Juniper heath below Boßler

The juniper heath on the lower Boßler is a valuable natural monument and biotope northwest of Gruibingen. The open, sunny hillside location offers ideal conditions for a variety of thermophilic plant species and characterizes the landscape of the Swabian Alb.

Two sub-areas, separated by a road, form the heart of this habitat. The southern area is loosely covered with juniper bushes, while the northern area is more densely overgrown. Rare species such as yellow and German gentian, mosquito and sweet-smelling hand helleborine, knapweed, dyer's broom and lime aster thrive among the typical rough grassland plants. Particularly characteristic are also deer's hair-grass, sunflower and boar's-root, which indicate traditional grazing and care.

The area is regularly kept open through landscape management - a combination of grazing and targeted wood removal protects the species-rich vegetation from scrub encroachment. Individual marked young junipers are deliberately left standing to safeguard the population.

With its orchid stands, old willow beeches and the typical flora of the dry slopes, the juniper heath on the Boßler is a place of particular ecological and scenic value - a living example of the unique natural diversity of the Swabian Alb.