Cardoncillo (Ceropegia dichotoma)
Ceropegia dichotoma Haw. · Family: Asclepiadaceae
Locally common on Tenerife's north coast up to 500 m and on the southern shore, in spurge scrub on dry sunny slopes and rocks.
Where it grows on Tenerife
Grows in: South coast · North coast
Zones are derived approximately from the Cabildo belts.
Photos
From Wikipedia
Ceropegia dichotoma (Spanish: cardoncillo) is a flowering plant in the genus Ceropegia (Apocynaceae). It is endemic to the Canary Islands, where it grows on Tenerife (Macizo de Anaga, Buenavista del Norte and Barranco del Infierno in Adeje), El Hierro, La Gomera, and La Palma in the Tabaibal-Cardonal zone at up to about 600 m altitude. It was first described in 1812.
It can grow up to 1.2 m in height, and is abundant in terrains with good drainage in grainy soil and plenty of sun and prolonged dry climate. The flowers are grouped from two to seven at the end of the trunk; each flower 3 cm long, tubular, pale yellow, with five narrow lobes joined at the tip; flowering is in autumn and winter. The fruit is a pair of large horn-shaped capsules up to 12 cm long.
Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0: Ceropegia dichotoma
Description
Small succulent shrub with erect or spreading stems up to 60–75 cm, grey-green in colour. Leaves ephemeral. Flowers in axillary inflorescences on the upper parts of the stems, with 2–5 pale yellow flowers. Fruits 10–12 cm long, greenish brown. Flowers from spring to autumn.
Propagation and growing
The fruits of the cardoncillo are long capsules (up to 12 cm) that appear at the upper joints of the stems, opposite and in pairs, shaped like horns. They contain numerous small, flattened seeds bearing a tuft of fine hairs (pappus) that aids their dispersal by wind. The seeds are hard to collect because of their size and because this plant fruits irregularly and only briefly. Propagation of this plant by cuttings is slow and difficult unless the cutting keeps its original root system. It can also be propagated vegetatively by layering stems that lie on the ground ("margullo"). Grown in containers it is slow-growing, but needs almost no maintenance or watering and, because of its particular shape, takes up very little space, as it can be grown in very small, shallow containers. It is undemanding as to soil and requires full sun. It is not usually available in native-plant nurseries, and its cultivation must be ordered at least a year and a half in advance.
Garden use
This small succulent shrub, up to 75 cm tall and branching from the base, flowers in summer–autumn with small, inconspicuous flowers of very distinctive structure. Its strange and curious appearance is very beautiful and attractive in the areas of the northern and southern slopes of the island where it grows naturally (from almost sea level up to 500 m above sea level), on crags, cliffs and coastal platforms. It is an excellent plant for delicate gardens and rockeries in dry, warm areas. It is highly drought-resistant but mechanically very fragile. It needs hardly any maintenance or watering. It should not be planted very close to paths or walkways where it might be trodden on by accident.
Notes
Besides the typical subspecies, subsp. "krainzii" (Svent.) Bruyns has been described for Tenerife and La Gomera. Its sap contains toxic alkaloids ("mataperros"). Apart from the above taxon, others have been described, using differing criteria when…
Protection status
Annex II of the Order of 20 February 1991 on the protection of wild flora of the Canary Islands.
Potential vegetation
Periploco laevigatae-Euphorbietum canariensis, Ceropegio dichotomae-Euphorbietum aphyllae.
Source: Cabildo de Tenerife, “Guía de especies vegetales”, CC BY. Translated from Spanish by us.
Bioclimatic belts
Warm coastal belt
- Inframediterranean, semi-arid (lower level)
Districts
Anaga · Metropolitan area (Santa Cruz and La Laguna) · Acentejo · La Orotava Valley · Daute · Teno · South-west · Abona · South-east · Güímar Valley