Slovakia
Sand Origin
Štrkovisko – Ivanka pri Dunaji
Local Sand Trivia
The Danube lowland sand dunes, made of windblown sand from distant river sediments, are the only place on earth where the Sand saffron grows. When the dunes nearly disappeared due to sand mining, less grazing animals and afforestation it risked extinction. Enforced dune saving efforts saved it and several other endemic psammophytes, sand-loving plants. The sand saffron contains one of the strongest poisons in the plant kingdom, colchicine, used in genetic research and plant breeding.
