Meet the flora of Kythira in the Zurich Botanical Garden!

Kythera is an island of botanical superlatives. On the 278 km² land area, approximately 1000 plant species can be found in typical Mediterranean plant habitats; sandy beaches, rocky coasts, ravine vegetation, maquis, garrigue (called phrygana in Greece), olive groves, fields and gardens. All of Alexander Kocyan’s photographs in this exhibition come from these habitats. They were taken during the Mediterranean spring, which lasts from February to May, when plant diversity seems to explode.

Alexander Kocyan is a botanist who works as head of the Botanical Museum of the University of Zurich. As an experienced plant researcher, he has worked at the University of Leiden, Munich, Potsdam and Vienna, among others. He has led fieldwork in various countries around the Mediterranean and Borneo.

He has been researching the orchids on Kythira since 1993 and is one of our regular supervisors during the annual orchid week of Pyrgos House.

It is pure happiness to be absorbed in the beauty and diversity of nature on Kythira. Being together in the fields with Alexander and his knowledge, opens up a new dimension. Small master classes about dye plants, different poppies, seeds, the pollination of the mirror orchid; as a passionate storyteller he opens up another world for you.

For more information about this orchid holiday, click on this link. Our orchid trips are such a great success that the spring of 2025 is already fully booked. If you are interested, please register in advance for the trip in 2026.