Echium wildpretii

Echium wildpretii
File:Echium wildpretii LC0204.jpg
Echium wildpretii on Tenerife
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	(unplaced)
Family:	Boraginaceae
Genus:	Echium
Species:	E. wildpretii
Binomial name
Echium wildpretii H.Pearson ex Hook.f.

Echium wildpretii is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. It is an herbaceous biennial plant that grows up to 3 m (10 ft) in height. The nominal subspecies is endemic to the island of Tenerife, and is found mainly in Las Cañadas del Teide. The subspecies E. wildpretii subsp. trichosiphon occurs at high altitudes on La Palma. The common names are tower of jewels, red bugloss, Tenerife bugloss or Mount Teide bugloss. The Spanish name for this plant is tajinaste rojo.

Habitat

The plant grows in the subalpine zone of the ravines of Mount Teide. It requires a lot of sun and is found in arid and dry conditions, but it tolerates frost down to -5 C.

Description

It is a biennial, producing a dense rosette of leaves during the first year, flowers in the second year, and then dies. The red flowers are borne on an erect inflorescence, 1–3 m (3 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in). The plant blooms from late spring to early summer in Tenerife.

File:Echium wildpretii3.jpg

Close-up of inflorescence

Uses

This plant can be found as a garden ornamental but is intolerant of low temperatures, thus some winter protection is required in frost-prone areas. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

As with most buglosses, it is favoured by bee-keepers for its high nectar content.

See also

• Echium candicans

External links

• (Spanish) Echium wildpretii
• Encyclopedia of Life entry
• GBIF entry