Echium wildpretii (Teide bugloss)

CC image by Jörg Hempel

 This plant is endemic to the high altitude areas of Tenerife.

It belongs to the Boraginaceae family (which includes borage and forgetmenots, but is a bit grander than most of those).

In its first year, it grows narrow hairy silvery leaves in a tight rosette: adaptations which help the plant resist high UV levels and the other harsh conditions of high altitude. It's really worth looking at the extremely furry underside of the leaves with your hand lens: they are amazingly furry!

CC image by $pooky

In its second year it produces a huge 3m flowering stalk, before seeding and dying. You'll see the ghostly skeletal remains of these stalks - unfortunately we're too early to see this year's spectacular display of flowers.

There are no specialist nectar-feeding birds on Tenerife, but canaries (Serinus canarius) and chiff-chaffs (Phylloscopus collybita) are known to visit these flowers.  The flowers are red, produce a large amount of nectar with a low sugar concentration, and have protruding stamens and stigmas: features of bird-pollinated flowers.

CC image by Bjoertvedt