Floristic notes from the Canary Islands (especially La Palma)

              / Cuad. Bot. Canar. XVIII/XIX: 5-14; 73 I
Floristic Notes from the Canary Islands
(especially La Palma)
By A. Hansen *
(recibido en la redawih: 18-3.1973)
This floristic contribution contains the results of a visit
from the end of August to the beginning of September 1972,
to the islands of Tenerife and La Palma. Again, it has been
possible to report on the existence of a number of plant-species
- natives or established aliens, respective garden-escapes
- new either to La Palma or Tenerife; also a few
species on the whole new to the Canary Islands, wcre collec-ted,
viz. Agrostis olivetorum, Alopecurus geniculatus, Pas-palum
urvillei, Cyperus esculentus, Oenothera indecora and
Verbascum vzrgatum. Tile materiai of most oi the piants
mentioned in this paper are kept in the herbarium of the
Botanical Museum, University of Copenhagen (Herb. C.).
1. Species new to the Canary Islands:
GRAMINEAE :
Agrostis olivetorurn Gren & Godr. (A. castellana Boiss.
& iieui. var-. rrluiica Hack. ). - Dy ruddsides üii iht. edskrii
slope of the Cumbre Nueva, near the roadtunnel carrying
the mainroad Santa Cruz-Los Llanos right through the Cum-bre,
at about 1200 m. Probably a native species, which has
also been recorded on Madeira, where according to Tutin
(1931) it forms the rass-turf of the Serra in high altitudes,
and on S. Miguel, the Azores (Palhinha 1966). It has been
originally described from the South of France (Gren. & Godr.,
(*) Botanical Museum, Gothaiggade 130, 1123 Copenhagen K.
Fig. 1. Yaspalum urvillei Steud. A, planta; B, C, espiguillas en vista dorsal y
ventral; D, antecio fértil. (after A.L. Cabrera: Flora de la Provincia de Buenos
Aires, Gramineae, vol. 4 (2), 1970.
F1. Fr. 111: 483, 1856), and is also recorded from Spain, but
often included under A. castellana Boiss. 8¿ Reut.
Alopecurus geniculatus L. - Found as a weed on grass-lawns
in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, most likely uninten-tionally
sown when laying out the lawns, and now more or
less established. A common grass throughout Europe, temp-erate
N. Asia and N. America.
Paspalum urvillei Steud. - Abundant, and fully esta-blished,
by roadsides and in near-by fields at Las Nieves,
riorthwestern outskirts of Santa Cruz, and near the harbour
of Santa Cruz itself, La Palma. A native of S. America
(BrazZ - Argerliirla j, sul~spüri~arieüus iri iiiaiiy- "ihei- pai-is
of America and cultivated as fodder grass f. inst. in Aus-tralia,
S. Africa and Europe; in Portugal it is known as a
well established escape from cultivation (Pinto da Silva
1940, Paiva 1961), and very recently it has been found on
the Azores (Hansen 1971 b).
CYPERACEAE :
Cyperus escu2entus L. - Along riverlet in the southcrn
part of Santa Cruz, La Palma. A common plant in the Medi-terranean
region, also recorded on both Madeira and the
Azores.
OENOTHERACEAE :
Oenothera indecora Cambess. - Abundant, and fully
established, on roadsides northwest of Fuencaliente near the
sniithwnmnst p i n t nf La Palma. Annual and a native of S.
America (S. Brazil - Argentina), introduced in S. Africa
and in various European countries, f. inst. Holland and
Sweden (since at least 1920, Hylander 1970).
SCROPHULARIACEAE :
Verbascum virgatum Stokes (V. blattaroides Lam.). -
By roadside at La Galga, north of S. Cruz, La Palma. A na-tive
of West and Southwest-Europe, but also recorded on
both the Azores and Porto Santo (Madeira-Archipelago) ,
most likely a native as well.
Fig. 3. Verbascum virgatum Stokes. A, calyx: B, corolla, opened; C, capsule; D,
seed. (after R.W. Butcher: A new illustrated British Flora, vol. 2, 1961).
- 8 -
PTERIDOPHYTA :
-&dh f i l , i c~~. l ,niL~~am. s . - C.nmpl~t,~clyov ering t h ~
surface of the water of a deep irrigation-tank, in banana-plantation
on the eastern outskirts of Puerto de la Cruz,
.- I-enerile,p i=olDdblyüi ie "f ihe lücalities hiiited ai lDy :cuiikej
(1968); also observed in lesser quantity in a near-by irriga-tion-
canal. In the water-tank this small fern is forming a
real "Azolla-swamp", yielding growth conditions for otller
plants such as Polypogon semiverticillatus and Briza minor.
