Plants of the Falkland Islands

A group of king penguins in a field of sea cabbage, Senecio candidans

A few years ago, my wife and I visited the Falkland Islands at the beginning of January. Although the human population is extremely British in both origin and speech, there are considerable differences between the way of life in the Falkland Islands and life at home. Although approximately at the same latitude as London, the lack of a Gulf Stream makes the weather much colder. The islands are greatly affected by strong winds coming up from the Antarctic. Quite naturally, the land is treeless out in the country. The Falklands are divided into farms rather than districts or villages. In order to access farmland other than by accepted public footpaths, it is necessary to contact the farmer who owns the land. Casual entry into a piece of countryside that looks interesting for plants is not possible.

Gardens in Tenerife in May 2014

There are several fascinating gardens in Tenerife. One of the most exciting, enchanting and beautiful to visit is the Orotava Acclimatization Gardens on the edge of Puerto de la Cruz. It was established as a result of the enthusiasm for plants and drive of the Marquis of Villanueva del Prado for species from tropical America in the late 18th and 19th centuries. It reached its heyday in the 19th Century when looked after by the great botanist Hermann Wildpret, after whom the magnificent Echium wildpretii was named. He was also honoured with the name Sonchus wildpretii, a particularly rare endemic species from La Gomera. Although the 19th century is reckoned to have been the zenith of the gardens, they are nonetheless a most important, and impressive place to visit today.

Gates at the old entrance to the Garden of Acclimatisation

The gardens are set in Orotava, which is a suburb of Puerto de la Cruz, the second most major town in Tenerife. An impressive gateway leads the visitor into the gardens, and immediately they must be impressed by a mature tree liberally festooned with Spanish Moss, Tillandsia usneoides. This is not a moss or a lichen, in spite of its close resemblance to lichens of the genus Usnea. It is in fact a bromeliad and occasionally will develop tiny green flowers. Beyond the Tillandsia usneoides, a series of paths passing through gardens shaded by magnificent trees beckons. The plants in the gardens are well labelled, and range from Canarian endemic species, to New World plants that have survived since the time the gardens were first established.

Spanish Moss on the entrance tree

Tillandsia usneoides in flower, Wisley Gardens

A truly impressive specimen tree that cannot possibly be missed is a fine Banyan Tree. This tree is a member of the fig family. Flitting around this, and around many of the trees in the garden, may be seen examples of the several endemic birds that inhabit the Canary Islands. Close to the larger of the two ponds, a particular canary made fairly frequent visits while we were there, to a wall top, enabling some useful photos to be taken. The canary is a species of finch which, as a wild bird, is endemic to the Canary Islands and Madeira. The Canarian Chiffchaff, the Tenerife Kinglet and Afrocanarian Bluetit are special bird species which may also be seen. On the ground, the endemic Canarian Lizard may be seen scuttling to and fro. The males are especially impressive often being puffed up, and having a considerable amount of blue decoration. The endemic Canary Speckled Wood is also easy to see as it flits around the gardens.

The Banyan Tree

A canary

Canary Lizard

Canary Speckled Wood

It was a little disappointing that a pond which used to support a fine collection of Lotuses…(the “Water lily” rather than the bird’sfoot trefoil) had been dredged. During our most recent visit, a single pink flowered lotus graced the centre of the largest pond, with a terrapin lounging in the sunshine on a nearby leaf. The pond full of lotuses before it was dredged, also attracted a good range of attractive dragonflies.

The single Lotus in the largest pond today

Garden of Acclimatization pond in the past,
as it was before dredging

The gardens contain all manner of attractive plant species, and while we were there, we enjoyed seeing a pineapple in full flower, amongst other things. Several cheese-plant species may be seen climbing up walls and trees and form a particular collection in the covered walkway near the main entrance. These are often graced with their white flowers.

In the Garden of Acclimatisation

In the Garden of Acclimatisation

In the Garden of Acclimatisation

Philodendron giganteum

Two important Canary Islands endemics grow in the gardens. The first of these is another species of giant viper’s bugloss, Echium simplex. As a wild species, this is rare in Tenerife, and I have seen it on steep slopes near Chinamada. It is not quite as tall as Echium wildpretii, and has white flowers. Recently, it seems to be grown more frequently in gardens, and notably in company with the giant dragon tree at Icod. As a lichenologist, I carry a sheath knife for collecting specimens. Having seen and photographed Echium simplex at Chinamada, I was stopped, and all but arrested by the Guardia Civil in the Tenerife North Airport while attempting to make my way to Gran Canaria. The film with the Echium photos must have slipped out of my pocket, because I never saw it again. The second is Euphorbia atropurpurea. With its purplish flowers, it is more dramatic than many of the other endemic spurges.

Pineapple plant in flower

Echium simplex

Euphorbia atropurpurea

Aloe castanea

Strelitzia nicolai, Giant Bird of Paradise

Not far away from the Acclimitisation Gardens is an establishment called Bananeria which has also been worth a visit. Here a range of bananas are grown including some non fruit bearing species of Musa. The visitor can also enjoy, and buy liqueurs made from bananas. On this latest visit we were not able to visit and fear that it may have suffered in recent economic conditions.

