Botanical exploration in the Barranco Añavingo during May

A view up the barranco before it narrows dramatically

The Barranco Añavingo is at the top of the Güimar valley directly above the town of Arafo.  It is not easy to get to, but once  there the path is easy to follow up and back down the barranco, though it is rough and the brambles are rampant! The accessible part ends abruptly with a cliff which would be a waterfall when raining.  So its a there and back walk, but worth the effort of reaching it.  It is carved out of a steep slope forming the head of the valley, where there is often cloud lingering, and because of its unique environment it houses some interesting plants.

Madama (Allagopappus dichotomus)

Due to the being on the edge of the cloud forest zone, there are a lot of trees of that zone, and there are also some endemics of the local area, including the delightful pink Scabious, (Pterocephalus dumetorum), which is common in the Güimar area.  The flower is similar to the scabious in the National Park, which is the same genus, but the leaves are a soft green instead of grey.

Rosalito salvaje, a pink Scabious (Pterocephalus dumetorum).

The trees present include Maytenus canariensis, which was sporting ample fruits when we visited, Canary holly (Ilex canariensis), Palo Blanco (Picconia excelsa), Madrono (Arbutus canariensis) and Canary Laurel (Laurus novocanariensis).  Unfortunately, because of the rampant bramble bushes, it is difficult to leave the path to get a closer look at all these plants.

Maytenus canariensis, with fruit. A relatively rare small tree typical of the transition zone from thermophile forest to cloud forest.

The plant we had made a special effort to see, the knapweed relative, Cheirolophus metlecsicsii, was well into the barranco.  It is very rare, and we only saw it in one place.  A very small group on a rocky ledge surrounded by the rampant brambles.  The only blessing being that they perhaps help to protect the rare plants from unscrupulous people, who might steal or destroy them.

 

The rare knapweed relative Cheirolophus metlecsicsii, a Tenerife endemic. Not a good picture due to the distance from which it was taken.

Half-way up the barranco the path improves and then leads up some steps to a ledge below an overhang.  This is apparently the site where a statue of a saint, I think it was Saint Anthony, stands.  It is the subject of a local pilgrimage up the barranco.  However, at the time we visited it had been removed for repair.

A view higher up the barranco, with Shrubby burnet near the path

We continued up the barranco until the ‘waterfall’, a shady cliff covered with  Tostonera (Adiantum reniforme), a fern with kidney-shaped leaves which loves damp shady banks and cliffs.

The walk we did reached the barranco by the shortest (and only) route that I know, though I am not sure if it is the easiest. It took us 3.5 hours and was approximately 6 km there and back, although the GPS may well have been inaccurate given the steep sides of the barranco.

 

 

 

Shrubby burnet (Bencomia caudata)

The time taken was lengthened by the need to trim back brambles, as well as by my dallying while looking at plants!

Pimpinella dendrotragium, a canary endemic of the umbellifera family

Chanajiga in May with lots of flowers and butterflies

A view from the track as we were returning to the start.

My blog of 31st July, 2015, describes a walk from Chanajiga Recreation area high above Los Realejos in the Orotava valley. I love going there in the summer on a clear day to get the views and enjoy a shady walk. This year I went at the end of May when the flowers and insects were amazing. I was with my husband who is not a walker, but loves nature, so we just did a there and back walk on the lower track.

Canary Strawberry Tree (Arbutus canariensis) an endemic tree, showing its characteristic smooth red bark

On arriving at the barbecue area there is a wide part of the track where we parked, and then continued on the same track for as long as we felt like, returning the same way. It was a delightful walk. The photos below are some of the delights we saw.

Atlantic Islands Buttercup (Ranunculus cortusifolius) still in flower at the end of May

Large-leaved St John’s Wort (Hypericum grandifolium)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Small White Butterfly (Pieris rapae) on Canary Geranium flowers (Geranium reuteri

Spoon-leaved houseleek (Aeonium spathulatum) growing on the cliff at the side of the track

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Hummingbird Hawk-moth or Bee Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) feeding on Vipers Bugloss (Echium vulgare) Sorry the picture not clear! They don’t stay still! I saw several around this time in May, including in the National Park at the El Portillo botanic garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pericallis cruenta – a relative of Cineraria

 

 

Canary houseleek (Aeonium canariense) on the rocky cliffs above the track

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canary Red Admiral butterfly (Vanessa vulcania) on Echium strictum

 

Cardinal butterfly (Argynnis pandora) on Pitch plant flower (Psoralea bituminosa)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A short botanical walk in the Barranco de Guaria, from Acojeja

Madama (Allagopappus dichotomus) on the path down to the streambed

Acojeja is a village in the municipality of Guia de Isora in West Tenerife.  You reach the village by turning uphill between the two tunnels on the TF-82 between Guia de Isora and Tejina de Isora.  Continue uphill for about 0.75km/0.5ml till there is a turning right, with a wide bit of road around the corner.  You can park in this area, which is where the path leaves the village to descend into the Barranco.

