The flower of a thousand flowers has a “guaranteed” future. The red tajinaste of Teide, one of the star endemic species of Tenerife’s flora and the largest flower in the Canary Islands, has left behind the time when it was almost extinct and once again shows this spring enough vitality to ensure that it has successfully overcome its conservation process.
This is assured by Wolfredo Wildpret, one of the most renowned botanists in the Canary Islands, who is so connected to this species that he even has a family relation with the tajinaste: its scientific name is Echium wildpretii, in honor of Swiss scientist Hermann Wildpret, Wolfredo’s great-grandfather.
“For many years”
The scientist, nearing 92 years, assures that the tajinastes have reached “a sufficient degree of development” to guarantee that visitors to the National Park will continue to enjoy its beauty “for many years”.
«The recovery of recent years is noticeable generally in all the flowers of the National Park but especially in the tajinaste, which is the one that attracts the most attention with its stature and bright red color», details Wolfredo Wildpret in conversation with EL DÍA.
Although the number of specimens has not been very numerous this spring, as has been the case in the last five years due to the lack of rainfall –Tenerife remains in a water emergency due to drought despite the spring rains-, it has achieved a sufficiently important reproduction capacity to affirm that there will be tajinastes for a long time.
Preservation
But the most important thing for Wolfredo Wildpret is that the “good health” that the tajinastes of Teide exhibit is an unequivocal sign that “the right path is being followed” for their preservation.
A tajinaste with Teide in the background this Saturday in the Teide National Park. / Andrés Gutiérrez
«They are expanding and the species has consolidated. The tajinaste is experiencing a recovery that must be carefully monitored because any hostile factor can threaten it due to its fragility. But at this moment, we can feel very satisfied with the evolution it has undergone in recent decades».
The worst times
The hard times that the Echium wildpretii had to face were not so long ago. Starting in the decade of 1930, the crises caused by the Civil War and World War II forced the people of Tenerife to make extensive and intensive use, without control, of the natural resources, such as those present in Teide.
«There was neither money nor enough fuel. Everything was burned and herding extended through areas of high biological value. Even the tajinastes were burned, and they also suffered from the action of pasturing herds that grazed at the Island’s summit», relates Wildpret.
The first step in saving the tajinaste and other exclusive flora species of the National Park—such as retamas, hierbas pajoneras, or Teide daisies—arrived on January 22, 1954.
The salvation
On that date, the spring scene of Teide didn’t resemble anything like today: human activity had ravaged everything and there was hardly any color due to the catastrophic decline of flowering specimens. Teide was a wasteland.
But that day, 71 years ago, the Official State Gazette published the order proclaiming Teide as a National Park. It marked the beginning of a journey towards conservation through restrictions on human activity and programs for research and enhancement of species.
A tajinaste photographed this Saturday in Teide National Park. / Andrés Gutiérrez
The tajinaste is just one of the 58 endemic species of the Teide National Park. Its great stature—it can exceed two meters—and that rosette full of small flowers shaped like a lance make it, nevertheless, one of the most special in the protected area.
The Teide violet
Wolfredo Wildpret includes in this list the Teide violet. «The tajinaste draws attention for its large body and unique structure, a flower formed by thousands of flowers, but the Teide violet is also very special, even though it is much smaller. It grows at 3,700 meters, where conditions are extreme», emphasizes the Tenerife botanist.
The richness of Echium wildpretii specimens creates a world full of life. A tajinaste can host dozens of insect species.
«Inside each rosette, there’s a lot of activity, more than anyone would imagine, especially with the bees. And that is very important for the natural balance of the Park», Wildpret explains. It’s a reciprocal relationship. Everyone wins. The tajinastes provide nectar and shelter, and the insects spread the pollen and expand the species. This natural relationship produces one of the most exquisite honeys in Tenerife.
Hybridization
Some of the tajinastes we see today in Teide are the result of hybridization between the red tajinaste and the blue tajinaste. It can be found in the Cañadas del Teide, La Fortaleza, Valle de Ucanca, and near the National Parador. It is the most representative species of the Cañadas, a territory that constitutes one of the most floristically interesting zones in the whole Macaronesian region.
But it remains fragile despite the good moment it is going through. That’s why Wildpret calls for maximum caution and respect for Teide’s regulations from those visiting this spring to enjoy this nature spectacle.
Close-up of a tajinaste, the largest flower in the Canary Islands made up of thousands of small flowers. / Andrés Gutiérrez
«I am concerned about the damage caused by the excess of visitors and the sense of lack of control. There are four million a year, and some make campfires, bypass paths, camp… I can’t understand why it takes so long to charge for access, as is done in so many other national parks, and to strengthen surveillance measures», concludes Wolfredo Wildpret.
A day of intense heat
This Saturday, the heat across the Island –maximums approached 30 degrees– was also felt at the top of Tenerife, where some visitors had climbed expressly to see tajinastes, a passion that repeats every spring.
This time they concentrated in the valleys surrounding the Cañadas, outside the regulated paths. Near the road, there aren’t many this year, but yes with impressive statures, a unique attraction of this volcanic world full of singularities called Teide.
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