Thyme, scrub and birds above the city

From a distance Hymettus looks like a "green mountain". Up close it is mostly a mountain of scrub.

Vegetation. According to the Hellenic Ornithological Society, Aleppo pine forest grew in the northern part after the Second World War, thanks to extensive reforestation around Kaisariani. In the central and southern parts the pine gives way to evergreen broadleaf scrub and phrygana. Between 800 and 1,000 metres scrub dominates. On the same source's habitat map, scrub covers 62.8% of the area, artificial landscapes 15.2%, forest 14.4%, grassland and pasture 5.1% and rocky areas 2.6%.

The aromatic herbs. The mountain's fame came from its herbs. Kathimerini reports that the slopes are largely covered in herbs, mainly thyme, which made the honey of ancient Attica famous. Pliny the Elder, and Virgil before him, praise thyme honey.

Birds. Hymettus is an Important Bird Area (code GR126). The Society considers it especially important for phrygana and scrub species and for the breeding and feeding of birds of prey. Breeding species named in the source include Rüppell's warbler, the Sardinian warbler, the Western rock nuthatch and Cretzschmar's bunting (Emberiza caesia). A pair of peregrine falcons and a pair of long-legged buzzards are also recorded (records from 2000 to 2007). The source singles out the Kaisariani Aesthetic Forest for woodland birds.