The endemic plants and the original inhabitants of the Canary Islands!
Tenerife is the biggest island of the Canary Islands in the northwest of the African coast but it is a part of Spain! The natural vegetation of Tenerife varies. It spans from the coast to the highest mountain of Spain - the Teide with 3718 m.
The geographic location of the Canaries provides unheard of flora and vegetation. Today I would like to show you the original vegetation before the time of the colonization. The Canaries are one of the most interesting regions in regard to botany in the whole world. There are seven plant societies (without the exotic immigrants from America, Africa and Asia). I have chosen one picture each applying to the specific habitat and one endemic plant.
The 'halophilous coast vegetation' is an azonal plant society which is dictated by the ground (rocks and sand) and the chemical prerequisite (salt from the sea). Here you can see an Canarian endemit 'Schizogyne sericea', a little shrub who is an Asteracea.
The plants of the second, so-called basic step are living in a very dry climate. Here are very interesting survivors with adaptive behaviors such a being succulent, losing leaves or growing hair and so on. They are Tabaibales and Caronales - dominating Euphorbia societies.
This bird, called the Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor) is sitting on top of 'Euphorbia canariensis' which is an endemic plant that can be found only on the Canary Islands. The unusually large number of endemic plants is due to the Canariy Islands being ocean islands which evolved because of strong volcanic activity directly out of the ozean and have never had a relationship to the mainland.
The third plant society has found its origin due to bioclimatic conditions as well. They are the 'Thermoskerlophyll-vegetationes" hard leaved plants, which love the warmth. My brother has been cultivating a lot of these plants in his garden in the North of Tenerife. Therefore, I would like to show you a picture out of his garden as a sample of the habitat of these plants. Some of you have contacted me for the address of my brother to go there on a holiday. Just have a look at this link http://www.ferienfincas.de where you can find possibilities to stay overnight in this garden.
An example of this plant society is the 'Globularia salicina' . However the famous 'Dracena Draco' or the 'Phoenix canariensis' in the picture of my brother 's garden are typical domestic plants in this habitat.
The trade wind helps to build the fourth society - the sub-humid Mountain Step: the Monteverde. This evergreen mountain forest can be found at levels of 600 - 1200 m. There is no water shortage, but no heat accumulation as well and because of this you will find Laurus, Ilex, Erica and Myrica.
The fifth vegetation step is the dry mountain step - the pine forest. It's the natural contrast to the Monteverde-Vegetation. Pines growing on the Canary Islands can resist fire for a long time.
The step before last is also an azonal type like the first one. Here are the rock vegetations. They can be found on different levels, most often in Barrancos (gorges) or Riscos (cliffs). There are a lot of specialties, for example the Aeonium tabulaformae, it's growing directly in a vertical rock wall.
Here is another Echium - isn 't it impressive?
These plant societies had no rivalry until the first explorers where on their way to the Americas.
During that time the islands belonged to the Guanchen. These original inhabitants of the Canary Islands (Neolithic background) used to live on various islands with different developemental steps until the 14th century.
When Spanish and Portuguese sailors began to arrive regularly at the Canary Islands, taking them into possession one after the other, they mixed with the Guanchen or they were displaced taking refuge in the mountainous regions where they were able to stay only until the 18th century.
The plant world of the Canary Island suffered exactly the same fate. Since the islands were the last stop to provide the ships with fresh water and food before going to Africa, Asia and most of all America, these islands became more and more strategically important. When the ships returned from other continents they often brought the most impressive plants from the tropics.
Places, like this famous 'Mercedes'-Forest in the North East of the Island, are rare now.
The endemic ferns, moss and lichen have a very mysterious charisma.
If you roam in the Anaga mountains (North East) you may very often find caves in which the last Guanchen lived. Originally they used to bury their dead persons there.
In the Teno-Mountains in the northwest of the Island I found old traces of the Christianization and colonisation.
I asked the very old tortoise (Opuntia Cactea) in the garden of my brother why and how long she has been here. She 's told me a lot about herself and other exotic plants but this is another story.
Thank you Andrea for helping me in this translation.