Amnng the Canary Islands it has also been recorded on Gran
Canaria (Kunkel 1968). A native of western N. America
C. and S. America, naturalized f. inst. in W., C. and S.
EuloPe*
SPERMATOPHYTA AMARANTHACEAE :
A m,mmm+ ,;h,,n+,..,.,n u n u AI I (>UI ~ l . y ~~ ~~ ~~ ~IIY~IrL. ~~ d ~ ~Wlrus)~tz p h c z in Smt a
of Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, a well established esca; e
Cruz, La Palma. New to this island, and previously gi- en
for Tenerife oniy (Hansen 1970).
BALSAMINACEAE :
impatiens waiieriana Hook. f. (1. suiiani Eook. f.,
Holstii Engl. & Warb.). - On roadside in El Durazno, S r
from cultivation. A native of Zanzibar and the mount-~ins
nf tro~ical Africa, also recorded as an escape on G. C ar-ria
(Kunkel 1972 b).
CARY OPHYLLACEAE :
Moehringia pentandra J. Gay (M. trinervia (L.) Clair .
ssp. pentandra (J. Gay) Nym.). On roadside, eastern do; L
of Cumbre Nueva near the road-tunnel, La Palma. New t~
this island, previously recorded on L., C., T., G. and H.
CHENOPODIACEAE :
Rhagodia nutans R. Br. - On waste place near the sed
just south of S. Cruz near the road-tunnel (road to the new
airport), La Palma. A single record from Puerto Espindo'a.
northern part of this island, has been published by K-inke'
(1970).
- 9 -
COMPOSITAE:
The following species are considered new to La Pal-ma:
Aster 2aevi.s L., on waste place in S. Cruz; Chama~me-lum
mixtum (L.) All. (Ormenis m. (L.) DC.), on roadside,
eastern slope of the Cumbre Nueva, near the road-tunnel
- 1 - I .1 A - 1 - A A T - - n A . .A m -
\ d l b U ULlbEL V E U U11 WdbLtf p l d C t : d L L l l t : h U b LLUUCUb-Al1 pul L, 1 E-nerife;
seems to be a rare plant on this island); Carthamus
lanatus L., Santa Lucía, North of S. Cruz; Conyza floribun-da
HBK., Barranco de las Nieves near S. Cruz, Barranco
del Puente, North of S. Cruz, and by roadside, eastern slope
of Cumbre Nueva, near the road-tunnel: Lactuca sativa L..
Barranco de las Nieves near S. Cruz; Lactuca serriola L.,
abundant by roadside near the old airport at Breña Alta.
Helicl~rysum bracteatum (Vent.) Willd. - On waste
place near the airport, Los Rodeos, Tenerife. A native of S.
Africa and probably an escape from cultivation, new to the
Canary Islands.
CONVOLVULACEAE:
Two Ipomoea-species are new to La Palma, viz. I. acu-minata
(Vahl) R. & S. found near the old airport at Breña
Alta, and 1. cairica L. observed on rock-wall at S. Cruz; both
well-established escapes from cultivation.
CRUCIFERAE :
Lepidium bonariense L.-On roadside, eastern slope of
the Cumbre Nueva near the road-tunnel, and on roadside at
La Galga, North of S. Crüz. This p!unt was pub!ishzd as
being new to the Canary Islands by Lid (1968) found on G.
and T.
CUCURBITACEAE :
Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad. (C. vulgaris Schrad.)
Waste place in S. Cruz, La Palma, new to this island.
CYPERACEAE :
Two Cyperus-species new to La Palma, viz. C. eruyrus-tis
Lam. (C. vegetus Willd.), found along riverlet in the
southern part of S. Cruz, on roadside and near-by field at
the airport, Breña Alta, on roadside at Las Nieves, further
C. alternifolius L. observed along riverlct in the southern
~ a rotf S. Cruz.
DIPSACACEAE :
Scabiosa atropurpurea L. (S. maritima L.). - On road-
U-:ALU--G D n t Rrnño A l t q 9 n A ATrirth Of FL?oEc2!ieEtn, Y2 P21m2. a b u r ~ r r ur z r u u L I V A VAL
New to this island, probably an escape from cultivation,
but quite established; previously recorded on C. and T.
GERANIACEAE :
Geranium purpureum Vill. - Eastern slope of the
Cumbre Nueva near tne road-tunnei, La Palma. Probabiy
new to this island, but confused with G. robertianum L.
already accepted on La Palma; in my opinion true G. ro-bertianum
does not at al1 occur on the Canaries.
