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La Gomera (revisited)

Dear Meditophiles,

I thought some of you might be interested in this...

About a month ago now, I paid the small island of La Gomera in the Canary
Islands a return visit, having first been there in January/February 1996.

Last time, I was based on the southern coast of the island, which is
surrounded by rather desert-like vegetation. This abruptly changes when you
climb up to the central and northern uplands, where there is a dense natural
(and very ancient) forest of 'laurels' -- some 17 tree species in various
plant families, all with laurel-like evergreen leaves.

For this visit, I was based on the north coast, which is below the laurel
zone, but much wetter and greener than the south. Once again, there wee some
really nice plants, a few of which I thought I'd mention here.

Under the forbidding name Androcymbium hierrense subsp. macrospermum there
is a very nice bulbous plant with a flat starfish-like rosette of
lance-shaped leaves surrounding a cluster of stemless, rather showy white
flowers. The typical race of the species is endemic to the nearby island of
El Hierro to the west, while the recently described subsp. macrospermum
(differing in its larger seeds) is endemic to La Gomera, currently known
only from a single valley in the north.

At last, this time I was lucky enough to be shown the very beautiful canary
bellflower (Canarina canariensis) growing as a wild plant. It is a slender
climbing vine to 3m tall, with divided leaves and terminal, hanging,
bell-shaped flowers a good 2 inches (5cm) long. The colour is a most amazing
shade of coppery orange-red, most unusual for a campanula-relative. It is
endemic to the canary islands, growing in cliffy, scrubby areas below the
laurel zone. Because this zone tends to be inhabited by people, the shrubs
over which the Canarina grows may be cut for animal forage, which damages
the vine. It is a very rare plant in La Gomera because of this, but is much
commoner in La Palma (west of La Gomera, north of El Hierro).

There are also many beautiful ferns in the laurel forest, including the
large and stately Diplazium caudatum and Dryopteris oligodonta, and a cliff
covered with the uncommon filmy fern Trichomanes speciosum ('filmy' because
the leaves are only one cell thick).

Sonchus hierrensis is a common sub-shrubby sowthistle with large, lush,
handsome bright green leaves and spectacular heads of big yellow 'dandelion'
flowers. It occurs from sea level right up into the laurel forest. Erysimum
bicolor is a laurel forest wallflower with low, shrubby habit and heads of
purple flowers that fade to white as they age.

Last year, I saw and told you about La Gomera's sole surviving native dragon
tree (Dracaena draco). This year, on the north coast, I saw several planted
individuals (presumably from nurseries in Tenerife, the island to the west).
They ranged from young, unbranched 'saplings' to quite large, well branched
trees 3 or 4m tall, but nothing like the huge old wild tree in the south.
One tree is growing among some pines and ficus trees in a village square.
Somehow it has so far avoided flowering, and therefore has yet to branch,
even though its trunk is some 15 tall! It looks like a giant firework rocket
with an 'exploding' crown of leaves at the top!

Nick.

Nick Turland,
Department of Botany, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
Telephone/voicemail: + 44 171 938 8803  Fax: + 44 171 938 9260  Email:
n.turland@nhm.ac.uk
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