Coastal Habitat

Introduction

The species growing in these surroundings are well evolved and do not suffer from the influence of the sea either directly or by the sea aerosol carried on the winds. The coasts are usually of two kinds: low and sandy with salty ponds or mountainous and rocky. The first kind is characterised by shrubs between 30 and 100 centimeters high, with succulent small branches and almost no leaves or with hardly visible leaves turned into juicy squamae. This succulence is due to the great storage of water used to dilute the salt present in the substratum solutions. The typical species of this habitat are mostly the same of the species existing in a large part of the Mediterranean: among them a special attention must be paid to Zygophyllum fontanesii as it is a species that is distributed across the Canary Islands and the Sahara desert and whose presence in the archipelago progressively diminishes moving from east to west. On the second type of coastal habitat there is a special ecosystem in direct contact with the spray from the sea where there are coenosis dominated by Astydamia latifolia.

In this habitat one can find species of the genus Limonium among which Limonium fruticans and L. arborescens are of particular interest. In the highest part of the coast there are communities characterised by Argyranthemum frutescens subspecies succulentum, Frankenia encifalia and F. laevis subspecies capitata. This kind of coenosis tends to disappear as we move from the area subject to the spray of the sea and the habitat instead permeates itself with the genus of the Euphorbia of Euphorbia cananiensis or E. balsamifera - plants that are able to come down from the rocks as far as the sea level. Moreover, among the rocks there are small areas where the sand accumulates. In these areas a micro-habitat is formed and provides a home for those species able to stand both the salt and the aridity. These species are called psammoalophyte. Among them is the Lotus glaucus, a small grass with striking yellow flowers. Many plants living in these coastal habitats are endemic in the Canary Islands. Such habitats are therefore of great importance for the European Community and deserve protection.

ZYGOPHYLLUM FONTANESA
(Zygophyllaceae) Babosa

It is a shrub up to a meter high, with opposite branches and leaves. The leaves are succulent, juicy, trifoliate. The flowers are small and solitary. It is a halophyte species, which means it is able to live using water with the same or higher saline concentration than sea water.

ASTYDAMIA LATIFOLIA
(Umbelliferae) Acelga del Mar

This herbaceous plant with small yellowish flowers lives on the. rocky coasts of all the islands. It can be recognised by the leaves which are quite big, succulent, pinnate, and more or less deeply dentate. Its flowers are grouped in umbelliform inflorescences with about 15 rays.

LIMONIUM ARBORESCENS
(Plumbaginaceae) Perpetuas marinas

It is a small shrub characterised by a wooden base, very strong, and by long and narrow herbaceous branches carrying ramose inflorescences in the highest parts.
The plant is up to 2,5 meters high, its leaves are big, ovate, hairless, with a long petiole and succulent blade. The floral branches are very ramose but close. They have lateral growths all along their length. The flowers are pink. It is an endemic species of Tenerife, very rare and in regression owing to the great diffusion of man in the coastal areas.

LIMONIUM FRUTICANS
(Plumbaginaceae) Perpetuas marinas

Some authors consider this plant as a local variety of the previous with smaller dimensions. This plant too is very rare and it is in danger of becoming extinct. It is an endemic plant of Tenerife where it can be observed at El Fraile and Los Silos. It is a shrub characterised by the presence of succulent and juicy leaves as in the other species living in the same sort of habitat. The margarita succulenta is up to 80 centimeters high and its branches are thin and carry in the highest part the small flower-heads typical of the composite family. The flower-heads consist of central yellow flowers and lateral ones with white ligulas.

ARCYRANTHEMUM FRUTESCENS
(Compositae) Margaritas

It is a shrub characterised by the presence of succulent and juicy leaves as in the other species living in the same sort of habitat. The margarita succulenta is up to 80 centimeters high and its branches are thin and carry in the highest part the small flower-heads typical of the composite family. The flower-heads consist of central yellow flowers and lateral ones with white ligulas. It is endemic in Tenerife.

FRANKENIA LAEWS
(Frankeniaceae) Sapera

ISmall creeping shrub characterised by small and juicy leaves which are often reddish like the branches. It has opposite leaves. They are pubescent owing to the presence of tiny smooth hairs. The flowers are arranged at the apex of the small branches and their colour varies from light pink to whitish.

FRANKENIA ERICIFOLIA
(Frankeniaceae) Albohol

This plant is very similar to the previous and to which it is often related, but from which it differs by its smaller flowers which are usually white and arranged all along the branches. The general impression is of a more or less closely related plant.

LOTUS GLAUCUS
(Leguminosae) Corazoncillo

It is a perennial grass with compound leaves formed by five leaflets not longer than 5 millimeters. The auxiliary light yellow flowers are arranged on long stalks, both individually and in couples. It is an endemic plant of Macaronesia.