The plants that have survived on this desert island since it emerged from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean through a series of volcanic eruptions, are the basis of a unique ecosystem. Haria is a little cooler and wetter than the south of the island and is home to most of our rare flora. With an annual rainfall similar to the nearby Sahara, Lanzarote is a true desert island. Despite this we have more unique native plants than any other Canary Island – tough conditions can drive evolution. Most of the species here are endangered, categorised as being on the ‘Red-List’. Many of our native plants are descended from Mediterranean species that perished during the last ice age.
Every species of plant provides food and habitat for a variety of insects, which in turn feed reptiles and birds. Having evolved over four millions of years to suit local conditions they can tolerate Lanzarote’s wind, heat and aridity better than most imported alternatives. While people struggle to keep their exotic roses alive in Lanzarote, this garden blossoms and stays green throughout the year with minimal care. Despite many of Lanzarote’s endemic species being on the endangered list, and as with all the Canary Islands, native plants are so easy to grow and can be incredibly beautiful! Protected from goats, these plants can develop far beyond the stunted specimens found in the wild, into the most spectacular forms. They have medicinal properties, as the Canarian people have long known through the long tradition of herbal medicine based on their unique plants.
Furthermore, in our age of growing ecological crisis, such native flora are a source of potentially valuable genetic material. The limited genetic variety of modern food crops has often required plant breeders to find wild relatives whose genes can resist disease. Perhaps the ‘acebuche’, Lanzarote’s rare relative of the cultivated olive tree might one day prove valuable in this way. One species of tree may be the sole host to a variety of micro-organisms living in the soil around the roots, and if a tree species becomes extinct so may associated fungal species – possible sources of new antibiotics are lost before they have even been investigated.
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