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Punta de Teno botanical walk in May
A large clump of Canary spurge (Euphorbia canariensis) with other xerophytic (dry-loving) shrubs
The flowers of the common shrub Cornical (Periploca laevigata)
The area around the Punta de Teno, also known as Teno Bajo, is a very special place botanically. It is also a bit difficult to get to as there are high cliffs on the north coast which blocked access to the low-lying land beyond, until tunnels were cut through the cliff. In July 2016 8 metres of the road in front of the cliffs collapsed suddenly into the sea, leaving 174 people, and their vehicles, trapped in Teno Bajo. The people were evacuated by helicopter, I’m not sure what happened to their cars! In January 2017 the repaired road was re-opened but with new rules. So now at weekends and holidays it is compulsory to take a bus to and from Teno Bajo. The buses run hourly from Buenavista del Norte and it costs just 1 Euro each way.
Espino de mar (Sea spine) (Lycium intricatum), a prickly shrub, has beautiful but tiny flowers
The advantage of a bus ride is that I can look out of the windows to see the plants on and at the base of the cliffs as we are driven past, and among those in flower in May when we went there was a rare knapweed relative endemic to Tenerife called in spanish Cabezón de El Fraile (the name of the cliff). Its latin name is Cheirolophus buchardii. The bus passed lots of them on the cliffs, but unfortunately I was unable to get a picture. On the cliffs also are dense clumps of the leafless spurge (Euphorbia aphylla), but again I’m sorry no picture.
Another prickly bush, Aulaga (Launeae arborescent) belongs to the lettuce family
We stayed on the bus right down to the beach near the lighthouse at the end of the road. We could have got off at an earlier bus stop if we had pressed the bell, but otherwise the bus does not stop. So we set off walking back towards the tunnel, wandering on the open scrubby coastal plain. There were plenty of flowers to be seen, some fairly common coastal species, such as the Cornical (Periploca laevigata), and Canary spurge (Euphorbia canariensis), and others less common such Dama (Parolinia intermedia) which is a Tenerife endemic which grows in abundance in relatively few areas.
Sea everlasting (Limonium pectinatum)
There was a lot of Sea Lettuce (Astydamia latifolia) in a wide area, but the flowers of most were over, I just found one in flower under a Duraznillo (Cebollosia fruticosa).
Sea Lettuce (Astydamia latifolia)
Of the everlasting flowers (Limonium spp.), the pectinatum was absolutely in the right place, but the imbricatum was right next to the road, nearing the area of most human alteration, where the tomato growing area is. I rather think the imbricatum may have been planted.
Everlasting flower (Limonium imbricatum)
As we passed the tomato plantation area, the coastal plain gradually disappears and the cliffs get closer to the coast. The slopes are covered with different plants from the plain, and hanging from the cliffs is the rare Tenerife endemic Tenerife Samphire (Vieraea laevigata) with its yellow daisy flowers.
The cliffs closing in on the road towards the tunnel
We found we were at a bus stop, and decided we would return to Buenavista, so we hailed the bus. It had only been a brief visit and only a short stroll but had been a delight and I must make another visit next year in April or May to get a closer look, and better photos, of other exciting plants.
A botanical excursion to the Montaña Roja nature reserve, El Medano
Ophioglossum polyphylla, a tiny fern, about 3-5cm high, which appears after rain for a short while
Two friends who are keen botanists, like myself, did this short excursion on 17th December, but I did not have time to post a blog on it before I went away for Christmas. When we visited it was 7 days after the storm which dropped a great deal of rain in Tenerife, and especially in the south. We went to see a tiny fern which only appears after rain, and is just 3-5 cm high, which one of my friends had seen there, the Adders Tongue, Ophioglossum polyphyllum.
Matabrusca negra (Salsola divaricata)
We parked on the car park about 600m from the car park on the edge of El Medano, where the windsurfers go, along the road to Los Abrigos, and right by a junction where a road opposite the car park goes to the Cueva de Hermano Pedro. From there we walked straight into the reserve and found the Adders Tongue fern just about 50-100 m from the road, in an open gravelly area. It is a delightful little plant, worth looking for and admiring, though most people would simply not notice it.
Common white saladillo, or in Spanish, Saladillo blanco común (Polycarpaea nivea)
After enjoying the tiny ferns, we walked further towards the sea and found some circles of wire netting surrounding some very rare plants, Piñamar (literally Sea pineapple) Atractylis preauxiana. It is a canarian endemic and on Tenerife is only barely surviving in very few sites. The authorities have obviously tried to establish a new site in El Medano. Some of the plants looked as if they were getting on OK, though others looked dead. It might be worth returning in about a month to see if they are flowering.
Piñamar (Atractylis preauxiana)
There were lots of other common coastal plants starting to flower, including the Common white saladillo (Polycarpaea nivea), the Canary bird’s foot trefoil, (Lotus sessilifolius), the Chicken wire plant, Aulaga, (Launaea arborescens), Matabrusca negra (Salsola divaricata), Branching heliotrope (Heliotropium ramosissimum), Sea everlasting (Limonium pectinatum) and Canary Island rockrose (Helianthemum canariense).