GRAMINEAE :
The following grass-species seem to be new to La Pal-ma:
Bromus willdenovii Kunth (B. unioloides (Willd.)
ERK., R. ~ 2 t h ~ r t i ~Vi ai hcl ), m wacte place in S. Cruz; pil-blished
as new to the Canaries by Kunkel (1967) found on
C., according to Lid (1968), also found on G. and T.; Digita-ria
ciiiaris (Eeiz. j Koei., by roadside ai Surlnei de la Caiga
and in Barranco de las Nieves (C., T., G.); Lolium rigiclur~
Gaud., Barranco de las Nieves (known from rest of the is-lands);
Paspalum dilatatum Poir., by roadside at La Galg;,.
previously on found on C. (Kunke! 1972 a); Paspalunz dis
tichum L. emend. Ror, on wet roadside at Las Nieves near
S. Cruz (T.); Paspalum paspaloides (Michx.) Scribn. (P
distichum auct. non L.), waste place in S. Cruz (C., T.).
The nomenclature of these 2 species are still somewhat in-tricate.
1 have here followed Bor in his conception, expres
sed f. inst. in "Flora or Iraq. Gramineae" (1968); another
view has recently been expressed by Jovet & Guédés (1972).
Pennisetum setaceum (Forssk.) Chiov., on roadside near
the new airport South of S. Cruz, probably a quite recent
introduction (previously recorded on C. and T. (Hansen
1970); Phalaris canariensis L., by roadside near the road-
tiinne1 ,Cumbre Niieva (F., C., T., G., H.) ; P d y p j ~ fn i g m
Nees ex Steud., at the same locality as the preceding (L., F.,
C., T., G.); Setaria adhaerens (Forssk.) Chiov., on waste
place of S. Cruz, probably an overlooked species, often con-fused
with S. verticillata (L.) PB., see Hansen (1971 b); Se-taria
geniculata (Lam.) PB., on roadside at La Galga (pre-viously
only recorded on T. (Hansen 1971 a).
LABIATAE :
Calamintha. In the floristic literature of the Canary
Islands, confusion seems to prevail on the number of spe-cies
within this genus, known to exist on the islands. The
following binominals have been used by various authors
for Canarian material of this genus: Calamintha menthae-folia
Host, C. nepeta (L.) Willk. or (L.) Savi or (L.) Link
& Hoffm., C. officinalis Moench, C. ascendens Jord. and Sa-tureja
calamintha (L.) Scheele. However, al1 the material
avaiiabie to me has cieariy proved that in fact, oniy a singie
species occurs on the islands, viz. Calamintha sylvatica
Bromf. ssp. ascendens (Jord.) P. W. Ball (nomenclature ac-cording
to the recent treatment of this genus for "Flora
Europaea 111" by P. W. Ba11 (1972)), with the following sy-neq7mc
: C. usre.idr.is Terd., C. huetiru Roiss. 8~ Re ~ t .$, 2 -
tureja calamintha (L.) Scheele ssp. ascendens (Jord) Briq.,
S. calamintha ssp. menthifolia sensu Gams, C. hirta (Briq.)
Hayek, C. officinalis auct., non Moench. C. sylvatica ssp.
ascendens, most likely a true native of the Canaries, is
so far known on the 5 western islands (C., T., C., P., H.);
its main-distribution lies in W., S. and S. Central Europe.
LILIACEAE :
Aiiium ampeloprasurn L. - Field at Sta. Lucia, North
of La Palma, probably new to this island, but hardly a nati-ve;
previously recorded on L., C. and T.
OENOTHERACEAE
0enoth.era s~~n v e o l e nD,e~s f. - On waste place of S.
Cruz, La Palma, new to this island. ~ublished-as new to
the Canaries by Hansen (1970) found on T. in 1969.
Rumex obtusifolius L. - On roadside, eastern slope
of the Cumbre Nueva near the road-tunnel, La Palma; new
to this island and previously recorded on C., T. ana H.
SAPINDACEAE :
Cardiospermum grandif iorum Swartz (f. hirsutum
(Willd.) Radlk). - Abundant in Barranco de las Nieves,
La Palma, as a well-established escape from cultivation.
New to the island and hitherto accepted on C. and T.
SOLANACEAE :
Datura stramoniunz L. - A frequent plant on waste
places in S. Cruz, La Palma; new to the island and further
known m C., T. und U.
VERBENACEAE :
Ve~bc?vuh. o n ~ ~ i m sLi s. - A si-ihspnntan~niisp lant in
Barranco de Las Nieves near S. Cruz, and in the village Las
Nieves itself, La Palma. New to the island and previously
given on C., T. and G. A naiive o1 S. Ariieiica, alsu on ?V'Ia-deira
and the Azores.