A banana plant in flower

Another most exciting visit should be made to Icod de los Vinos, where the largest and currently oldest example of the Dragon Tree, Dracaena draco stands. It is known as El Drago Milanerio, the thousand year old dragon, however estimates of its age put it at around three hundred years and perhaps just a little more. Being a member of the monocotyledons, it does not increase in size by putting on annual rings of growth, so assessing its age is difficult. However, it is unlikely that it really is a thousand years old. To visit the tree closely is an expensive exercise, however close to a church that stands above the tree, fine views may be had of it from above. Of some interest is the presence of mature screwpines, Pandanus utilis some of which produce fruits. Like the dragon tree, it is not a pine, but a monocotyledonous tree.

Icod Dragon Tree

Echium simplex below the Icod Dragon Tree

The Screwpine, Pandanus utilis

Screwpine fruit

Another most important garden which is doing a wonderful job keeping Canarian endemic plants in cultivation is La Tahonilla Environmental Centre situated just outside La Laguna. Although not generally open to the public, we were given a warm welcome when we visit it. In serried ranks, pots of developing endemic plants are the first thing the visitor sees. However beyond these, there are some most attractive gardens on steep banks beneath trees where important Canary Island endemic plants can be seen and admired. I was particularly pleased to see members of the genus Lotus, and especially the very beautiful Lotus maculatus. Unfortunately well past its best, a few examples of the Canarian Dragon Lily, Dracunculus canariensis may be seen in flower beds close to the entrance. An endemic mallow Lavatera acerifolia near the entrance was another endemic I had never seen before.

Endemic plants being propagated in
La Tahonilla Environmental Centre
       near La Laguna

La Tahonilla Environmental Centre gardens

Lavatera acerifolia, an endemic

Dracunculus canariensis
The Canary Dragon Lily, a bit past its best!

The fine terraced gardens at Vilaflor which are home to fabulous displays of the very rare, and endemic Lotus berthelotii have already been mentioned in a previous blog. In the centre of Puerto de la Cruz, there is another series of terraces supporting some fine gardens which include ponds with lotuses in fine condition. In the past, there were glass houses here, and I took the chance to photograph Aristolochia gigantea which was very impressive.

The Gardens at Vilaflor

Pond with Lotuses in the Puerto de la Cruz terraced gardens

Bougainvillaea in the Puerto de la Cruz terraced gardens

Aristolochia gigantea

Botanising the Canary Islands – La Palma and La Gomera

La Palma

Euphorbia canariensis - reminiscent of organ pipes

It gave me a considerable thrill as our plane descended into La Palma to notice the Canary Island Spurge growing on hillsides. It was in December 2002 when my wife and I made our first visit to the Canary Islands. We had been intending to go to India, but a period of intense internal religious conflict made that trip impossible. At very short notice, we needed to find somewhere for a holiday. A stunning photograph in a brochure of the Caldera de Taburiente decided us, we chose La Palma.

Our first experiences in La Palma were not as happy as they might have been. On the coach taking us to where we were to stay, I asked our tour operations representative about car hire. She gave the opinion that she doubted whether it would be possible. Our spirits took a further dive when the site of the hotel was indicated to us. It was a hotel with a beach, surrounded for miles by acre after acre of banana plantations. Luckily at the hotel reception, car hire presented no problems, so the next morning we had a car to take us around the island.

In many people’s eyes, looking for roadside plants while driving is far from a good idea, and my wife was strongly of this opinion. Although I was confident that looking out for endemics while negotiating tight, hairpin bends was quite safe, she was not. [She still isn't]

One species I did spot from the car in some quantity in an area of woodland was the orchid Habenaria tridactylites which was in fine flower.

Habenaria tridactylites

After I had taken a good series of photos, we drove towards the southern end, where the most recent volcanic activity on the island had taken place. The vegetation was just recovering on the black volcanic ash, and a plant I was particularly pleased to see was Ceropegia hians.

Tenerife, the Jewel in a botanical crown

Isoplexis canariensis A beautiful endemic
on the roadside, Anaga Ridge.    

The endemic flora of the Canary Islands is incredible, and Tenerife is arguably the most exciting island in the archipelago for its plants. The Canary Islands sit out in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, and have a very variable climate, ranging from the wet, warm and temperate island of La Palma in the west, to the hot, arid island of Lanzarote in the east. The flora of the Canary Islands is dominated by a number of genera such as Echium, Aeonium, Sonchus, Pericallis and Euphorbia. One or two endemic members of genera such as Lotus  and Limonium are also a fascinating feature; in fact the flora is so rich, it is difficult to summarise it by mentioning its important genera.

Looking at the flora of other Atlantic Islands, they are not as rich. Madeira has a few members of the Canarian genera, while the Azores and the flora of the Cape Verde Islands share little in common with the Canarian flora. A question that has been asked many times is; ‘where did this flora come from?’ One answer is that it is a remaining fragment of the flora of the African Sahara before it became a desert. However, the fringes of coastal, Mediterranean Africa and the mountains of Morocco, which have a relatively similar climate, bear little resemblance to the current endemic flora of the Canary Islands. There are also one or two genera with a beautiful single species in the Canary Islands that have no close relatives elsewhere. These include the beautiful bellflower Canarina canariensis and the member of Scrophulariaceae, Isoplexis canariensis.  Limonium sinuatum in Gibraltar is similar to the endemic Limonium species of the Canaries, but Europe has none of the extreme Echium species such as Echium wildpretii, simplex and pininana of the Canaries, neither are there any Aeoniums or the wonderful member of Sonchus that grace the Canarian flora. Even the far out possibility that the Canarian Flora is botanical proof of the existence of Atlantis has been aired.