Sea everlasting (Limonium pectinatum)
We wandered towards the sea to take a look at the de-watering structures, or sismata in Spanish. They are curious geological structures to be found over a fairly wide area of the fossilised dune system, and are the result of an earthquake shaking a water-saturated sediment, causing water to need to escape from the sediment. The water flowed out via tubular structures which became more mineralised than the surrounding sediment and subsequently when the area is eroded, the sismata are more resistant to erosion and so stick up above the surrounding surface.
Examples of the sigmata or de-watering structures found near the beach
Espino del mar (Lycium intricatum). This bush had creamy white flowers instead of the usual violet.
After that we wandered up the lower slopes of Montaña Roja, where more shrubby plants were growing, dominated by the common coastal spurge, the Sweet spurge or Tabaiba dulce in spanish (Euphorbia balsamifera). There were also examples of the Canary spurge, Cardón, (Euphorbia canariensis), and the little grey candelabra cactus, Cardoncillo gris (Ceropegia fusca), which was flowering, with its curious-shaped red flowers. Espino del Mar (literally Sea thorn) (Lycium intricatum) was also plentiful. Among the Sea thorn plants with the usual tiny trumpet-shaped purple flowers, I saw one with creamy-white flowers.
A very old, semi-prostrate shrub of Sweet spurge, or Tabaiba dulce (Euphorbia balsamifera) on the lower slopes of Mt Roja. Notice the slash marks on the lower branches.
It was noticeable that all the lovely old shrubs of Sweet spurge, which were mostly layered into the mountainside, had slash marks in their basal branches. I wondered whether this had been done to extract the latex which was used traditionally for medicine.
Cardoncillo gris – literally the little grey candelabra cactus (Ceropegia fusca) with its curious red flowers
As we walked around the lower slopes of the mountain, I noticed a number of plants which I guessed was a wormwood (Artemesia family) but a species I had not previously seen. Fortunately some were in flower, and when I got home I could confirm from my books that it was Artemesia reptans. My favourite book for the endemic plants, David Bramwell’s ‘Wild Flowers of the Canary Islands’ says it is only found in Gran Canaria, but when I checked with the Flora de Canarias website I discovered it is found in Tenerife as well, and the picture on the site was taken near Montaña Roja where we had seen it ourselves. So that discovery made it a very exciting and satisfying little ramble from the botanical point of view.
Incienso menudo or amuley (Artemesia reptans) does not have an English name. It is a miniature wormwood.
I am not giving exact time or distance for this walk as it was a gentle wander around a nature reserve, looking at plants of interest. We spent around 2 hours there, which we enjoyed tremendously.
Coastal walk looking at some great endemic plants in flower
Neochamaelea pulverulenta, known locally as Leña buena (literally ‘good firewood’), a Canary endemic of dry coastal areas
I did this walk with an Irish walking group last Tuesday, 26th November. We had intended to do a walk elsewhere on the island, in the hills, but the weather was not promising, so we chose to walk on the coast. I was happy with this as there are plenty of flowers there at this time of year when there is not a great variety elsewhere.
Gymnocarpus decandros (synonomous Gymnocarpus salsaloides ) is an unassuming little shrub about 50-60cm high (c 2ft), with stunning little greenish-yellow flowers at this time of year.
We set out from the little village of El Puertito, off the coastal road near Armeñime on the west coast of Tenerife. The village is on an inlet, with a small, safe, sandy beach between two rocky promontories. The walk starts from near the bar at the southern end of the beach. The path goes between the houses and the sea and then wanders up through other houses until it comes into the open beyond them. The path wanders past abandoned fields, up and down, and in and out, but always within sight of the sea, as it makes its way towards La Caleta, the next village to the south.
Lycium intricatum, known locally as espino de mar (‘Sea thorn’)
The landscape of the shore in this area is very picturesque with lots of inlets, and very varied geology. The rocks are almost all of volcanic origin, but are so different in appearance and colour. The main contrast being between dark grey/black lava flows overlain by a great depth of whitish pumice erupted in an explosive manner. The black rock is more resistant to the sea’s erosion and forms the basis of the rocky promontories, but the pumice erodes down to form sandy beaches in some of the inlets. There are also well cemented conglomerates with rocky breccia some of which have a terracotta red colour.
Astydamia latifolia, known locally as Lechuga del mar or ‘Sea lettuce’. These are not yet in flower, but will be soon, with showy yellow umbels
These varied rock types makes for a variety of habitats within a small area, and as the path approaches La Caleta the diversity of plants increases. Because of this most of the walk, only excepting the bit nearest El Puertito, is in a protected area called ‘Sitio de Interés Cientifico de La Caleta’ (Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) La Caleta).
A selection of photos of some of the plants present is shown on this page. I hope you enjoy them, and as a result will look more closely at these remarkable plants if you are walking on the coast in the Canary Islands.
A view over the bay nearest to La Caleta, showing the contrasting black lava rock and the white pumice deposits
The walk is relatively gentle, although there are short stretches where the path is a bit rough underfoot, so good footwear is desirable.
A view of the plants typical of this coastal area, with the Canary Spurge (Euphorbia canariensis) or Cardón, in the foreground and a view to the mountains near Ifonche in the background
Asparagus arborescens, Tree asparagus, a Canary endemic which is a woody shrub in coastal areas like La Caleta
The length of the walk, both there and back, was just 5.8 km / 3.63 miles and took us less than 3 hours, including a break for lunch.
Sweet spurge (Euphorbia balsamifera), here seen with a fruit, is the dominant shrub of this coast
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