In Mediterranean rangelands, the favourable season for plant growth is winter. Various plant groups however have developed special adaptations such as evergreeness or seasonal dimorphism that allow them to survive during both the hot and dry season. These adaptations are crucial to livestock for ensuring forage supply during this critical period. In a Mediterranean rangeland of the Psilorites mountain in Crete, the seasonal growth of herbaceous plants, phrygana, evergreen and deciduous shrubs was measured in two adjacent plots, protected and freely grazed by sheep and goats, throughout the year. Herbaceous plants were mainly grazed in autumn and spring, phrygana (e.g. Genista acanthoclada) mainly in the winter and spring, evergreen sclerophylles (e.g. Quercus coccifera) mainly in the spring and summer and deciduous shrubs (e.g. Acer creticum) mainly in summer and spring. The importance of combining plant groups with various growth patterns for sustained use of mountain Mediterranean rangelands is discussed.