Palmeran Sow Thistles (Sonchus palmensis)
Sow thistles look rather like a dandelion gone balistic. That is, the individual flowers look much like dandelions, but they’re growing on a shrub anything up to 2 m (6 ft) tall. And now they’re...
View ArticleTwin Dragon Trees in Breña Alta
Twin dragon trees (Dracaena draco), Breña Alta These trees stand in Breña Alta, just off the minor road which winds over the central ridge to El Paso. They grow so close together that it’s hard to tell...
View ArticleLos Tilos: Ancient Forest
Laurel forest at Los Tilos One of my favourite bits of tourist feedback about La Palma island was the disgruntled Brit who described Los Tilos as: “Just a load of trees.” Well yes. And Beethoven’s...
View ArticlePoppies
La Palma has lots and lots of wildflowers at this time of year. We even have five different poppies on La Palma. The Corn Poppy, Field Poppy, Flanders Poppy, or Red Poppy is easily the commonest. This...
View ArticleThe Dragon Tree Viewpoint
There’s a rather nice viewpoint in Puntagorda, on the main road at km 78. Its most obvious attraction is the dragon tree, leaning much further over than the tower at Pisa. > But when I was last...
View ArticleCochineal and Prickerly Pears
In the 1850s the export market for Palmeran wine collapsed, and somebody had the bright idea of going into cochineal production. Before the advent of synthetic dyes, this was far and away the best red...
View ArticleWild Peas
These are wild peas, Pisum sativum. They grow all over the island, and very pretty they are too. The flowers are edible, but I don’t know if the peas themselves are. Certainly sweet peas are poisonous.
View ArticleBurr Marigolds
My father was a botanist, so he really looked forward to his first trip to La Palma. One of the plants he most hoped to find were burr marigolds – Bidens alba. But he later said he was trying not to...
View ArticleDragon trees
One of the most exotic looking plants on La Palma are the dragon trees. The latin name is Dracaena draco Although they grow anything up to 12 metres tall, botanically, dragon trees aren’t trees. They...
View ArticlePhotos of the week: May 20th
It’s been a busy week: constant headaches, my annual mammogramme, two cruise ship excursions, three German exams, a massage from the physioterrorist, a short (3-hour) course on internet marketing and a...
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