The flowers of one of the Sea Kale species of the island, probably Crambe strigosa

The path starts with a sloping stone-paved path leaving the road from next to a signboard.  The paved path leads to an old wine-press (lagar) in a roofed enclosure, and then plunges down to the right of the wine-press before levelling out around the base of a basalt cliff, and then gently descending to the streambed.

Canary Tree Mallow (Lavatera acerifolia) in the barranco on, and at the base of, the north-facing wall.

On the descent, there are canary lavenders (Lavandula canariensis), Balo (Plocama pendula), Duraznillo (Ceballosia fruticosa), and Madama (Allagopappus dichotomus), among a host of other plants. All the named ones are Canary endemics.

Balo (Plocama pendula), the widespread weeping shrub/tree in the lower zones. It is a Canary endemic

The path comes out in the streambed of the barranco, which is about 5 metres wide at this point, with a deep layer of gravel/well rounded pebbles.  I turned up the barranco, walking up the streambed, which is extremely rough following the March storms. So rough it is necessary to watch ones feet continually to pick the place for the next step. At times, it is necessary to scramble up larger rocks to continue the journey upwards. You need to stop to look around every now and then, to see the scenery and the plants.

A heavy head of flowers of the Canary endemic, Duraznillo (Ceballosia fruticosa)

The base of the barranco is greener, with some different shrubs growing, including the Wild aniseed (Bupleurum salicifolium), a macronesian endemic which is common in this area.  It was only just coming into flower, its yellow flowers producing a foamy show for June, July and into August.

On the edge of the gravelly streambed, the invasive introduced Tobacco tree plant (Nicotiana glauca), is common, and in flower. It is common in gravelly disturbed areas, including building sites and empty plots in built up areas.  I don’t like seeing it in a protected nature area, but when there are floods, a lot of them are ripped out of the gravel and swept down to the sea.

The invasive introduced Tobacco tree (Nicotiana glauca) growing on the edge of the gravel

On the shadier, north-facing cliffs on the right of the barranco as I walked up, there were the massive seedheads of the Cliff celery (Tinguarra cervariaefolia), Sea Kales (Crambe strigosa probably) and Canary tree mallow (Lavatera acerifolia).  Again all of these are Canarian endemics.  The Cliff celery is an early-flowering umbellifera (Carrot family).  The tree mallow (or Maple-leaf mallow) also flowers early, but is still flowering now, so it makes a good show.  The Sea Kales belong to the Cabbage family, and have several endemic species in the Canary Islands, which are quite difficult to distinguish.  All have large rough leaves in a rosette at the base and long stems with white flowers in sprays which at a quick glance are like the Gypsophila beloved of florists.

A fine head of Roof houseleek (Aeonium urbium var meridionale) a Tenerife endemic.

I watched the rock climbers on the cliff high up on the left of the barranco.  It is supposed to be a hard climb and is very popular at weekends with those who love a challenge.  Then I turned just before the Drago tree, to come back down, as I had achieved the purpose of my walk, collecting some seeds from endemic Vicia cirrhosa for a botanist friend who is studying the species.

On the way back out of the barranco I saw a fine specimen of the Roof houseleek (Aeonium urbicum var meridionale), which I had not noticed on the way down.  All in all it was a short but pleasurable walk full of some of the special plants that Tenerife has to offer.

The walk was a there-and-back walk of about 2.5km/2mls, but can be longer or shorter, as you wish.

Another circular walk from Arico Nuevo, in the south of Tenerife

Looking back down into the Barranco de los Caballos which we crossed in the first half-hour of the walk.  Feathery sow-thistle in the foreground.

This walk starts, and ends, like the short walk I described in my blog in January this year, but is extended in the middle by a walk into the beautiful, and botanically interesting, Barranco de Tamadaya, and a walk down the Lomo de Tamadaya with lovely views up to the mountains, and down to the coast.

