The Monti Ausoni or Ausoni Mountains constitute a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

in southern

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, in central Italy. It is part of the Antiappennini, a group running from the Apennines chain to the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

. They are bounded to the north by the

Monti Lepini The Monti Lepini (Italian: Lepini mountains) are a mountain range which belongs to the Anti-Apennines of the Lazio region of central Italy, between the two provinces of Latina and Rome. The range borders to the north with the Colli Albani, to t ...

and to the south by the

Monti Aurunci The Monti Aurunci (or Aurunci Mountains) is a mountain range of southern Lazio, in central Italy. It is part of the Antiappennini, a group running from the Apennines chain to the Tyrrhenian Sea, where it forms the promontory of Gaeta. It is bo ...

. They take the name from the ancient tribe of the

Ausoni "Ausones" (; ), the original Greek form for the Latin "Aurunci", was a name applied by Greek writers to describe various Italic peoples inhabiting the southern and central regions of Italy. The term was used, specifically, to denote the partic ...

. The Monti Ausoni consist mainly of friable

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. Altitudes vary from hills to the 1,152 m of Cima del Nibbio and the 1,141 m of

Monte Calvo Monte may refer to: Places Argentina * Argentine Monte, an ecoregion * Monte Desert * Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province Italy * Monte Bregagno * Monte Cassino * Montecorvino (disambiguation) * Montefalcione Portugal * Monte ...

. Near

Pastena Pastena is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome and about southeast of Frosinone. Geography Pastena borders the following municipalities: Castro dei Volsci, Falvat ...

are the Grotte di Pastena (caves). Part of the mountains is protected by a

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

, which was established in 1999. It covers 4,230 hectares. Most of the valleys are covered in forests (of oak,

cork oak ''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the core ...

and

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

). There are also species of ''

Quercus virginiana ''Quercus virginiana'', also known as the southern live oak, is an evergreen oak tree endemic to the Southeastern United States. Though many other species are loosely called live oak, the southern live oak is particularly iconic of the Old Sou ...

'', , aspen and laurel. Beneath the trees are numerous rare and endemic flora, such as ''

Crocus imperati ''Crocus imperati'' is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Crocus'' of the family Iridaceae, endemic to Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It i ...

'' subsp. ''imperati'', ''

Narcissus Poeticus Narcissus may refer to: Biology * Narcissus (plant), ''Narcissus'' (plant), a genus containing daffodils and others People * Narcissus (mythology), Greek mythological character * Narcissus (wrestler) (2nd century), assassin of the Roman emperor C ...

'', ''

Asphodeline lutea ''Asphodeline lutea'' (king's spear, yellow asphodel) is a perennial plant native to southeastern Europe, northern Africa, the Caucasus and the Levant. It is grown as a landscaping plant. It has been associated with the Asphodel of the underw ...

'' (asfodelina), ''

Daphne oleoides ''Daphne oleoides'' is a shrub of the family Thymelaeaceae. It is native to the southern Europe, northern Africa, and Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large penins ...

'' (spatula daphne) and ''

Iris relicta ''Iris relicta'' is a plant species in the genus ''Iris'', it is also in the subgenus ''Iris''. It is a rare rhizomatous perennial, from the mountains of Italy. It is medium-sized, with purple flowers and white beards. It is rarely cultivated as ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ausoni Mountain ranges of the Apennines Mountain ranges of Italy Mountains of Lazio Osci