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| CC image by Gabriele Kothe-Heinrich |
This plant is endemic to the high altitude areas of Tenerife.
It belongs to the Asteraceae family and has large daisy-like flowers that grow in abundance during the short April-June flowering season.
Like many plants you'll see in the Teide National Park, it is a perennial and grows in a rounded cushion-like clump.
Its leaves are often bipinnate. It's possible that these divisions are an adaptation for dissipating solar radiation more effectively in this harsh environment.
The leaves are covered in stiff hairs: these might act to deter herbivorous insects, or perhaps create a microclimate around the leaf to reduce water loss.
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