The lower boundary of the forest, between 800 and 1,030 metres, is made up of little areas of mixed forests of pines and Pyrenean oak, with the flora associated with them.

The great majority of the trees that were used to carry out the reforestation were pines, and although we can find up to eight different species, we can only talk about four in general.

The Scot’s, Albar or Valsain pine trees, Pinus sylvestris, easy to recognize because of its orange-coloured branches and the youngest part of its bark. The old specimens exposed to the wind and the cold have the appearance offlagpoles, that is, all the branches on one side, which shows the resistance of these trees and their capacity to adapt to the winds and the cold. The twisted appearance of the trunk, opposed to the rectilinear and cylindrical look that is developed under normal conditions, is also characteristic in the trees that grow in the rocky areas. The “sulphur” rain is characteristic at the end of spring, which is produced by their masculine flowers when they spread their yellow pollen.

LA HERRERÍA

Location.
On the general map we find it to the left, we will see it to the south of the Monastery. If we drew a triangle, its vertices would be: the first Ermitaño (Hermit), the Green Cross and the Monastery. The sides would be the train track (Madrid-Ávila), the highway MP-58 (Paseo de Carlos III) and the south side of San Lorenzo and the Villa (Monastery and Casita del Principe (Prince’s Cottage)).

In spring and summer it forms an olive green mass that turns ochre in autumn and dark brown and grey in winter, which makes it much easier to identify at first glance.

The best spot to have a general look is from the garden of the Friars, in the Monastery, or from the viewpoint of the Silla de Felipe II (Chair of Felipe II).

Flora.
The protection that this place has enjoyed, by being royal property, has made possible its excellent state of conservation.

The forest of the Herrería is comprised of two different areas; the lower area in which spring beds, ash trees or mixed meadows of ash (Fraxinus angustifolia) and oaks mainly dominate, and the upper area, denser, with Pyrenean oak or Turkey oak (Quercus pyrenaica).

The meadows, typical of the Sierra of Guadarrama, represent an ecosystem linked to human use. We will the see the pruned ash trees, quite separated, pastures and, in rainy periods, flooded surfaces. The ash is a deciduous tree, with thickened trunks full of cavities as a result of periodic pruning to which they are subjected to obtain branches for livestock and firewood. You will see a good example of this around the Youth Hostel of Santa Maria del Buen Aire.