The special microclimate characterising the coast near Trieste depends from the white limestone cliffs that reflect sunlight, the warming effect of the sea and the protected position from the cold bora wind, and favours the formation of evergreen Mediterranean scrub, with the presence of holm oak, terebinth and phillyrea, together with hornbeam and South European flowering ash, typical of the Dalmatian scrub. Another species to be found here is the downy oak, a central European variety of oak.