Plants in the East Mediterranean are refusing to bloom earlier despite the fact that their environment is getting significantly warmer.

The global consensus in ecology is that climate change causes plants to shift their flowering dates earlier in the spring. Analysis of 40,000 flowering reports across 665 species shows that Mediterranean flora is bucking this trend entirely. Because this region lacks severe winter freezes, the typical temperature triggers that control blooming appear to be decoupled from the warming climate. This means that many species are stuck on their historical schedules while the world around them changes. This lack of adaptation could disrupt the timing of local pollinators and threaten the entire regional ecosystem.