So we set out from the square in Arico Nuevo, going westwards along the yellow’white signposted route towards Villa de Arico, the old Camino Real.  We crossed the Barranco de los Caballos and headed up the slope till we hit a tarmac road, where we left the Camino Real and its yellow/white markers, and turned right up to the main road, passing the Bodega of the Cumbres de Abona label on our right.  Farmers were starting to deliver their ripe grapes to the Bodega for this year’s vintage – let’s hope it’s a good one!

Feathery sow-thistle (Atalanthus pinnatus)

At the main road we turned right and continued on it for about 200m until we crossed the same barranco on the road bridge.  Here, though, the barranco had narrowed to a dramatic gorge.  Immediately after the bridge we turned off the road to the left onto a footpath which went parallel to the gorge for a short while and then went up a rocky slope towards a wooden cross.  After the cross the path was parallel with a tarmac drive to a finca below and to the left, then the path crosses the tarmac to go up what looks like a house drive.  It passes directly in front of the house which has a number of noisy barking dogs on chains.  Shortly after the house a T-junction with a dusty track is reached and we turned left.  We stayed on this track, ignoring a couple of turnings right, as it wound around the fields on our right with fine views over barrancos on the left till we arrived at the top of the village of La Sabinita.

The barranco in a gorge where the main road crosses

On arriving at the tarmac we turned left to the junction a few yards away where the yellow/white waymarked route from Arico Nuevo passes.  We went left uphill following the waymarks up the steep tarmac road, but we took a shortcut into the Barranco Tamadaya by turning right after a few yards onto a track with a chain strung between two barrels across it.  If we had followed the yellow/white route we would have gone uphill further before turning right and descending to the track we took.  It is a pleasant diversion, but this time we did not want to do that.

Verode or Canary Islands candle plant (Kleinia nerifolia) in flower at the side of the track entering the Barranco de Tamadaya

The track goes past some fields and then gently descends towards the streambed of the barranco.  As we descended I was amazed how many flowers were out even after the long drought we have been experiencing.  The Canary Islands candle plant or Verode (Kleinia nerifolia) was in flower everywhere, with its yellow tubular flowers which afterwards will disperse its seeds with hairy parachutes like the groundsels it is related to.  It is a very common plant in all the dry areas of the island, especially in the south, but seldom gets a second glance.  The flowers give it a short season to be noticed.  There was also wild Jasmine (Jasminum odoratissimum) and Mosquera (Globularia salicina – Canary Islands Globularia) in flower, and lots of dark berries on the Spiny buckthorn bushes (Rhamnus crenulata).

Mosquera or Canary Islands Globularia (Globularia salicina)

After crossing the streambed, a few yards on we went right with the signpost for the yellow/white path, which we followed from now on all the way to Arico Nuevo.  Only a few yards after that turning we had to turn left up a path that zig-zagged up the side of the barranco to the ridge.  The plants on the way up merit a look, as there is a good mixture, but I did not notice any in flower.  On the top of the ridge the path reaches a T-junction with a signpost, next to a threshing floor, on the edge of which is a Juniper bush.

Wild Jasmine (Jasminum odoratissimum)

We turned right on the ridge towards the old abandoned farmhouse, Casa Quemada, on its own there.  Its water installations, including a cistern behind the house (beware of falling in!), washing place, terraced fields, etc, bear witness to habitation and hard work there in the past.  The path continued along the ridge, falling gently, and then beginning to zig-zag as it descended more steeply towards the crossing of the Tamadaya Barranco again.

The Juniper bush (Juniperus turbinata ssp canariensis) at the side of the threshing floor on the Lomo (ridge) Tamadaya

In the streambed we went to the left to find the path climbing out the other side.  I took a little time to look at the cliff opposite which has some wild olives on it, as well as other plants typical of the thermophile (warm-loving) zone, but none are in flower at the moment.

 

Descending the cobbled path into the last crossing of the Barranco Tamadaya on the approach to La Degollada

Following the yellow/white markers we made our way to the road through the village of La Degollada.  Before we got there we went past some houses and under pergolas draped with grapevines with ripening bunches of grapes above our heads.  At the road we turned left, downhill, walking on the road, straight on, all the way to Arico Nuevo.  The vehicles turn off left after a while and the path becomes a cobbled street, which then descends to cross the main road and continue down hill to the square in Arico Nuevo.

This extended circular walk took us 3.25hrs, was 10.1 km/  6.3 mls long with 382m /936 ft of climbing.