LITERA TURE
B U , P. W., 1972: Taxonomic and nomenclatura1 notes on European Labiatae.
Flora Europaea Notulae Systematicae ad Floram Europaeam spectan-tes.
- Bot. J. LNrn. Soc. 65: 342-352.
HANSEN, A., 1970: Contributions to the flora of the Canary Islands (especia-lly
Tenerife). - Cuad. Bot. Cunar. 9: 37-59.
1971a. Floiistic notes from the Canary Islands (mostly Tenerife). -
lbid. 13: 1-7.
- 1971b: Contributions to the flora of the Azores. - Anuar. Soc. Brot. 37:
87-112
HYLANDER, N., 1970: Prima loca plantarum vascularium sueciae. - Suppl. Sv.
Bot. Tids. 64, p. 1-332.
JOVET, P. & M. GUEDES, 1972: Paspalum distiohum L. and P. paspalodes
(Michx.) Scribn. - Taxon 21: 546.
KUNKEL, G., 1968: Nuevas plantas para la Flora Canaria. - Cuad. Bot. 3: 57-
58.
- 1970: Novedades en la Flora Canaria III. Algunas plantas de La Palma. -
Ibid. 10: 1-4 - 1972a: Novedades en la Flora Canaria V. Notas misceláneas. - Ibid. 14-15:
53-57.
- 1972 b: N o d a d e s en la Flora Canaria. VI. Adiciones y nuevas descrip
~iunes. - ibici. i6: 39-45.
LID. J. 1967: Contributions to the flora o£ the Canary Islands. - SXr. Nor~ke
Vid Akad. Oslo. 1, Matli-Nat. Kl. 23: 1-212.
PAIVA, J. A. R. de, 1961: Subsidios para o conhecimiento da Flota Pnriuguesa
1. - Anuar Soc. Brot. 27: 17-31.
PALHINHA, R. T 1966: Catálogo das plantas ~oscrtlares dos Acores - Lisboa
(14186).
PINTO DA SILVA, A. K., lY4U: U genero Paspalum em Portugal - Agror1
Lusit. 2: 5-23.
TUTIN, T. G., 1931 : Two Madeiran grasses. - Journ. Bor 68: 80-81.
SIEGHARD WINKLER: Einführung in die Pflanzenokologie.
Uni-Taschenbüaher 169. Gustav Fischer Verlag, XII + 220 pp., 80 figs.;
Stuttgart 1973. DM 14,80.
Introducción a la Ecología Vegetal, un gran libro 'presentado a tamaño (y
precio) para el bolsillo. Lamentablemente obras tan importantes como Weaver
& Clements '*Plant Ecology", Warming's "Oecology of Plants", Clarke's "Ele-ments
of Ecology", Bcnton & Wcrncr's "Principles of Field Diology and Ecolugy"
y las varias e importantes publicaciones por Bates y por Bennett, por ejemplo, no
han sido consideradas. Pero se sabe: Nunca una obra es completa, y lo que pa-rece
importante a un autor, carece de tal importancia a otros.
Sobre nuestro libro podemos decir que éste sigue un orden sistemático,
conciso aunque abreviado, explicando la ecología y sus fundamentos: ecosistemas,
círculos ,bioquímicos, sucesión y climax como factores sinecol~jgicas, y factores
como agua, temperatura, luz, sustrato e influencias reciprocientes conlo factores
autecológicas. Se habla (un subcapítulo intere.sante, especialmente para nuestra
zona tan árida) de precipitaciones no-mensurables que suelen ser dos a tres ve-ces
superiores a las mensurables en su sensu conservativo (pluviómetros). Se ha-hl2
&! di:c!imn.y (?d qce clrlcterizz grln p r t p & .n.uectr?.s is!ns), & los reser-vas
hidráulicas, y del así llamado equilibrio de la Naturaleza, factor que cono-cemos
sólo por literatura.
Nuestro libro casi es un Compendio; faltan sólo instrucciones para expe-rimentos,
y falta la clave vital: ¿Qué hacer para que la Naturaleza de nuestro
ambiente vuelva a un estado más o menos "natural"? - Pero, es una "intro-ducción"
solamente.
En el capítulo final el autor descnbe la ecología de populaciones, tratan-do
el origen y propiedades de las biocenoses, tratando crecimiento y tendencias
influenciales, terminando su exposición con un tema como evolución y forma-cibn
de especies. Veintidós páginas de referencias invitan a estudios partidares,
asunto que también se agradece al autor.