A Hiker’s Guide to Croatia Wildflowers > Beautiful, Fierce, and Free

We are nothing but in awe as we hike through Podstrana and enjoy some of the most common wildflowers in Croatia—wishing that we were carrying a hiker’s guide to Croatia wildflowers. In terms of flora, Croatia is the third richest country in Europe, only behind Albania and Slovenia.

This small country that lines the Adriatic Sea stretches across the Pannonian, Mediterranean, Continental, and Alpine biogeographical regions—making much of the country feel like you’re flipping through the pages of a Better Homes & Gardens magazine.

You know it’s spring in Croatia simply by looking at the closest mountainside, valley, or open field. The grass begins turning bright green and the colors from the flora begin to pop.

There’s no need to visit one of Croatia’s magnificent national parks to view gorgeous flowers. You simply need to head out of the city. Also, a great way to see Croatia’s countryside is by going on one of the top 10 Croatia hiking tours.

Taking a slow road trip is the easiest way to see pretty colors. If you want to get up close and personal with the beautiful wildflowers, simply head out to the closest hillside or field and begin exploring on your own two feet. This is by far the best way to see the most common wildflowers in Croatia.

There are over 8,500 kinds of flowering plants that grow in Croatia. The highest concentration of plants can be found near the high peaks of the Biokovo and Velebit mountains and the Adriatic Islands.

“Like wildflowers; you must allow yourself to grow in all the places people thought you never would.”— E.V.

Many of the same flowers that are found near Biokovo can also be found in our backyard near Perun Hill. While in Croatia, we love hiking through the local hills and mountains—most people don’t realize that there is a great wealth of herbs in the area and even wild asparagus!

During one of our recent walks, we decided to take a few pictures of the most colorful flowers that crossed our path. As we continue to come across new flowers, we’ll add them to the list below.

One of the flowers we saw quite a bit of when we rented a car was the Iris croatica, the national flower of Croatia. We can’t wait to add a picture of this flower to the list.

 “There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” — Henri Matisse

The Iris croatica is a bright purple flower with three prominent intense stigmas on its pistil. The Croatian name for the flower is perunika, which emanates from the name of Perun.

In Slavic mythology, Perun is the highest God of the pantheon and the God of thunder and lightning. Legend has it that perunika will only grow where Perun’s lighting strikes the ground. If you’re visiting Podstrana, Croatia then you should know that the best place to stay is Le Meridien Lav. It’s located on a beautiful section of the Croatian Riviera and has two pools and a hot tub.

Star of Bethlehem

Scientific Name: Ornithogalum gussonei, Common Name: Star of Bethlehem

Bellflower

White Shrub Rose

Pink Shrub Rose

Nettle-Leaved Mullein

Oxeye Daisy

Spanish Broom

Silver Lined Bindweed

Rockrose

Trobridi Sijedac

Orange Common Poppy

Red Common Poppy

The hills are covered in a variety of yellow and purple wildflowers. At certain points, it feels out of this world!

Beautiful purple wildflowers with the Adriatic Sea in the background.

Did you capture a picture of a beautiful Croatian flower? Would you like to share it on this post? Shoot us an email, supply the picture, and we’ll give you credit.

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