Ferrous Stone

Piedra Furada is a natural site in the municipality of Olivenza, in the province of Badajoz, located in the foothills of the Sierra de Alor and within the scope of the Natura 2000 Network, in the Sierra de Alor and Monte Longo SCI. The technical documentation of the Junta de Extremadura also lists it as a Site of Scientific Interest, with a protected area of 5.94 hectares, making it a small enclave but of notable environmental and botanical value. The interest of the site lies in its context of pasture and basophilic Mediterranean scrubland, with typical holm oak vegetation and a very rich herbaceous stratum. The sources highlight an important community of wild orchids, including several species of special interest in Extremadura, such as Barlia robertiana, Orchis italica, Orchis conica, Serapias lingua or Ophrys speculum. This group of plants makes the site particularly sensitive to soil alteration and land clearing. For the visitor, Piedra Furada is of interest for its transitional landscape between the Sierra de Alor and the Olivetan countryside, with quiet environments of high natural value in a reduced space. The sources consulted do not indicate that it is a great geological formation, but a biological enclave protected by the quality of its plant communities and its role as a refuge for Mediterranean flora and orchids. Its relevance is, above all, conservation: protection responds to the presence of vulnerable species and the need to avoid changes in land use. In the local informative bibliography it also appears as a natural resource of Olivenza, which reinforces its interest for nature itineraries in the region.