return trip will have to be made to test that out. Their fruits apparently look like bits of charcoal and are so light that they float and so dispersed all along the beach.

They do just seem to shove up out of the sand in the very most inhospitable place for a flowering bulb!

They are a well known wild flower of Crete but are sadly becoming rarer due to intensive tourism. Our stretch of the coast is renowned for it's display from July to October - put that in the brochure Tourist Board, they are definitely worth seeing! 

(Hang on, tourism isn't good for them, delete that last thought!)

(Later on...)

And here is a night shot to prove that we returned for a sniff and can vouch for the beautiful scent.